WORCESTER, MA–Snehalata Kadam, Ph. D. is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the founder and chair of Women Empowering Women at the India Society of Worcester.
She is also the past-president and one of the founding members of the Association of Women in Science (AWIS), national non-profit organization’s Central Massachusetts chapter. She organized multiple panel discussions during her three-year term to help, inspire and network women graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and women in early career to grow and transition into the workforce.
“It is my belief that a great teacher can transform a student’s life by creating a positive learning environment and boosting self-esteem,” says Prof. Kadam.
Currently she is the brand ambassador of AWIS since the past 3 years. She participated in Girls Inc; Geek is Glam workshops organized at WPI. At WPI, Prof. Kadam is chair of Physics Department Undergrad Curriculum Committee., and an insight advisor to the incoming freshman students. She is also a Pre-Med committee member.
On April 26th, 2024, Prof. Kadam will be honored as the Outstanding Woman of the Year 2024 at the 21st Annual Woman of the Year Awards gala at the Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA. The event will be attended by over 400 community leaders, social activists, entrepreneurs, academicians, and philanthropists.
To register for the gala, please click here.
Prof. Kadam earned a B.S and M.S from India and a Ph.D. from Tubingen University in Germany. She continued her graduate work as a post-doctoral researcher at California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) where she studied “Mechanics of Cell Migration”. She collaboratively published her work in the peer reviewed journals like Physics Education, Development, Cell Adhesion and Migration, and Nucleic Acids Research.
Prof. Kadam joined WPI as a Physics faculty with the goal of bridging diverse disciplines such as Physical and Biological Sciences. Her primary responsibility is not only to create a Physics loving atmosphere especially in female and gender minor students wherein they can develop their knowledge but also help themselves adapt innovative learning strategies.
She is an active volunteer at ISW and enjoys learning/performing classical dance Kathak as well as Bollywood and folk-dance forms.
Here is a Q/A with Prof. Kadam:
INDIA New England News: Please tell our readers about your work and what you enjoy most.
Snehalata Kadam: I am a Professor of Teaching in the Physics Department at WPI. Though a biologist by training, I am involved in developing pedagogical outcomes in the intersectional area of Physics and Biology. I apply active learning and student-engaging-oriented strategies for students to maximize their learning outcomes and experiences.
At the undergraduate level, I teach Physics courses to students majoring in subjects ranging from Mechanical Engineering to Medicine. Three years ago, I launched a new course called Introductory Physics of Living Systems. The curriculum of this innovative course is to cater to Pre-Med, Health, Bioengineering, and Life Sciences students.
At the graduate level, I hold an affiliated faculty position in the Nuclear Science and Engineering Program. I teach Radiation Biology and advise independent study projects on topics ranging from health physics and brachytherapy.
It is my belief that a great teacher can transform a student’s life by creating a positive learning environment and boosting self-esteem. I am lucky to be a ‘vehicle of change’ for many students to change their mindset about Physics, our beautiful earth, the universe, and nature’s laws. My mantra is “Physics is not just Rocket Science but a significant part of everyday life”.
I enjoy being surrounded by the young generation with countless innovative ideas, high energy, and potential. There is no better satisfaction and respect that I could earn otherwise. Through teaching, I can learn from the students just as much as they are able to learn from me.
As one of the very few female Professors in Physics, I was inspired by the famous Solvay Conference of 1927, where the one female scientist: Marie Curie was made to dress like a man to “fit in” with the other scientists. From then till now, the Solvay Conference has only 13% women attendees.
I ask myself; do we wait for another 100 years to see equality in this field? I encourage me to dispel this inequality by engaging more female students in Physics. In addition, I am deeply involved in several organizations that promote equality for women in science such as the Women’s Impact Network, founding the Association for Women in Science (AWIS), Worcester chapter, and launching the Women Empowering Women (WEW) initiative at India Society of Worcester (ISW).
INE: If you’re engaged with any charity or non-profit, please tell us why this organization and what you do for them.
SK: I am involved with the India Society of Worcester (ISW) for the past 12 years.
When we moved from California to New England as faculty at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, I did a Google search for Marathi schools in the Worcester area. The very first link was ISW, and it has been our home ever since. The society and the new center offer language schools that helped our kids learn different languages, and appreciate the cultural diversity of India.
Since 2012, I have been volunteering at ISW in language and cultural schools, multiple cultural programs. In January 2021, I launched the Women Empowering Women program at ISW.
INE: What are your hobbies and interests?
SK: My hobbies are traveling, reading, and Classical/semiclassical dancing.
INE: In what way do you feel you have most positively influenced or served the local community and your company/organization and professional field?
SK: All my life I have been defying mindsets about being a girl/woman. As one of the first members in my extended family to leave India, I aspired to be a pioneer and not a follower.
This inner belief created a sense of fearlessness in me and along with my desire, enthusiasm, energy, positive thinking, creative ideas, courage, helps me achieve greater heights in both professional and personal lives.
INE: What is your rare talent?
SK: There is a creative artist inside me, which inspired me to write couple of poems, and have made a few stencil drawings.
INE: What are your favorite books?
SK: Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky; Here, There and Everywhere by Sudha Murty; Lead Like a Woman: Gain Confidence, Navigate Obstacles, Empower Others by Deborah Smith Pegues.
INE: What are your favorite quotes?
SK: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” –Mahatma Gandhi.
“I touch the future, I teach” –Christa McAuliffe
“In the future there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” –Sheryl Sandberg.
“A woman is a full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform”– Diana Mariechild.
INE: Who inspires you the most?
SK: Savitribai Phule. She pioneered India’s feminist movement and women’s education in India. She was one of the first female teachers who started their first school for girls in 1848 in Pune with the help and support of her husband.
INE: What core value do you try to live by?
SK: Fearlessness: Try, Fail, Learn and Fly. No, it is not an option.
Authenticity: Be genuine and honest towards yourself.
Adventurous: I have one beautiful, precious life; I want to live to the fullest.
Learner: Be a curious learner, as learning is infinitesimal.
Pay it forward.
INE: If you get a chance to meet, who is the one person you would like to meet and why?
SK: I want to meet Savitribai Phule. I want to learn from her thought process, her motivation, and her aspirations behind women’s education 75 years ago. It’s because of her, today I stand tall with the pride of being a woman, an educator and a changemaker.
