“Never give up. keep doing the work with utmost sincerity and keep in mind: hard work and strong work ethics are the best tools for an average person to succeed at most work places.”
Munish Sikka is a Senior Software Engineer working at NASA-JPL and has been supporting different Earth Science missions for the past 13 years. His work involves processing satellite data that helps measure terrestrial water storage and evapotranspiration while working on NASA missions like GRACE, GRACE-FO, and ECOSTRESS, OCO2 and OCO3.
He sends a warm Hello from California and a big shoutout to all fellow IIFM’ites—whether met in person or connected virtually.
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/munish-sikka-b3839817
Q.How has been your journey from IIFM so far?
A. It’s been an incredible journey, and I’ve cherished every step along the way. After completing my program at IIFM, I spent an additional year in research under Dr. Madhu Verma’s guidance. That experience proved invaluable as I navigated my career during the post-2009 recession. A year later, I pursued a second Master’s degree at the University of Oxford, where my research took me to Alaska. Eventually, I found my way to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I continue to work today.
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. Starting my working life at IIFM was a great first step into the professional world. Madhu ma’am and all the other faculty members were very supportive, knowing I planned to apply for further studies soon. I also did not lack for friends because of the junior year students. During the application season, I noticed that a few courses were no longer offering scholarships due to funding cuts from the recession.
My job at IIFM required field visits in MP and Gujrat, which greatly enhanced my learning. I also used this time to publish both the CIS (Course of Independent Study at IIFM) credits I had completed as part of the PFM course.
By March of the following year, I received an admission letter from the University of Oxford, and a couple of months later, they generously offered me a scholarship towards tuition fees. Ironically, I learned about my Oxford scholarship just two days after my grandfather passed away. Due to the extreme heat that day, my phone had stopped working. The university couldn’t reach me, so they called my father instead. That moment was a mix of deep personal loss and unexpected hope—it reinforced how unpredictable and bittersweet life can be.
At Oxford, my dissertation focused on indigenous communities in Alaska (USA), combining insights from IIFM with global perspectives. While looking for jobs, I got connected with a NASA-JPL scientist, and after a couple of rounds of emails, he interviewed and hired me to work on his team. I never imagined that the road at the end of the recession tunnel would lead me to the Earth Science section of NASA.
Q. How did you decide to go for higher studies post IIFM? And how was the experience?
A. While interacting with faculty members at IIFM, we often discussed global policies and environmental research. I had a strong desire to see the world, so early in my PFM journey, I decided that I would pursue a second Master’s degree before entering the job market. The recession had already eliminated many job opportunities, which made the decision even riskier. To mitigate this risk, I set one firm condition: I would only go if I secured a scholarship.
To improve my chances, I focused on publishing research papers, hoping that within two years of PFM, I would secure funding. The MSc course at Oxford was a one-year intensive program that included four field trips and a dissertation. My first few months were spent immersing myself in extracurricular activities, attending debates, and socializing. Then, I shifted my focus to securing a strong dissertation topic. This was just how I utilized my time, which might differ significantly from other students’ experiences at the University.
With the guidance of my course director—an anthropologist specializing in indigenous communities in Alaska—I developed a proposal that earned me UK government funding to conduct field research in Alaska. Additionally, I secured extra funding to write a policy brief and a research paper after my Master’s. This provided me with an additional three months of financial support while job hunting. Not only did this funding sustain me, but it also gave me confidence and strong talking points that helped me secure my eventual job interview and career path.
Q. How has been your experience in your current Organization? What all areas have you been working here?
A. Working at NASA has been a humbling experience. I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with some of the sharpest minds in Earth and Planetary Sciences, all driven by a mission to advance scientific knowledge for the greater good.
I currently support the GRACE-FO mission, which monitors terrestrial water storage. I’ve also contributed to the ECOSTRESS, OCO-2 and OCO-3 missions, working on post-launch data processing. More recently, I’ve been involved in Open Science initiatives to ensure future researchers have access to valuable datasets and algorithms.
Q. What is the most satisfying part in your career?
A. I’m incredibly proud to be part of missions that provide crucial environmental data to the global research community. Projects like GRACE, which has been delivering data for over 20 years, are critical in understanding sea-level rise and river basin dynamics. Knowing that my work contributes to solving fundamental global challenges is deeply rewarding.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. IIFM played a huge role in shaping my professional outlook. The faculty, my batchmates, and the diverse coursework all provided me with a solid foundation. The time I spent interacting with different forestry professionals at Oxford felt natural because of the exposure I had at IIFM. During my dissertation in Alaska, I applied the triple bottom line framework I learned at IIFM, which helped structure my research and subsequent publications.
“I am proud of my batchmates who faced the tough job market in 2009 and have gone on to achieve great things. We endured challenging times together, and the friendships we built have lasted to this day.”
Q. As an alumnus, what’s your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
A. “Make a game plan, execute it with dedication, and be open to take calculated risks.”
A lot has been wonderfully covered in the IIFMight in focus articles over the past several years, thanks to the dedicated team behind this initiative. For ideas, I suggest looking through these articles. Personally, my advice is to collect data for yourself, take calculated risks that your heart can justify, and be ready to work hard to achieve your dreams. There is absolutely no alternative to hard work. At the same time, enjoy your time at IIFM. Attend extra-curricular events, help organize a few, appreciate the time with friends, and learn life lessons from faculty members, guest speakers, visiting alums, and the wonderful staff and mess members.
Lastly, life is like a marathon or a Test match, not a T20. Shape it, nurture your innings, and success will be yours.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. A lot has been said on this topic, but to add, I thoroughly enjoyed my IIFM experience, including but not limited to:
- Campus walks and endless conversations with batchmates, seniors and juniors
- Late-night tea runs before the canteen closed.
- Racing to submit assignments by the 4 PM deadline, with everyone transferring their work onto one USB drive and printing in the computer lab.
- Performing in skits with Anurag, Nitish, Dhruv, and others, and hosting events that helped me overcome stage fright.
- The thrill of soccer matches, especially winning against the seniors!
Q. What is your typical day at the work?
A. I support GRACE-FO mission and work on many different tasks related to the mission including but not limited to processing Level-2 gravity solutions each month to generate Level-3 gridded terrestrial water storage dataset, performing quality checks and making this data available to public.
Q. And how about weekends, hobbies, family and anything else you want to add?
A. I married Manpreet, and we have two wonderful kids. Her unwavering support has been instrumental in my journey. I often joke that I never woke up at 6:30 AM before having kids, but now it’s a daily routine!
Weekends are spent with family, visiting the beach, dining out, or attending events hosted by local friends. Now that the kids are older, we’ve started traveling more and cherishing new experiences together.
Losing my father during the second wave of COVID was a devastating shock. It took me over a year to regain my sense of normalcy. He was a pillar of support, and I miss him every day.
Outside of work, I’ve also learned to cook and have volunteered for langar seva on different occasions.
Favorite movies: 3 Idiots, The Godfather, Swades, and Jab We Met—the last one being a shared favorite with my wife!
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. Pramod Upadhyay (PFM 2010), Aparna Seth (PFM 2009), Swati Agarwal (PFM 2010), Dhaval Negandhi (PFM 2009), Mayank Saraswat (PFM 2009), Mayank Rai (PFM2010)