Hi, I'm Kshitij.

It started with a weird obsession with science.

I've been fascinated by science for as long as I can remember. I wasn't exactly the brightest student in school when it came to academics. In fact, I failed Class 6. But somehow, physics was always different. My teachers noticed that I was unusually curious about it, and I slowly realised that I didn't just want to learn physics. I wanted to understand it, question it and figure out how things actually work.

That became clearer in Class 9, when I was selected by my school to represent it at a national-level science exhibition. I presented an idea around time travel, combining the popular science I was reading with physics demonstrations I had put together myself. I was only in Class 9, but I absolutely loved the process. It was probably one of the first times I realised how much I enjoyed taking an idea that fascinated me and trying to make someone else see why it was fascinating too.

Finding my way into physics

I went on to study B.Sc. Physics (Hons.) at The ICFAI University, Jaipur. By my first year, I already knew that I wanted to do more than just study for exams. I wanted to get involved in physics outreach, competitions and research.

During my first year, I was invited to deliver a guest lecture on Special Relativity at a college in Banswara, Rajasthan. I also started participating in physics and research competitions, winning and presenting work at institutions including IIT BHU, IIT Kharagpur, BITS Pilani and LNMIIT, among others.

One experience stands out. In my second year, I participated in the University Physics Competition, where undergraduate students from around the world work on a challenging physics problem and turn their solution into a research-style paper over 48 hours. I ended up winning a Silver Medal.

During my final year, I was also elected Student Council President while working on WIMP dark matter for my research dissertation.

Before my master's, I got a taste of the bigger research world.

After completing my B.Sc., I had the opportunity to participate in the SLAC Summer Institute, organised by Stanford. It gave me further exposure to research, workshops and the wider world of physics beyond my undergraduate experience.

That experience further strengthened my interest in pursuing research, which naturally led me towards astrophysics and cosmology.

Then I took an unexpected detour.

After my master's, the obvious next step would have been a PhD. Instead, I decided to take a break from the traditional academic path.

Not because I stopped loving physics or research. I wanted some time to explore, learn outside academia and understand where my interests could take me.

Today, I work in marketing automation and strategy, increasingly at the intersection of AI, data and marketing, helping companies make better decisions and build stronger inbound and outbound growth systems.

On paper, Physics → astrophysics research → science communication → marketing → AI probably looks like a very strange trajectory.

But I actually think the detour has been useful.

Physics taught me to question assumptions. Research taught me to sit with difficult problems. Science communication taught me to make complicated ideas understandable. Marketing taught me to understand people, attention and what makes an idea travel. And AI is now bringing many of those worlds together.

Maybe the detour was the point.

I don't see these as completely separate parts of my life anymore. They've given me an unusual way of looking at problems, and that perspective is probably one of the things I value most about my journey.

And that brings me back to Astro Kshitij.

I started with a fascination for physics and research. Along the way, I realised that I also genuinely enjoy bringing those ideas outside the walls of academia and sharing them with people who might otherwise never encounter them.

So whether you found me through a reel, a workshop, a research paper, a talk or simply because you were curious enough to click “About”, welcome.

I'm still figuring things out. Still asking questions. Still going down ridiculous rabbit holes.

And hopefully, still making you curious enough to ask a few of your own.