Scientists Pivot to Meeting Pandemic Challenges

The pandemic disrupted nearly every scientist’s work and research in some way, but some physicists embraced that disruption. Mahesh M. Bandi is one scientist who turned his attention to tackling the many challenges presented by the spread of coronavirus.

A Staff Research Associate in ICTP’s Quantitative Life Sciences Section and an Associate Professor at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Bandi pivoted from his usual research focus soon after the pandemic began. He has helped devise personal protective equipment to protect medical workers, and assisted with real-time modeling of the dynamics of the pandemic’s spread. 

Bandi’s story of being at ICTP in Trieste in late February of 2020, how his plans were disrupted, and how he responded is featured in a recent article in Physics Today entitled, “Stuck at home, physicists pivot to combat COVID-19.” Bandi’s collaborations at ICTP include research on the statistical mechanics of renewable energy.