Arena Park’s Harini reaches for the stars

To infinity and beyond, that is where 17-year-old Harini Pillay is headed.

She hopes to be a NASA astronaut one day and be among the “real stars”, a dream she intends to make her reality.

Harini, who lives in Arena Park, Chatsworth, is a Grade 11 pupil at Eden College, Glenwood.

She added that her driving force to excel has been her teachers, who encourage the pupils to excel at everything.

Her family have also been instrumental in her success - her father, Yugan, mother, Shivani, and her brother Talin, who is her favourite person in the world, are her motivation to better herself.

“I entered the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition, which is based in Germany, in April. It was posted on our Google Classroom. It’s an online competition, and students from around the globe participate. The competition consisted of three rounds. The qualification round, pre-final round and final round. The qualification round consisted of five questions, both theoretical and calculation based. We were given around a month to answer those. Participants that were successful proceeded to the pre-final round. The pre-final round had six questions, also theoretical and calculation based,” she said.

They were also required to read two research papers and answer questions based on them - it had to be done in four days. The final round was the hardest, Harini said.

Pupils were required to have an extremely good level of knowledge about astronomy. They were monitored online when they wrote their papers to ensure there was no cheating.

“I thoroughly enjoyed broadening my knowledge in the astrophysics field. It was fascinating to learn more about space, moons and planets. I particularly loved one of the questions which required me to calculate the angles and areas in relation to ISS (Input-to-State-Stability) as this required me to conduct my own research and think more critically,” she said.

“I did not expect to pass each stage as I found the entire competition extremely challenging. When my final results were emailed, I was reluctant to open it and when I did open it, I was surprised to see that I did not just pass but I received the National Award as well.”

Harini’s earliest memory of her love for space goes back to when she was 7-years-old. She said she loved watching The Big Bang Theory and still watches the re-runs with her mum. Her favourite character is Rajesh Koothrappali, who is a astrophysicist. She said he reminds her of herself - he doesn’t talk much, is super shy and weird, a little OCD and very dependant on his parents. These are all characteristics she relates to.

“Astrophysics is the study of stars, planets and galaxies using physics and chemistry. There is so much about space that is an absolute mystery. It’s important to know how the universe began. There are so many planets that remain undiscovered. We should explore other living options. At the rate we are going, our earth will eventually not be able to sustain life,” said Harini.

“I want to be involved in astrophysics when I study further. South Africa doesn’t have a solid undergraduate astrophysics programme, so I will study engineering and then do my postgraduate studies in astrophysics. UKZN has the Aerospace Systems Research Institute (ASRI) programme and my teacher has already assisted me with attending a few seminars that were fascinating. Their mechanical engineering department plans on launching a rocket at the end of this year.”

Harini said her father, an engineer, is the most intelligent person she knows. When she struggles with a maths or physics problem, he always knows the answer and has a lot of patience when he explains it to her.

“He has promised to teach me how to drift cars and participate in car gymkhana events, like he does. He is also very involved with our community and loves helping people. Everyone always looks to him for guidance and advice. I hope to follow in his footsteps and help our Arena Park community (as well as the greater Chatsworth community) grow,” said Harini.

Harini is also involved in art, roller skating, karate (she’s a brown belt) and she has been swimming the Midmar Mile for the past eight years. She also plays soccer for the Arena Park Football Club’s women’s division.