Amrita de Soyza

Background

About Amrita de Soyza

I love to observe and tease-out patterns and trends and use those patterns to predict future outcomes. Patterns in data or patterns in behavior, its all the same – and, happily, it led me to my successful career, initially as a researcher in environmental science (plant physiology, form & function, ecology, landscapes, climate), and subsequently to leading teams working on managing environmental impacts due to human activities. Growing up, I was not good at memorization. At school and early College days I struggled to be more than average because remembering “facts” was emphasized over understanding. It was in my second year in College that my organic chemistry tutor first (perhaps unwittingly) introduced me to patterns rather than trying to remember various molecular structures. Once that lightbulb went on it was like a fog lifted and I became very skilled at looking for and understanding patterns in everything. Strangely, it also helped me to better remember “facts” (many of these facts will likely change as we improve understanding). Ultimately this interest in patterns culminated in my PhD dissertation research on the role of plant leaf form (shape) in the physiological function of Sassafras.Subsequently, as an environmental professional I also became skilled at using patterns to optimize tasks through cycles of developing reviewing and revising tasks (that is, standard operating procedures). It became a standing joke among my work colleagues that whenever I tried to understand/explain or solve a new (environmental) problem I could be counted on to pick up a marker and cover the whiteboard in a flow chart(s) – but they would also agree that this approach always helped to understand the issues and develop solutions.My interest in patterns has also made its way into my personal life, such as my fondness for reading and watching (murder) mysteries and science fiction. Science fiction? you say: Well, look at books written by authors such as Isaac Asimov or Orson Scott Card, for example: Robots and psychology (psychohistory?) really are becoming more and more a part of our daily lives (for better or worse) and even looking increasingly like us; and the remote controlled fighting machines such as those in Ender’s Game (a la OSC) – Drones – are already in widespread use. These authors used observations of what was happening in the world around them – often in very obtuse disciplines and with only rudimentary development at the time – and used it to weave stories of technology that were almost unimaginable at the time of writing.