January 14, 2026
When Leeza arrived at Rice University for her research stay, she was still early in her PhD – curious, careful, and learning to find her footing as an experimental physicist. Four months later, she returned to India with more than data or techniques. She carried back a clearer sense of how research cultures function, how trust shapes scientific work, and what kind of researcher she hopes to become.
Now in the third year of her PhD at the CSIR–National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi, Leeza works on two-dimensional materials and studies their electronic behaviour using terahertz spectroscopy. Her path into physics began in Assam and gradually led her into advanced experimental research, but it was her time at Rice University, made possible by the Mehta Rice Engineering Scholarship, that reframed how she thought about research environments and mentorship.
Stepping Into a New Academic Culture
At Rice, Leeza worked in the laboratories of Professors Pulickel M. Ajayan and Robert Vajtai. While the advanced infrastructure impressed her, what stood out most was the culture surrounding it.
“Everything was organised. Booking facilities took minutes. People were approachable and trusting. And the professors asked me to call them by their first names,” she says. “It felt strange, but also empowering.”
Weekly seminars and group discussions introduced her to a more fluid, interdisciplinary way of thinking. “People questioned freely, without hesitation,” she recalls. “It taught me that it’s okay not to know everything. It’s okay to ask.”
Learning Beyond Protocols
Leeza’s research time at Rice coincided with a critical phase of her PhD, when she was beginning to synthesise new materials. The opportunity to experiment freely, test variations, and discuss results with postdoctoral researchers and faculty accelerated her learning curve.
More importantly, the discussions pushed her to think independently. Rather than following established protocols unquestioningly, she learned to interrogate results, adapt methods, and trust her reasoning. “I realised that research papers are not rules,” she later reflected. “Your approach can differ and your results can still be valid.”
That shift – from replication to critical thinking – proved pivotal. It reshaped how she approached experiments after returning to India and strengthened her confidence in decision-making.
Growth Outside the Lab
The Mehta Rice Engineering Scholarship emphasises holistic exposure, and Leeza’s experience reflected that intent. Beyond research, she engaged with campus life and the wider Houston community – celebrating Diwali with the Indian Students Association, exploring museums with fellow scholars, and visiting NASA’s Johnson Space Center with her lab mates.
One particularly meaningful experience was a dinner hosted by Rahul Mehta and his family. What stayed with Leeza was not the formality of the occasion, but its warmth. “The family took time to speak individually with each scholar, remembering names and listening to their journeys,” says Leeza, who saw this gesture as reinforcement that the scholarship invested in people, not just projects.
Beyond academics, living alone in a new country taught her self-reliance. “I handled everything myself from documentation and banking to phone services. After that experience, I know I can manage myself in any country.”
Carrying the Experience Forward
Leeza remains closely connected with her Rice mentors, lab colleagues, and fellow Mehta scholars. The experience continues to influence how she views research spaces and her role within them.
As she progresses toward completing her PhD, she hopes to pursue postdoctoral work in a strong, collaborative research group, ideally one that reflects the openness and trust she experienced at Rice. In the longer term, she aspires to build her own lab and create an environment that supports young researchers rather than overwhelms them.
She also holds a quiet aspiration. “It would mean a lot to me if leaders like Professor Ajayan or Professor Junichiro Kono ever read my work,” she hopes. “That would make me feel like I have achieved something meaningful.”
The Mehta Rice Engineering Scholarship offered Leeza access to world-class facilities and opened perspectives on mentorship, collaboration, independence, and the quiet power of trust-based research cultures. Those lessons now travel with her, shaping the scientist she is becoming and the research spaces she hopes to build in the future.
The Mehta Rice Engineering Scholarship, supported by the Mehta Family Foundation, provides Indian PhD scholars with transformative research experiences at Rice University, fostering international collaboration and cultural exchange that shape the next generation of researchers.