Maitri's VatulBlog

“… who has a laugh that’s almost as loud as a Ramones concert.” — Adrastos

My name is Maitri.  I am a geologist, technologist and world traveler, always on the go.  Maitri’s VatulBlog is an attempt to make sense of what I see and do when I go.

I currently work for a growing geospatial and engineering services company, where my research focuses on the visual representation and simulation of 3D data.  Before this, I worked for a decade as an oil-industry geologist and geophysicist.  I also write for VizWorld, a weblog dedicated to the latest in computer graphics, animation and visualization.

Made in Kuwait of Indian parts, an impending move to the United States was hastened by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait of 1990.  After receiving a BS degree in geology from the University of Illinois and MS degrees in geology and computational sciences from the University of Wisconsin, I moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where I made it through Hurricane Katrina and the Flood and lived until 2009.  My husband and I now make our home in northern Ohio.

You can contact me through email or Twitter and my resume is on LinkedIn. Any opinions expressed on VatulBlog and VizWorld are mine and not those of my employer, obviously.

What Else Do You Do?

A strong supporter of reading, electronic books (eBooks) and the public domain, I am Indian Languages advisor to Project Gutenberg, the oldest publisher of eBooks.

Given my interest in things New Orleanian and South Asian, VatulBlog is a part of online networks such as New Orleans Bloggers, Sepia Mutiny, Humid City and First Draft. Here is a selection of related essays and interviews.

I make masks and costumes, and am a member of various New Orleans Mardi Gras krewes, including Krewe du Vieux, Krewe de C.R.A.P.S., Krewe of King Arthur and the Mystic Krewe of Chartreuse.

On Wisconsin! I serve on the alumni board of the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Geoscience and am a former president of the New Orleans chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association.

Other interests are science education, digital rights, languages (Tamil, Hindi, Sanskrit, French, Spanish & Arabic), genealogy and documenting my travel in photographs.

What Does Vatul Mean Anyway?

Vatul is my clan name. Vatula Maharishi, the progenitor of my line, was a Hindu sage reportedly prone to great contemplative distraction. Vatul (Sanskrit) means “enlightened, lashed by the wind to the point of losing one’s sanity, god’s madcap, detached from the world, and seeker of truth.” The terms Vatul and Baul are applied to mystics, originally Hindu and Sufi-Muslim respectively, who dedicated their lives to the quest for spiritual harmony and experience.

Are You A Fan Of The Green Bay Packers?

You betcha! Go Pack go!