Employee Spotlight: Venkat Putcha, Senior Data Scientist
At OspreyData, we value our amazing team and appreciate the uniqueness of each individual, as it makes us a complete team! Here, we will introduce one of our great team members!
Your Name: Venkat Putcha
Your Role at OspreyData: Senior Data Scientist & Petroleum Engineer
Brief description of your training, education, experience:
During the last 10 years, I have changed educational & career tracks, job titles, yet attached to working on one central aspect of optimization of petroleum production systems. I received my bachelors in Chemical Engineering at NIT Trichy, India. Following this, I worked as a production engineer for 3.5 years at ONGC, the largest oil & gas operator of India. Subsequently, in 2013, I enrolled for a Ph.D. in Petroleum at Penn State. As a doctoral researcher, I worked on integrating physics-based simulation with machine learning for gas lift optimization. After my graduation, I still practice this research day in, day out at OspreyData as a Senior Data Scientist.
How long have you been with OspreyData?: Over 2 years
What’s your favorite thing about working at OspreyData?: A close-knit team with an open door policy where presenting ideas and seeking out the help of each other is always encouraged.
What are 3 words you’d use to describe OspreyData?: Enabling. Collaborative. Innovation.
What is your favorite hobby or hobbies?: I love visiting and exploring new places, walking at beaches, parks or mountains, playing tennis, and chess.
What does a perfect day look like for you?: Like a Sherlock Holmes story (with less crime). I love problem-solving and a perfect day will involve investigating a problem, brainstorming with the team and getting immersed in solving it. If we can solve the problem by bedtime that may be ideal, but the problems we usually encounter are expected to take longer.
What is your favorite book?: As I could not resist mentioning above, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Do you have a favorite holiday? If so, what is it and why?: There are many places in the world that my wife and I would like to walk/trek/row through, experience the life of the place through our eyes. At the end of it, we would love to return to family and friends, chill at a beach, read a book. My mind seeks both adventure and calm, solitude and company.
If you could visit anywhere in the world you’ve never been, where would you go?: Travel along the Mediterranean coast from Spain to Egypt.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?: Buy lots of GPUs… just kidding. Probably will look for a place on a cliff overseeing the ocean.
If you could do another job for just one day, what would it be?: If the capabilities could be loaded into my brain (like in The Matrix), I would like to be a physicist.
