On May 13, 2026, also European Doctoral Day, we talk to Krutika Patri to find out what inspired her to pursue a PhD and how she would like to showcase her doctoral research. In the conversation, we learn how Krutika’s inspirations for a PhD tie into how we perceive geniuses in science who have multiple identities and are often retrospectively “made into geniuses.” But most importantly, whose shoulders do they stand on in order to “move through butter” in research, as well as on the flip side, who remains invisible in academia?
Krutika Patri is a doctoral researcher at the University of Bremen, Fachbereich 10: Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft, under the supervision of Prof. Kerstin Knopf. Her dissertation examines the stereotypical representation of scientists as geniuses on screen. Her other research interests include postcolonial studies and contemporary Indian novels. Recently, she joined the editorial team of COPAS (Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies), an open-access journal that showcases the work of early-career scholars in the field of American studies.
Apart from spending hours in the library working on her dissertation, she's also a birder and bikepacker, two hobbies she often combines. During summer vacation, she usually bikes across the United States and makes progress on the Transamerica Route. So far, she has cycled 3,344 km, starting in Washington, D.C., and ending in Pueblo, Colorado . Next year, she plans to finish the Transamerica route and reach Seattle, Washington, while seeing lots of birds on the way (https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/krutiben23)). When not biking or staring up at the sky to spot birds, she's found experimenting in the kitchen, recreating her family's recipe from back home in India, that either ends up disastrous or delicious, nothing in between.
