Hi, I'm Varyan Jain

I'm a student who has loved Earth & Space Science for years, and I'm passionate about sharing my interests by making concepts and ideas click for others. GeoIgnite is where I write articles about the science, make videos, and put interactive projects online in order to best suit your individual preferred style of engagin with content.

What I'm trying to do

Earth science is the field that tells us how the planet actually works, and actually it's not one science but a mix of many different disciplines in one. But why is it so important? No matter if you pursue it as a career (which can be really cool as we need more earth and space scientists) or a hobby, it's the one we'll lean on hardest as the environment changes. Plus, just engaging in the subject gives you sepcial skills in critical thinking, especially regarding real-world concepts. My goal is simple: take the tools of Earth & Space Science and put them in more hands, explained clearly enough that anyone can pick them up. The more people who understand how the Earth works, the more people who can be part of the solutions of the future.

So I don't just write explainers. I build things to help you dynamically engage. A post on the Coriolis force ships with a simulator you can throw a ball across; a piece on seismic waves comes with a model you can run. If you can play with an idea, it stops being abstract (like the textbooks).

Right now

I'm a senior at BASIS Chandler. Outside class, Earth science is where I spend my time: I trained at the US Earth Science Olympiad camp, I pursued independent research on microplastics for which I won awards like NOAA Taking the pulse of the planet, and I'm currently doing mentored research in the Atmospheric Sciences through a summer program. Moreover, I captain my Science bowl and Science Olympiad teams where I focus on Earth and Space Science as well as physics topics, winning multiple national awards (These are really fun team competitions that you should totally do). I also gave a TEDx talk on why Earth & Space Science literacy matters.

What's on this site

• Writing — explainers and notes on Earth & Space Science.
• Projects — interactive science you can run in the browser.
• Videos — the same ideas, on camera.
• Resources — the best free tools and reading I've found.

Get in touch

Questions, ideas, corrections, or anything you want to talk about are welcome — the contact page reaches me, or email [email protected].