Physics Postdoc From India On Why He Chose Lithuania, And Why Physics Is A Universal Language

“So, when does it get warm in Lithuania?” Dr Samarendra Nayak asks as our interview wraps up. A postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Nuclear and Particle Physics at Vilnius University’s Faculty of Physics, he arrived in Vilnius from his native India in the middle of winter and admits he has never experienced anything like this cold in his life. In Vilnius, he is adjusting not only to the climate but also to a different approach to work. Even so, Dr Nayak emphasises that Lithuania and India share more than you might expect, and that the language of science allows people from very different cultures to find common ground. 

The discovery that changed everything 

Physics entered Dr Nayak’s life during his final years of school. Around that time, the world was buzzing about a landmark discovery: the identification of the Higgs boson. 

“I was just finishing tenth grade. Honestly, I didn’t fully understand what it meant at the time, but I learned that experiments were going on where invisible particles were being used to produce things like the so-called ‘God particle.’ I realised that if I put my mind to it, one day I could be part of a project like that too. That thought really motivated me to pursue physics.” 

When the time came to choose his university subjects, Dr Nayak didn’t hesitate. He picked physics, along with mathematics and chemistry. Over time, nuclear and particle physics, as well as quantum mechanics, captured most of his attention. 

“Later, I joined a combined Master’s program at the University of Delhi, where I again focused on particle physics. I started working actively in several labs, in fields such as electronics and nuclear physics. After my two-year Master’s program, I decided to continue in academia and enrolled in doctoral studies at the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar.”

The importance of shared research interests 

Dr Nayak dedicated his PhD to particle physics, focusing on anomalies that appear in the decay of B mesons – hadrons made of one quark and one bottom antiquark. He has been studying them for seven years now, and a paper summarising his findings should appear in the scientific press in a few months. 

At the same time, Dr Nayak works extensively on hands-on physics projects. He is currently helping to improve the technology of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research. Working with colleagues from institutions abroad, he tests components that will be installed into the upgraded detector in the coming years. The goal is to improve the performance of the collider and gather even more reliable experimental data. 

“There’s a close link between my analytical and practical work – I don’t think you can really separate them. They complement each other perfectly and make me a more complete physicist in the process. Without understanding the hardware side, your analysis has no solid foundation. You need to know how a particle’s momentum is reconstructed, how the signal is recorded, how data travels from the preamplifier through every chip and into the database. My work has always merged both of these aspects.”

Dr Samarendra Nayak. Photo from personal archive.

That same desire to be a well-rounded physicist is what eventually brought him to Lithuania. After completing his PhD, he was looking for a place where he could keep doing high-quality research and continue contributing to the CMS detector – a place where his expertise in particle physics would actually be useful. That’s how he found VU. 

“In our field, you usually only get invited to interview when your background matches what the group needs. The interview itself was very practical. We talked about my work and my goals. In physics, everything is very specific and specialised. If you can join a team right away, without extra training, your chances of getting the job go up a lot. That’s what happened in my case. I got an offer quickly, and now here I am.”

More balance in Europe 

Dr Nayak emphasises that the language of physics is genuinely universal. Throughout his career, he has worked at different institutions with very diverse colleagues, and scientifically, there have never been any real barriers. Collaboration structures are similar everywhere, and experiments are run in much the same way. Unsurprisingly, he settled into the rhythm at VU quickly. 

“My first impressions of the team were very positive. They gave me a lot of freedom and independence to run my research, and that’s exactly what a postdoc needs. The transition from PhD to postdoc itself requires a shift in mindset. You’re no longer a student with someone constantly watching over you. You have to generate your own ideas, learn how to work independently, and figure out how to contribute as much as possible to the group’s work. It takes time, but it also makes you a better scientist.”

He admits he is still getting used to the European work culture, which is quite different from India’s more intensely competitive environment. In Europe, work has its allotted hours, and outside of those, you’re free. Researchers manage their own schedules and pursue their own goals. In India, PhD students often work 14-hour days, can receive messages at any hour, and feel constant pressure under tight deadlines. 

“I think there are structural reasons for this. India is more competitive because there are more people competing for fewer spots. But it’s also cultural: from school onward, we’re taught to compete constantly, to do more than the next person. Honestly, I haven’t quite gotten used to this more relaxed approach yet. I still come into the office on Saturdays, because if I don’t, I feel like something’s off, like I should be working. It’ll probably take some time to break those habits,” Dr Nayak laughs.