Science

4 prizes, pavilion in itself – India dazzles at world’s largest astronomy conference in South Korea

August 12, 2022
Bharat Times

Bangalore: Indian physicists and astronomers made a stellar performance at the International Astronomical Union (IAU)’s first physical event since 2018 in South Korea.

The IAU’s General Assembly, the world’s largest astronomy meeting, took place in Busan from 2 to 11 August. The event not only had a pavilion showcasing Indian space projects, but Indian scholars, including a student from a University of Oslo, won four awards in the presentation of awards for their PhD thesis.

This is the first time that Indian PhD students have won awards at the IAU General Assembly held every three years. Three Indians won the ‘PhD at-Large’ award while the fourth got the ‘Division E (Sun and Heliosphere)’ PhD award. event delayed
One year due to the covid pandemic.

“I was surprised as well as happy,” Prantika Bhowmick told ThePrint about winning the massive PhD award for the year 2019. “This is in a way the highest recognition any young astronomer can get from international research. The community only after finishing his PhD.”

The IAU PhD Awards were first established in 2016. There are ten categories of awards ranging from fundamental astronomy, bioastronomy, high energy phenomena to astrophysics education.

At each award ceremony, a PhD in Astrophysics, which is independent of these divisions, is also awarded.

The awards for each category are selected by a panel of experts in research disciplines. Thesis topics for the award are sought using an online application form that candidates fill out about their work, and their institution’s representative provides references.

All four Indian recipients also presented their research work in the form of oral presentations.

All the awards won by Indian scholars were for subjects related to solar research. Gopal Hazra of Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru wins PhD at-Large Award for the year 2018 his work It deals with understanding the behavior of the solar magnetic field and the meridian (north to south) flow of plasma on its surface using 3D models.
Prantika Bhowmick, previously associated with the Center of Excellence in Space Science at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, won the massive PhD award in 2019. his work On computational models of future solar activity.
Ritika Joshi of Kumaun University and Aryabhatta Research Institute of Nainital won the same award for the year 2021. his work On the observation of the brightness of plasma jets and other forms of energy in the Sun’s chromosphere (the atmospheric layer above the visible surface).
In the same year, Souvik Bose, who did his M.Tech from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bengaluru and a PhD from the University of Oslo, won the Division E Sun and Heliosphere PhD Award. his work On spicules or tiny jets that are releasing energy throughout the Sun and activating the outer atmospheric layers.

Telescope, Science Missions on Display at India Pavilion

At the IAU General Assembly, the Astronomical Society of India (ASI) hosted an Indian pavilion showcasing the country’s major astronomy facilities for the first time in its 50-year history, said Dibyendu Nandi, chairman of ASI’s Committee on Public Access and Education. . in a press release.

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Indian astronomical facilities such as the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (Pune), the Indian Astronomical Observatory (Hanale), the Devasthal Optical Telescope (Nainital), and the Kodaikanal and Udaipur Solar Observatories were displayed at the Indian Pavilion.

Science missions such as Chandrayaan, AstroSat, and Aditya-L1 were also showcased, along with India’s contribution to mega physics projects such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (spread across the US, Italy and India), the upcoming Thirty Meter Telescope Gone. Hawaii), and the upcoming Square Kilometer Array (in Australia and South Africa).

(Edited by Tony Rae)

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