Indian scientists have acquired global attention at the world’s largest gathering of astronomers, which took place this year in person after a long gap due to the Covid-19 circumstances.
At this high prestige International Astronomical Union, a total of seven astronomers won PhD thesis prizes in Busan.
The Astronomical Society of India has launched an Indian pavilion at the event for the first time in half a century. Dibyendu Nandi of IISER Kolkata, the Chairperson of Public Outreach and Education Committee said, “For the first time in its 50-year history, the Astronomical Society of India is hosting an India Pavilion showcasing major astronomy facilities in India”.
At the event the Indian team with great pride showcased the contribution of space science missions such as Chandrayaan and AstroSat and also acquainted the gathering with new missions such as the Aditya-L1 space mission, which is India’s first space-based solar observatory.
The researchers who won the PhD prizes were, Prantika Bhowmik of the Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India at IISER Kolkata for research predicting the future activity of the Sun, Reetika Joshi of Kumaun University and ARIES, Nainital for her observations of plasma jets in the Sun’s atmosphere, Gopal Hazra of IISc, Bangalore for his work on the development of three dimensional computational models of the solar sunspot cycle. They all have made India proud.
