Nissim Kanekar

Last updated

Nissim Kanekar
Born (1973-09-11) 11 September 1973 (age 50)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Alma mater
Known forStudies on the evolution of the electron proton mass ratio
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

Nissim Kanekar (born 11 September 1973) is an Indian astrophysicist, cosmologist and a professor at National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Known for his research on the evolution of the electron proton mass ratio, Kanekar is a member of the International Astronomical Union and a recipient of Swarna Jayathi Fellowship of the Department of Science and Technology. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to physical sciences in 2017. [1] [note 1]

Contents

Biography

Savitribai Phule Pune University - Main Building University of Pune -Main Building 1.JPG
Savitribai Phule Pune University - Main Building

Nissim Kanekar, born on 11 September 1973 in Mumbai in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, did his undergraduate studies at Ramnarain Ruia College of Mumbai University and, after earning a graduate degree (BSc) in physics in 1991, moved to Savitribai Phule Pune University for his master's studies to obtain an MSc in 1995. [2] He enrolled for his doctoral studies at the same institution and carrying out his research at National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, a research institute managed by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, he secured a PhD in 2000. [3] His post-doctoral work was at NCRA during 2000–01, at Kapteyn Institute of University of Groningen during 2002–04 under a NOVA fellowship and at the Socorro center of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory during 2004–08 holding Jansky and Max-Planck fellowships. In 2009, he joined NCRA as a reader in 2009 [4] and has served as an associate professor since 2012. [3]

Legacy and honours

Lyman Alpha Blob Lyman Alpha Blob.jpg
Lyman Alpha Blob

One of the principal contributions of Kanekar was the establishment of observational bounds for the study of the evolution of the electron proton mass ratio. [5] He has also done reportedly notable work on the fine structure constant over cosmological time scales. [6] He was one among the group of astronomers who observed a pair of distant Milky Way-like galaxies in early 2017 [7] which has since been detailed in a paper published by the scientists. [8] His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles [9] and ResearchGate, an online article repository of scientific articles, has listed 115 of them. [10] [note 2] He has also delivered several lectures on astronomy which include a series of lectures delivered at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali in 2014. [11]

Kanekar received the URSI Young Scientist Award of the International Union of Radio Science in 2005 which he declined. [3] Three years later, the Astronomical Society of India chose him, along with Niayesh Afshordi, for the 2008 Vainu Bappu Gold Medal and he became a Ramanujan Fellow of the Department of Science and Technology in 2009, the tenure of the fellowship running until 2014. [4] In 2015, he shared the bi-annual Hari Om Prerit Vikram Sarabhai Award of the Physical Research Laboratory with Dibyendu Chakraborty; the same year, he was selected for the Swarna Jayanthi fellowship of the Department of Science and Technology. [12] He has held various research fellowships, including Max Planck Fellowship (2007–09), Jansky Fellowship (2004–08), and NOVA Fellowship (2002–04) and he declined the Bolton Fellowship twice and ASTRON Fellowship once. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded Kanekar the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards in 2017. [13] The lectureships held by him include the Delta Lecturership Award (2014) of the National Central University, Distinguished Visitorship (2005–06) of Australia Telescope National Facility and ESO Visiting Fellowship (2005) of the European Southern Observatory. [3] He is also a member of the International Astronomical Union. [14] In 2022, he was awarded the Infosys Prize [15] in Physical Sciences for his study of galaxies in an era, the so-called “high noon” period, in which stars were being formed at a maximum rate. Separately, his careful astronomical investigations have placed the strongest limit on possible secular variation of the fine structure constant and the electron-to-proton mass ratio.

Selected bibliography

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Long link - please select award year to see details
  2. ↑ Please see Selected bibliography section

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope</span> Radio telescope center

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), located near Narayangaon, Pune in India, is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes of 45 metre diameter, observing at metre wavelengths. It is the largest and most sensitive radio telescope array in the world at low frequencies. It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. It was conceived and built under the direction of Govind Swarup during 1984 to 1996. It is an interferometric array with baselines of up to 25 kilometres (16 mi). It was recently upgraded with new receivers, after which it is also known as the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Centre for Radio Astrophysics</span>

The National Centre for Radio Astrophysics is a research institution in India in the field of radio astronomy is located in the Pune University Campus, is part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. NCRA has an active research program in many areas of Astronomy and Astrophysics, which includes studies of the Sun, Interplanetary scintillations, pulsars, the Interstellar medium, Active galaxies and cosmology and particularly in the specialized field of Radio Astronomy and Radio instrumentation. NCRA also provides exciting opportunities and challenges in engineering fields such as analog and digital electronics, signal processing, antenna design, telecommunication and software development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thanu Padmanabhan</span> Indian physicist and cosmologist (1957–2021)

Thanu Padmanabhan was an Indian theoretical physicist and cosmologist whose research spanned a wide variety of topics in gravitation, structure formation in the universe and quantum gravity. He published nearly 300 papers and reviews in international journals and ten books in these areas. He made several contributions related to the analysis and modelling of dark energy in the universe and the interpretation of gravity as an emergent phenomenon. He was a Distinguished Professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) at Pune, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Govind Swarup</span> Indian radio astronomer

Govind Swarup was a pioneer in radio astronomy. In addition to research contributions in multiple areas of astronomy and astrophysics, he was a driving force behind the building of "ingenious, innovative and powerful observational facilities for front-line research in radio astronomy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ritabrata Munshi</span> Indian mathematician (born 1976)

Ritabrata Munshi is an Indian mathematician specialising in number theory. He was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, the highest science award in India, for the year 2015 in mathematical science category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santanu Bhattacharya</span> Indian chemical biologist

Santanu Bhattacharya is an Indian chemical biologist and former professor at the Indian Institute of Science. At, present he is the Director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati (IISER-Tirupati). He is known for his studies of unnatural amino acids, oligopeptides, designed and natural lipids and biologically active natural products and is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy The World Academy of Sciences and the Indian Academy of Sciences The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2003, for his contributions to chemical sciences. He is also a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Biotechnology (2002) and the TWAS Prize (2010).

Siva Umapathy is a Professor of the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry and also at the department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics at the Indian Institute of Science. He was the Director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal (IISER). He is known for his studies of molecular dynamics using Raman spectroscopy. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and also The National Academy of Science of India. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2004, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Ravishankar Narayanan is an Indian materials engineer and a professor at the Materials Research Centre of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on Nanostructured Materials and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Engineering Sciences in 2012.

Yendluri Shanthi Pavan is an Indian electrical engineer and a professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He is known for his studies on mixed signal VLSI circuits and is an elected fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He is also a fellow of IEEE. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Engineering Sciences in 2012.

Virendra Singh is an Indian theoretical physicist and a former C. V. Raman chair professor and director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Known for his research in high energy physics, Singh is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies - Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Sciences, India as well as The World Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to Physical Sciences in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vijay Kumar Kapahi</span> Indian astrophysicist (1944–1999)

Vijay Kumar Kapahi was an Indian astrophysicist and the director of the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, an autonomous division of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Known for his research on radio galaxies, quasars and observational cosmology, Kapahi was an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies – Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India – as well as of the Maharashtra Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology for his contributions to physical sciences in 1987.

Gopal Krishna is an Indian radio astronomer and a senior professor at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics. Known for his studies on Radio galaxies and quasars, Krishna is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India and Indian National Science Academy. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to physical sciences in 1993.

Echur Varadadesikan Sampathkumaran is an Indian condensed matter physicist and a Distinguished Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Known for his research on the thermal and transport behaviour of magnetic systems, Sampathkumaran is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India as well as The World Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to physical sciences in 1999.

Varun Bhisham Sahni is an Indian theoretical physicist, astrophysicist and a Distinguished Professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics. Known for his research on cosmology, Sahni is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to physical sciences in 2000.

Avinash Anant Deshpande is an Indian astrophysicist and a professor of physics at Raman Research Institute. Known for his research on astrophysics, Deshpande is known to have contributed towards the studies of the pulsar magnetospheric emission regions and in the elucidation of unphysically ultradense neutral hydrogen irregularities in the interstellar space.

Madan Rao is an Indian condensed matter and biological physicist and a senior professor at National Centre for Biological Sciences. Known for his research on molecular dynamics on cell surface, Rao is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to physical sciences in 2004.

Yashwant Gupta is an Indian astrophysicist and a professor at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He is currently a Distinguished Professor and also the Centre Director at NCRA.

Raghunathan Srianand is an Indian cosmologist, astrophysicist and a scientist at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). Known for his research on redshift evolution on the cosmic microwave background radiation, Srianand is a member of the International Astronomical Union and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Kanak Saha is an Indian astrophysicist. He is an associate professor of astrophysics at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics. His research interests include formation of galaxies in the early universe and their evolution. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology for his contributions to physical sciences in 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "View Bhatnagar Awardees". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Nissim Kanekar on NCRA". National Centre for Radio Astrophysics. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Biographical Information-Kanekar" (PDF). National Centre for Radio Astrophysics. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Ramanujan Fellows" (PDF). SERB. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "Brief Profile of the Awardee". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners" (PDF). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. 17 October 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Peek into how galaxies like Milky Way looked 12 billion years ago". Indian Express. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  8. ↑ Neeleman M1, Kanekar N, Prochaska JX, Rafelski M, Carilli CL, Wolfe AM (March 2017). "[C ii] 158-µm emission from the host galaxies of damped Lyman-alpha systems". Science. 355 (6331): 1285–1288. arXiv: 1703.07797 . Bibcode:2017Sci...355.1285N. doi:10.1126/science.aal1737. PMID   28336663. S2CID   34680077.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "arXiv.org Search Results". Cornell University. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "On ResearchGate". 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Lectures at IISER-Mohali, October 2014". NCRA. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "Swarna Jayanthi Fellowship" (PDF). Department of Science and Technology. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "10 scientists receive Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize". The Hindu. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "Kanekar on IAU". International Astronomical Union. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Infosys Prize - Laureates 2022 - Nissim Kanekar".

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.