Annual Report (April 1, 2008 - March 31, 2009)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
INTER-UNIVERSITY CENTRE FOR ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS (An Autonomous Institution of the University Grants Commission) Annual Report (April 1, 2008 - March 31, 2009) Editor Editorial Assistance Swara Ravindranath Manjiri Mahabal e-mail : [email protected] e-mail : [email protected] Postal Address Post Bag 4, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411 007, India Location Meghnad Saha Road, Pune University Campus, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411 007, India Phone (91) (20) 2560 4100 Fax (91) (20) 2560 4699 e-mail [email protected] Universal Resource Locator (URL) http://www.iucaa.ernet.in HIGHLIGHTS OF 2008- 2009 This annual report covers the activities of IUCAA during its twenty-first year, April 2008 - March 2009. The endeavours of IUCAA span different fronts, as outlined in the pages of this Report. Here is a quick summary and highlights. IUCAA has an academic strength of 17 core faculty members (academic), 12 post-doctoral fellows and 28 research scholars. The core research programmes by these academics span a variety of areas in astronomy and astrophysics. These topics include quantum theory and gravity, classical gravity, gravitational waves, cosmology and structure formation, cosmic microwave background radiation, observational cosmology and extragalactic astronomy, active galaxies, quasars and IGM, magnetic fields in astrophysics, high energy astrophysics, stars and the interstellar medium, and instrumentation. These research activities are summarised in pages 20-60. The publications of the IUCAA members, numbering to about 55 in the current year are listed in pages 84-86. IUCAA members also take part in pedagogical activities like lectures, seminars, popularisation of science, etc., the details of which are given in pages 92 - 94 and 123-126 of this Report. The extended academic family of IUCAA consists of about 70 Visiting Associates, who have been active in several different fields of research. Pages 61-78 of this report highlights their research contributions. The resulting publications, numbering to about 99 are listed in pages 87-91 of this report. A total of about 1012 person-days were spent by Visiting Associates at IUCAA during this year. In addition, IUCAA was acting as host to about 545 visitors through the year. During the current year the Visiting Associates were drawn from 66 universities and colleges from all over India. The visitors to IUCAA came from over 130 institutions, universities and colleges which indicates the extent of participation of the university sector in IUCAA's activities. IUCAA conducts its graduate school jointly with the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune. Among the research scholars, three students have successfully defended their theses and obtained Ph.D. degree from the University of Pune during the year 2008 -2009. Summary of their theses appears in pages 79- 83. Apart from these activities, IUCAA conducts several workshops, schools, and conferences each year, both at IUCAA and at different university/college campuses. During this year, there were 13 such events in IUCAA and 2 were held at other universities/colleges under IUCAA sponsorship. Another main component of IUCAA’s activities is its programme for Science Popularisation. On the National Science Day, several special events were organised. There were posters displayed by the academic members of IUCAA, which elaborated on the research work at IUCAA and topics in the field of astronomy. There were public lectures given by the faculty members and programmes for school students consisting of quiz, essay and drawing competitions. During the Open Day, more than 5000 people visited IUCAA. These activities were ably supported by the scientific and technical, and administrative staff (25 and 31 in number respectively) who should get the lion’s share of the credit for the successful running of the programmes of the centre. The scientific staff also looks after the major facilities like library, computer centre, IUCAA Girawali observatory and instrumentation lab. A brief update on these facilities is given on pages 127-135 of this Report. Swara Ravindranath Editor CONTENTS The Council and the Governing Board ....................................................................................................................... 1 The Council The Governing Board Honorary Fellows and Visiting Professors ............................................................................................................... 3 Statutory Committees ................................................................................................................................................ 3 The Scientific Advisory Committee The Users' Committee The Academic Programmes Committee The Standing Committee for Administration The Finance Committee Members of IUCAA .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Visiting Associates of IUCAA................................................................................................................................... 8 Organizational Structure of IUCAA's Academic Programmes ............................................................................ 13 The Director's Report .............................................................................................................................................. 14 Congratulations ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 Welcome and Farewell ............................................................................................................................................. 17 Calendar of Events ................................................................................................................................................... 19 Academic Programmes ............................................................................................................................................ 20 (I) Research by Resident Members ................................................................................................................ 20 Quantum Theory and Gravity Gravitational Waves Cosmology and Structure Formation Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Observational Cosmology and Extragalactic Astronomy Active Galactic Nuclei, Quasars and Intergalactic Medium Magnetic Fields in Astrophysics High Energy Astrophysics Stars and Interstellar Medium Instrumentation Astrobiology (II) Research by Visiting Associates .............................................................................................................. 61 (III) IUCAA-NCRA Graduate School ............................................................................................................... 79 (IV) Publications .............................................................................................................................................. 84 (V) Pedagogical Activities.............................................................................................................................. 92 (VI) Seminars, Colloquia, etc. ......................................................................................................................... 95 (VII) Talks at IUCAA Workshops or at Other Institutions ................................................................................ 97 (VIII) Scientific Meetings and Other Events .................................................................................................... 104 Public Outreach Programmes ............................................................................................................................... 116 Facilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 127 (I) Computer Centre (II) Library and Publications (III) Instrumentation Laboratory (IV) IUCAA Girawali Observatory (V) Virtual Observatory India - The Next Generation (VI) IUCAA - NCRA Radio-Physics Laboratory Facility IUCAA Reference Centres (IRCs) ....................................................................................................................... 136 The Twentieth IUCAA Foundation Day Lecture ............................................................................................. 140 The Council G. Madhavan Nair, and the Governing Board Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization, Bangalore. The Council Rajaram Nityananda, (As on March 31, 2009) Centre Director, National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, President Pune. T. Ramasami, Sukhadeo Thorat, Secretary, Chairperson, Department of Science and Technology, University Grants Commission, New Delhi. New Delhi. Amitava Raychaudhuri, Vice-President Director, Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Ved Prakash, Allahabad. Vice-Chairperson, University Grants Commission, R.C. Sobti, New Delhi. Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University, Members Chandigarh. Anil Kakodkar, Ajay K. Sood, (Chairperson, Governing Board), Indian Institute of Science, Chairman, Department of Atomic Energy, Bangalore. Mumbai. The following members have served on the Samir K. Brahmachari, Council for part of the year Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Amarjyoti Choudhury, New Delhi. Vice-Chancellor, Gauhati University, Sanjeev Dhurandhar, Guwahati. IUCAA, Pune. Jishnu Dey, S.S. Hasan, Presidency College, Director, Kolkata. Indian