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About me:​​
I was born in a small town Malda, West Bengal, India. This town is on the way to Darjeeling from Kolkata. Since childhood, going to the hills of the Himalayas, the Bay of Bengal, or the jungles of Sundarban were our frequent and favorite destinations. This might have a role in my love for travel. I am the single son of my parents. My father worked as Head Clerk in the District Magistrate's office, which is under the State Govt of West Bengal. My mother is working in a Women and Child Welfare scheme under the Central Govt (of India). I have been attracted to astronomy and space for a long time. I was in high school when I got interested and decided that I would pursue my career in astronomy. And my love for astronomy has increased ever since. Apart from research, in my free time, I love to read books, make paintings, do recitations, watch movies, and so on.
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Academic Positions Held:​​
  • NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow (January 2024 – Current)
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
     
  • Research Astrophysicist (April 2021 – January 2024)
    Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy (MIRA), Marina, California, USA
     
  • Postdoctoral Fellow (July 2018 – July 2020)
Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India
[Fellowship funded by Department of Space, Govt. of India]
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Academic Qualifications:
  • Ph. D. (Physics - Astronomy & Astrophysics - 2019): 
Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observat
ional Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, Uttarakhand, India
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  • M.Sc. (Physics - 2011, 1st Class 1st -- Gold Medalist): 
    Assam University, Silchar (A Central University), Assam, India 
    [Specialization: Astrophysics]
     
  • B.Sc. (Physics - 2009):
    Ram Krishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Raharah, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
    (under University of Calcutta)
     
  • Higher Secondary Education (Science - 2006):
    Akrurmoni Coronation Institution, Malda, West  Bengal, India
     
  • Secondary Education (Science, Arts, Languages - 2004)
    Malda Zilla School, Malda, West Bengal, India
     
  • Primary Education (Science, Arts, Languages - 1998)
    Khelaghar, Malda, West Bengal, India
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Academic Awards & Fellowships:
  • Gold Medal in Physics (M. Sc.) 
April 2012
Became the 1st Class 1st in Physics, Assam University, Silchar. The Gold Medal & the Merit certificate were awarded by the Governor of Assam, India.
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  • Junior Research Fellowship
     July 2011
    Qualified for the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) examination 2011 and the Interview
    at ARIES. Awarded a fellowship by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.
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  • Senior Research Fellowship
     July 2013
    Qualified the Review Examination at Aryabhatta Research Institute of observational
    sciencES (ARIES), Nainital, India. Awarded a fellowship by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.
     
  • Research Associate Fellowship
     July 2017
    Qualified the Interview at Aryabhatta Research Institute of observational sciencES
    (ARIES), Nainital, India. Awarded a fellowship by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.
     
  • Post-Doctoral Fellowship 
    July 2018
    Qualified for the interview at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India. Awarded a fellowship by the Department of Space (DOS), Govt. of India

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  • Post-Doctoral Fellowship 
April 2021
Fellowship was awarded by the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy, California, USA.
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Skills & Professional Experiences:

X-ray & UV observations:

I have observed active ultra-fast rotators as the Principal Investigator in X-ray, UV, and optical bands from the AstroSat satellite. Recently four proposals as Principal Investigator (PI) from AstroSat Satellites have been accepted in the Announcement of Opportunity Cycles AO-02, AO-04, and AO-07, and the observations have been carried out recently. 

 

Optical observations:

Photometric, spectroscopic, and polarimetric observations of ~125 nights have been performed using 3.6-m ARIES Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), 1.3-m ARIES Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT), 1.2-m Mount Abu Infra-Red Observatory (MIRO), 1.04-m ARIES Sampurnand Telescope (ST), and 0.9-m MIRA Oliver Observing station (OOS).

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Scientific Data Handling:

I can efficiently handle X-ray, UV, & optical data from space-based observatories including XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, AstroSat, NICER, MAXI, ROSAT, Suzaku, Kepler, Hipparcos, and other satellites. I also have good expertise in handling optical and IR data, with the experience of dealing with photometric, spectroscopic, and polarimetric data from several ground-based observatories viz. Sampurnanand Telescope, Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope, IUCAA Girawali Observatory Telescope, Goddard Robotic Telescopes, Ege University Observatory Telescopes, Himalayan Chandra Telescope, Very Large Telescope/NACO, Oliver Observing station, ASAS, SuperWASP, etc.


Scientific Packages & tools:

I do programming mostly on Python. Besides this I use different programming languages  such as IDL, Unix Shell, Fortran, tcl/tk, IRAF, C++, R, etc.

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For X-ray data reduction and analysis I use HEASOFT, FTOOLS, CIAO (for Chandra), SAS (for XMM-Newton) softwares. For optical and IR data reduction I use SCISOFT, IRAF, DAOPHOT, Anaconda packages. For plotting I use Python, Gnuplot, SM, and pgplot. Besides I use other softwares like LaTeX, Windows Office, Open Office, etc.
 

I have made automatic flare detection algorithms and python code from Kepler data. I also made codes for automatic reduction and analysis of a large amount of X-ray data. 

 

Operating systems:

Unix/Linux, Windows, Mac​

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