- Professor Pankaj Khanna’s primary research focusses on the processes and mechanisms of sea-level fluctuations of the recent past utilizing coral reefs
- Rusa Mandal’s primary research interests are in high-energy particle phenomenology. Particle physics aims to identify matter’s microscopic constituents and their fundamental interactions
- Their dedication and innovation continue to inspire and advance the frontiers of knowledge
NE EDUCATION BUREAU
GANDHINAGAR, JULY 29
The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar announced that Professor Pankaj Khanna and Professor Rusa Mandal from IIT Gandhinagar have been honored with the prestigious selection as associates of the Indian Academy of Science in Earth Science and Physics.
Professor Pankaj Khanna’s primary research focusses on the processes and mechanisms of sea-level fluctuations of the recent past utilizing coral reefs. He is currently working on Lakshadweep Archipelago and Andaman and Nicobar islands to understand how these islands will respond to the ongoing climate warming. Further, he and his collaborators from KAUST have recently discovered first modern stromatolites in the Red Sea, which are critical for understanding signs of early life on extraterrestrial planets. He has also discovered decadal to century-scale punctuated sea-level rise events during the last deglaciation (preserved over drowned reefs offshore GoM), crucial for modelling future sea-level rise. Recently, representing India on IODP 389, he sailed offshore for 64 days in Aug-October 2023, drilling coral reefs offshore Hawaii that will provide insights into sea-level fluctuations, paleoclimate, and seasonality.
Integrating field and laboratory investigations, Professor Khanna has conducted fieldwork on three continents and in over ten countries, with research spanning on broader themes, 1) carbonate sedimentology, 2) carbon storage in basalts (Maharashtra), and 3) geothermal energy (Ladakh). He has also been providing training on drone data acquisition, processing and their applications in geosciences, environment, and forestry.
“It is a privilege to be selected as an Associate of the Indian Academy of Science. I thank all my mentors and current lab members, without whom this would not have been possible. I would also like to thank IIT Gandhinagar, especially Prof. Vikrant, for providing an excellent research environment that has greatly facilitated my work,” said Prof. Pankaj Khanna, Assistant Professor, Earth Science, IIT Gandhinagar.
Prof. Rusa Mandal’s primary research interests are in high-energy particle phenomenology. Particle physics aims to identify matter’s microscopic constituents and their fundamental interactions. Global experimental and theoretical efforts have explored nature at the smallest scales for decades, culminating in the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. Despite its success, the SM is not a universal theory due to several unresolved observations.
Prof. Rusa Mandal’s research focuses on understanding strong interactions among hadrons by accurately estimating parameters involved in their decay processes. These theoretical predictions are compared with experimental data from ongoing collider experiments at LHC (CERN, Geneva) and Belle II (KEK, Tsukuba). Accurate estimates of these parameters are crucial for confirming or falsifying the existence of new particles or interactions.
One of the universe’s major mysteries is Dark Matter. Prof. Rusa Mandal’s research also addresses the limitations of the SM, such as Dark Matter and its nature, through minimal theories.
“I am honored to be part of the prestigious Indian Academy of Sciences community as an Associate and am very excited to contribute to the Academy’s various activities and initiatives. Throughout my academic journey, I am sincerely grateful to all my mentors and research collaborators with whom I had an opportunity to work. I am especially thankful to IIT Gandhinagar for providing an exceptional working environment and research support, which has been instrumental in enabling me to pursue an independent research career,” said Prof. Rusa Mandal. Assistant professor, Physics, IIT Gandhinagar.
IITGN congratulates Professor Pankaj Khanna and Professor Rusa Mandal for their remarkable scientific achievements and contributions. From IIT Gandhinagar the following members have been selected thus far.
- Prof. Dhiraj Bhatia
- Prof. Neeldhara Misra
- Prof. Vineet Vashista
- Prof. Atul Dixit
- Prof. Rusa Mandal
- Prof. Pankaj Khanna
Their dedication and innovation continue to inspire and advance the frontiers of knowledge.
