Academic Activities

Academic Activities

 

The Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, is actively engaged in a range of academic initiatives that foster excellence in research and training. These activities are aimed at supporting research scholars, Ph.D. students, and short-term project interns in advancing their academic and professional development.

  • Ph.D. Student Program

    ARIES conducts annual selections for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) program through a rigorous interview process, typically held between May and June. Applications are invited from candidates with an M.Sc. in Physics, Astrophysics, or Environmental Sciences, who have qualified for national-level examinations such as JEST, NET, or GATE. Additionally, candidates with an INSPIRE fellowship and meeting other eligibility criteria are considered. Selected candidates are enrolled as JRFs and undertake a one-year pre-Ph.D. coursework program. Upon successful completion, they commence doctoral research under the mentorship of ARIES scientists. After two years, a comprehensive academic review is conducted to assess their progress, and eligible students are promoted to Senior Research Fellow (SRF) status. The Ph.D. program at ARIES is designed to be completed within five years. ARIES is one of the 33 participating institutions in the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST), a national-level examination recognized by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB). JEST serves as an eligibility test for Ph.D. and Integrated Ph.D. programs in Physics, Theoretical Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Computational Biology. As a participating institution, ARIES is actively involved in organizing and coordinating the JEST examination when designated as a host. Exam centers are mutually agreed upon between ARIES and the coordinating institute. Candidates with top JEST rankings are invited to interview for the Ph.D. program at ARIES.

  • Integrated M.Tech.-Ph.D. (Tech.) Programme in Astronomical Instrumentation

    ARIES, in collaboration with the Department of Applied Optics and Photonics, University of Calcutta (CU), offers an Integrated M.Tech.-Ph.D. (Tech.) program in Astronomical Instrumentation. The degree is awarded by the University of Calcutta. The M.Tech. coursework spans two years, divided into four semesters. Upon successful completion, students may opt to register for the Ph.D. (Tech.) program, subject to meeting minimum academic requirements and selection criteria. Eligible applicants include: candidates with a three-year B.Tech. degree (Post-B.Sc. Hons) in Optics and Optoelectronics or Radio Physics and Electronics from CU, candidates with a B.Tech./B.E. degree in Electrical, Instrumentation, Electronics and Communications, Computer Science, or Mechanical Engineering from any AICTE-recognized institution and applicants with an M.Sc. in Physics, Electronic Science, Applied Mathematics, or Applied Physics from a UGC-recognized institution.

  • Visiting Student Programme of ARIES (VSPA)

    The Visiting Student Programme of ARIES (VSPA) is designed to promote scientific and engineering research among undergraduate and postgraduate students from various institutions. Selected students work on defined research or instrumentation projects under the guidance of ARIES scientists and engineers. The program runs throughout the academic year, offering short- and long-term training opportunities for Bachelor’s and Master’s level students. ARIES provides local hospitality for all selected students. Additionally, ARIES hosts: a summer internship program for students selected by the Indian Academy of Sciences (IASc), offering a stipend of ₹25,000 for 8 weeks, and Short-term projects under the NIUS (National Initiative on Undergraduate Science) program, where undergraduate students visit ARIES to work closely with faculty members.

  • Post-Doctoral Fellows and Research Associates

    ARIES welcomes applications year-round for positions including Post-Doctoral Fellows (PDF), Research Associates (RA), and Senior Project Associates (SPA). PDF applications are reviewed three times a year (January, May, and September) by the Post-Doctoral Committee, along with invited experts from reputed research institutions. Selected candidates are involved in both independent and collaborative research, as well as developmental activities, under the mentorship of ARIES scientists.

  • ARIES Training School in Observational Astronomy and Atmospheric sciences (ATSOAA)

    Each summer, ARIES organizes the ARIES Training School in Observational Astronomy and Atmospheric sciences (ATSOAA) to introduce students to the fundamentals of observational techniques in astronomy and atmospheric sciences. The program includes lectures on topics such as: Telescopes and Instrumentation, Star Formation and Evolution, Galactic and Extragalactic Astronomy, and various topics of atmospheric sciences. It is intended primarily for students in the first or second year of M.Sc. (Physics/Astrophysics), fourth or fifth year of Integrated M.S. (Physics), and fourth year of B.Tech. (Engineering Physics). Typically, 30–40 students from institutions across India are selected. The school includes: interactive sessions with ARIES faculty, Ph.D. students, and Post-Doctoral Fellows, hands-on training in astronomical data analysis, and a visit to ARIES observational facilities, including a one-day trip to the Devasthal Observatory, home to one of India’s largest optical telescopes.

The table below shows year-wise statistics of students intake under various programmes since 2004.

Year Ph.D. Int. M.Tech-Ph.D. Total Students Ph.D. Awarded
2004-05 13 - 13 02
2005-06 13 - 13 04
2006-07 16 - 16 02
2007-08 17 - 17 03
2008-09 23 - 23 03
2009-10 30 - 30 02
2010-11 30 - 30 02
2011-12 31 - 31 06
2012-13 24 - 24 04
2013-14 24 - 24 06
2014-15 27 - 27 04
2015-16 35 - 35 05
2016-17 34 - 34 04
2017-18 40 - 40 04
2018-19 45 - 45 02
2019-20 45 - 45 06
2020-21 55 - 55 02
2021-22 63 02 65 06
2022-23 66 04 70 08
2023-24 63 06 54 17
2024-25 55 08 34 06

 

S.No. Name Area of Interest
1. Naja, Manish Kumar Air quality and climate change, Regional air-pollution and intercontinental transport, Wind profiling using radars, Tropospheric studies from satellite data, Ground based and balloon-borne observations of trace gases, aerosols, and meteorological parameters in the lower atmosphere, Regional and box modeling.
2. Kumar, Brijesh Studies of highly energetic cosmic explosions; Formation and evolution of stars and galaxies; Development of optical/infra-red/NIR instrumentation; Operation of Optical-NIR observational facilities
3. Chattopadhyay, Indranil Investigate the fundamental processes that dominate in and around accreting objects like black holes and neutron stars. Accretion-jet systems, jet acceleration, production of thermal and non-thermal radiation, and developing mathematical-fluid codes to study magnetised and non-magnetised fluid.
4. Gupta, Alok Chandra Multi-wavelength flux, polarization and spectral variability of blazars on diverse timescales; quasi periodic oscillations in blazars and narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies
5. Yadav, Ramakant Singh Open and globular star clusters, kinematic study of globular clusters, studying the motion of stars and hot stellar populations within them
6. Pandey, Shashi Bhushan (on deputation to SERB) Time domain astronomy and energetic transients, supernovae, Gamma-ray bursts, stellar evolution, optical instrumentation
7. Pandey, Jeewan Chandra multiwavelength studies of cataclysmic variables, exploring the winds emanating from massive stars, investigating the magnetic activities of chemically peculiar stars, and dynamics in the extended atmosphere of irregular stars, polarization of cosmic sources, and their instabilities.
8. Snehlata Star clusters and stellar evolution, variability of stars within clusters, study of eclipsing binary systems within star cluster environments
9. Singh, Narendra Mountain Meteorology, Lower Atmospheric Dynamics, Micrometeorology, Vertical profiling of Aerosols Using Lidar, Radar Meteorology, Air Pollution and Climate Change
10. Joshi, Yogesh Chandra Photometric Studies of Open Star Clusters, Study of Variable stars, Follow-up study of Extrasolar Planets, Understanding the Galactic archaeology, Star formation in Local group of galaxies
11. Joshi, Santosh Investigation of Photometric Variability in Chemically Peculiar Stars, High-Resolution Spectroscopy and Spectro-Polarimetry of Pulsating Am stars, Variable stars in Open clusters, Spectroscopic Investigation of Binary Stars, Intra-night Variability of Blazars, Instrumentation
12. Saurabh Star formation and low-mass star/stellar evolution, deep multi-epoch multi-wavelength imaging / spectroscopic polarimetric studies of star-forming regions / young pre-main sequence stars
13. Dumka, Umesh Chandra Observations and model simulations of aerosols and air pollutants, radiative forcing estimations, cloud-aerosol interactions, secondary formation of aerosols, source apportionments, health impacts of aerosols and climate/air quality assessment
14. Misra, Kuntal Time-domain astronomy, high energy astrophysical transients, sky surveys with optical telescopes, transient detection in big data and classification using machine learning, artificial intelligence
15. Panwar, Neelam Star formation in young star clusters, bright-rimmed clouds (BRCs), and HII regions; Stellar and substellar mass objects in nearby star clusters; Protoplanetary disk evolution in young low-mass stars and Variability in T- Tauri star
16. Rakshit, Suvendu Active galaxies, accretion around the supermassive black holes, co-evolution of galaxies and their black holes, and extremely variable astrophysical sources
17. Pant, Vaibhav Observations and numerical simulations of transient phenomena such as MHD waves and solar storms happening in the solar atmosphere, advanced machine learning models to detect features in the solar atmosphere at diverse spatiotemporal scales
18. Prasad, S. Krishna Observations and numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in the solar atmosphere, the seismological applications of these waves
19. Joshi, Jagdish Chandra Gamma-Ray Astrophysics and Identification of Point Sources of Cosmic Rays, Multi-wavelength and Multi-messenger modelling. Non-thermal and Thermal Emission from Transients: Gamma-Ray Bursts
20. Yadav, Virendra Inospheric dynamics and ionospheric irregularities at equatorial and low latitudes using Multi-GNSS; Science Outreach with greater focus on Astronomy and Education
21. Priyanka Srivastava Air pollution and its effects on climate change and atmospheric dynamics. Characterizing aerosols and trace gases, including greenhouse gases. Aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions. Vertical profiles of air pollutants. Top-down emissions estimation. Regional, climate, box modeling
22. Govind Nand Kumar Galactic archaeology - Chemo dynamic characterization of stellar populations belonging to different Milky Way components. High and low-resolution near-infrared spectroscopic analysis of cool young stars. Cosmic origin of elements - Understanding the progenitors of various elements in the universe.

Year-wise publications are listed below. The publication includes the total and refereed publications in separate columns.

Year No. of Faculty Publications Publications/Faculty/Year
Total Refereed Total Refereed
2004-05 16 31 21 1.93 1.31
2005-06 16 63 25 3.93 1.56
2006-07 16 34 30 2.12 1.87
2007-08 26 55 22 2.11 0.84
2008-09 26 52 44 2.00 1.69
2009-10 25 40 33 1.60 1.32
2010-11 27 52 41 1.92 1.52
2011-12 27 81 75 3.00 2.78
2012-13 27 64 50 2.37 1.85
2013-14 25 73 62 2.92 2.48
2014-15 22 66 56 3.00 2.55
2015-16 22 61 46 2.77 2.09
2016-17 22 78 67 3.55 3.05
2017-18 21 65 61 3.10 2.90
2018-19 20 135 55 4.65 2.75
2019-20 20 114 92 5.70 4.60
2020-21 24 95 93 3.96 3.88
2021-22 23 134 129 5.80 5.38
2022-23 23 127 125 5.52 5.43
2023-24 21 131 130 6.24 6.19

The details of PhD theses awarded are given below.

S.No. Name Year of PhD Supervisor Title of Thesis
1. Yogesh C. Joshi 2004 A. K. Pandey Search for microlensing events using the pixel method.
2. Brijesh Kumar 2004 B. B. Sanwal Spectrophotometric studies of young star clusters.
3. Santosh Joshi 2005 R. Sagar Studies of chemically peculiar stars.
4. K. Upadhyay 2005 A. K. Pandey Studies in star clusters.
5. S. B. Pandey 2005 R. Sagar Optical studies of GRB related events.
6. J. C. Pandey 2006 R. Sagar Optical studies of X-ray peculiar chromospherically active stars.
7. Snehalata 2006 R. Sagar Photometric studies of galactic open star clusters.
8. R. Chandra 2006 W. Uddin Study of the solar flares and associated phenomena.
9. T. S. Sandhu 2007 A. K. Pandey Star clusters: A comparison of theoretical simulations with observations.
10. B. Joshi 2007 P. Pant Investigations of solar flares associated activities from near-sun to interplanetary medium.
11. S. S. Ali 2007 W. Uddin Study of the eruptive solar events: Flares, eruptive prominences and associated CMEs.
12. Kunal Mistra 2008 R. Sagar Multi-Wavelength Studies of Energetic Cosmic Explosions.
13. U. C. Dumka 2008 R. Sagar Characteristics of aerosol spectral optical depths over Nainital – A high-altitude station in the Shivalik ranges of central Himalayas.
14. Saurabh 2008 A. K. Pandey Studies of young and intermediate age open star clusters.
15. S. K. Tiwari 2009 U. S. Chaubey Studies of pulsations in chemically peculiar stars.
16. R. Kaur 2009 R. Sagar Multi-wavelength studies of X-ray binary systems.
17. A. Goyal 2010 R. Sagar Inter-night optical variability and the JET dominance in active galactic nuclei.
18. A. Guharay 2010 P. Pant Investigation of mesospheric variability with the help of airglow emissions.
19. P. Kumar 2011 W. Uddin Multiwavelength study of solar eruptive phenomena (Space-weather events) and their interplanetary response.
20. M. R. Samal 2011 A. K. Pandey Multi-wavelength studies of galactic HII regions.
21. Neelam 2011 A. K. Pandey Star formation in bright-rimmed clouds and small clusters associated with H II Regions.
22. H. Joshi 2011 R. Sagar Multi-wavelength study of young open clusters.
23. J. Jose 2011 A. K. Pandey Initial mass function and star formation in young star clusters.
24. N. S. Bankoti 2011 W. Uddin Study of solar activity and solar terrestrial-links.
25. N. C. Joshi 2012 W. Uddin Study of solar flares, prominences and CMEs.
26. C. P. Pandey 2012 B. B. Sanwal Search and study of pulsating variable stars.
27. Rajesh Kumar 2012 M. Claussen; Oberhempberg & M. Naja Weather research and forecasting model with chemistry (WRF-CHEM) over South Asia.
28. Tarun Bangia 2012 R. Sagar Design and development of Monostatic Pulsed Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) for Atmospheric studies of Central Himalayas.
29. M. Chrisphin Karthick 2013 B. B. Sanwal Study on star forming regions in Wolf Rayet galaxies.
30. Sumana Nandi 2013 M. Singh Large radio sources and episodic nuclear activity.
31. Rupak Roy 2013 B. Kumar Investigation of energetic cosmic explosions and their after effects.
32. Haritma Gaur 2013 A. C. Gupta X-ray and optical studies of blazars.
33. C. Eswaraiah 2013 A. K. Pandey Multiwavelength studies of galactic star forming regions.
34. N. Ojha 2014 M. K. Naja Study of ozone and other trace gases distribution in the lower atmosphere.
35. Akash Priya 2014 M. Singh Large Radio Sources and their environment.
36. Tapaswini Sarangi 2014 M. K. Naja Variabilities in surface ozone and precursors at Nainital.
37. Brajesh Kumar 2014 S. B. Pandey Study of supernovae and massive stars and prospects with the 4m International Liquid Mirror Telescope.
38. Devesh P. Sariya 2015 R. K. S. Yadav Astrometric and photometric studies of star clusters.
39. Ravi Joshi 2015 H. Chand Probing central engine and environments of active galactic nuclei.
40. Ram Kesh Yadav 2015 A. K. Pandey Multiwavelength studies of star forming regions.
41. P. K. Kashyap 2015 A. K. Srivastava Study of transients and waves in the solar atmosphere.
42. Archana Soam 2015 M. Gopinathan Investigation of star forming regions and young stellar objects.
43 Rajiv Kumar 2016 I. Chattopadhyay Theoretical and numerical investigations of accretion-ejection mechanisms around compact objects.
44 Hema Joshi 2016 M. K. Naja Study of aerosols characteristics over Central Himalayas.
45 Subhash Bose 2016 B. Kumar Multiwavelength investigation of core-collapse supernovae.
46 Krishna Kumar Shukla 2016 D. V. Phanikumar A study of dynamical aspects of aerosols over the central Himalayan region.
47 Jai Bhagwan 2017 A. C. Gupta Multi-wavelength studies of active galactic nuclei.
48 Aditi Agarwal 2017 A. C. Gupta Multi-wavelength studies of Blazars.
49 Raman Solanki 2017 N. Singh Study of aerosol distribution and associated meteorology over the Central Himalayas.
50 Sumit Kumar Jaiswal 2017 A. Omar Studies of nearby star forming galaxies.
51 Nibedita Kalita 2017 A. C. Gupta Multi-band studies of blazars with XMM-Newton.
52 Piyush Bhardwaj 2018 M. K. Naja Study of the tropospheric trace gases over the Indian subcontinent.
53 Neha Sharma 2018 M. Gopinathan Study of galactic star forming regions and related instrumentation.
54 Subhajeet Karmakar 2018 J. C. Pandey Evolution of magnetic activities in late-type stars.
55 Abhishek Paswan 2019 A. Omar Spectro-photometric studies of star-forming galaxies.
56 Arti Joshi 2019 J. C. Pandey Multi-wavelength study of magnetic cataclysmic variables.
57 Mukesh Kumar Vyas 2019 I. Chattopadhyay Astrophysical jets in relativistic regime: thermal and radiative driving.
58 Mridweeka Singh 2019 K. Misra Optical studies of hydrogen deficient supernovae.
59 Ashwani Pandey 2019 A. C. Gupta Multiwavelength studies of TeV Blazars.
60 Ashish Kumar 2019 N. Singh Atmospheric studies using remote sensing techniques and in-situ measurements over the Himalayan region.
61 Parveen Kumar 2021 H. Chand Probing the nature of radio-quiet weak emission line quasars.
62 Aabha Monga 2021 W. Uddin Triggering and energy release mechanism in the solar eruptions.
63 Vineet Ojha 2021 H. Chand Multi-wavelength study of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies.
64 Anjasha Gangopadhya 2021 K. Misra Observational study of core-collapse supernovae with diminishing hydrogen envelope.
65 Sapna Mishra 2021 H. Chand Probing environment of AGNs based on their feedback processes.
66 Raya Dastidar 2021 B. Kumar The study of core-collapse supernovae and their progenitors.
67 Kuldeep Singh 2021 I. Chattopadhyay The study of astrophysical magnetofluids.
68 Priyanka Jalan 2022 H. Chand Probing the physical state of the intergalactic medium and quasar environments.
69 Shilpa Sarkar 2022 I. Chattopadhyay Two-temperature solution and spectral analysis of flows around compact objects.
70 Bharti Arora 2022 J. C. Pandey Study of the Massive O- and WR-stars and their Associated Winds.
71 Ritesh Patel 2022 D. Banerjee Characterizing solar eruptions in the inner corona using ground and space-based data.
72 Bibhuti Kumar Jha 2022 D. Banerjee Long-term study of the Sun and its implications to Solar Dynamo.
73 Priyanka Srivastava 2022 M. K. Naja Study on carbonaceous aerosols over the Central Himalayas.
74 Geeta Rangwal 2022 R. K. S. Yadav Study of spatial structure and extinction of galactic star clusters.
75 Rahul Gupta 2023 B. S. B. Pandey Multiwavelength observations of gamma ray bursts.
76 Gaurav Singh 2023 R. K. S. Yadav Multi-wavelength study of the hot stellar population in galactic globular clusters.
77 Jayanand Maurya 2023 Y. C. Joshi Photometric, kinematic, and variability study in the galactic open clusters.
78 Krishan Chand 2023 A. Omar Transitions and persistence of blazar state in beamed radio quasars.
79 Vinit Dhiman 2023 A. C. Gupta Optical and X-ray Studies of TeV Blazars.
80 Amar Aryan 2023 S. B. Pandey Unveiling diverse nature of core collapse supernovae.
81 Rakesh Pandey 2023 Saurabh Star formation in Young Star Clusters and H II regions.
82 Sadhana Singh 2023 J. C. Pandey Dust properties towards galactic anticentre direction.
83 Tirthendu Sinha 2023 Saurabh Multiwavelength study of variable stars and star formation in open star.
84 Arpan Ghosh 2023 Saurabh Multiwavelength spectro–photometric monitoring of episodically accreting young low-mass stars.
85 Ankur Ghosh 2023 A. Omar Study of GRBs-on Aspects of Multi-Wavelength Emission, Environment and Host Galaxies.
86 Prajwal Singh Rawat 2023 M. K. Naja Variabilities in Trace Gases and Meteorological Parameters over the Himalaya and Associated Regions.
87 Jaydeep Singh 2024 N. Singh Observation and Modelling Studies on Meteorology Over Central Himalaya.
88 Vivek Kumar Jha 2024 H. Chand Investigating the Nature and Structure of Broad Line Regions in Active Galactic Nuclei.
89 Raj Kishor Joshi 2024 I. Chattopadhyay Numerical Simulations of Fluid Flows Around Compact Objects.
90 Dimple 2024 K. Misra Multi-wavelength Studies of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and Associated Counterparts.
91 Aditya Jaiswal 2024 M. K. Naja Investigation of Dynamical Aspects of the Atmosphere Over Central Himalayas Using ST Radar and other Observations.
92 Vibhore Negi 2024 H. Chand Extragalactic Astrophysics Using 4m International Liquid Mirror Telescope.
93 Nikita Rawat 2024 J. C. Pandey Accretion Flows in Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables.
94 Mahendar Chand Rajwar 2024 M. K. Naja Studies of Non-Methane Hydrocarbons (NMHCs) in Ambient Air over the Central Himalayan and Associated Regions.
95 Tushar Tripathi 2024 A. C. Gupta Multi-Band optical variability of Peculiar Blazars: BL Lacertae and S5 0716+714.
96 Shubham Kishore 2024 A. C. Gupta Optical studies of blazars with TESS satellite.
97 Alexander Panchal 2024 Y. C. Joshi Photometric and Spectroscopic studies of low mass eclipsing binary and exoplanet candidates.