Dibyendu Nandi's Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information

Dibyendu Nandi
Department of Physics,
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59717, USA

Telephone: (406) 994 4470
Fax: (406) 994 4452
email: nandi at mithra dot physics dot montan dot edu
http://solar.physics.montana.edu/nandi

Employment

2002—2004: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Physics, Montana State University

2005—2007: Research Scientist, Department of Physics, Montana State University

2007—continuing, Assistant Research Professor, Montana State University

Education

B.S. (Physics), St. Xavier's College, Calcutta University, 1995

M.S. (Physics), Indian Institute of Science, (Bangalore), 1998

Ph.D. (Thesis: Modeling the Solar Magnetic Cycle), Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore), 2003

Awards & Distinctions

·       “National Science Talent Search” (NSTS) Award Certificates (Government of India) for the years: 1989, 1990

·       Awarded a national scholarship under the “National Scholarship Scheme” (Government of India) – based on the B.S. exams, 1995

·       Awarded the “Brueckner Studentship” by the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society, 2000

·       Research work (see Paper 7 below) regarding the role of meridional flows (in the Sun's interior) in setting the period of the sunspot cycle featured in NASA press release (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2003/03-097.html); also reported in PhysLink, SpaceDaily, SpacefFlightNow, The Hindu, SpaceRef, ScienceDaily, The Deccan Herald amongst others, 2003

·       Awarded the “Martin Forster Medal” by the Council of the Indian Institute of Science for the best Ph.D. Thesis in the Division of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, 2004

  • Awarded the British Council’s “Researcher Exchange Programme Award”: 2007

Grants & Contracts Funding

“Stars as Suns: Unraveling Long-Term Solar Variability By Stellar Dynamo Modeling”, Agency: NASA, Amount: US$ 360,000, Role: Co-Investigator, 2005

“Magnetic Origins of Solar Irradiance Variations”, Agency: NASA, Amount: US$ 318,939, Role: Principal Investigator, 2007

Synergistic Activities & Services

  • Referee for the Astrophysical Journal, Astronomy & Astrophysics Journal, Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics and Astrophysics and Space Science Journal, 2003—continuing
  • Reviewer for proposals submitted to the NASA Heliophysics Division and the Atmospheric Sciences Division of the US National Science Foundation (NSF), 2004—continuing
  • NASA White Paper contribution titled “Long-Term Solar Variability and its Influence on Space and Global Climate and Evolution of Life on Earth: A Vision for Interdisciplinary Space Exploration” in response to vision input solicitations in support of  NASA’s “Vision for Space Exploration”, Co-contributors: Piet Martens, Loren Acton and John Priscu, 2004
  • Co-President of the special session on “Solar System Space Climate Derived From Proxies” in the American Geophysical Union Joint Assembly in Acapulco, Mexico, 2007
  • Judge of best student paper prize at the American Geophysical Union General Assembly in Acapulco, Mexico, 2007
  • Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee and member of the Scientific Organizing Committee of the CAWSES International Workshop on “Solar Variability, Earth’s Climate and the Space Environment”, to be hosted by Montana State University in Bozeman, 2008

Memberships

  • Solar Physics Division, American Astronomical Society
  • Division of Plasma Physics, American Physical Society
  • American Geophysical Union

Student Guidance

Undergraduate Students (Research Experience for Undergraduates Program):

  • Michael Hahn, 2003, 2004, Project: Solar Flares and Magnetic Fields—Observational Studies, Currently graduate student at Department of Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, USA
  • Andres Munoz, 2003, Project: Theoretical Dynamo Modeling of Stellar Activity, Currently graduate student at Department of Physics, Montana State University, USA
  • Stacy Gaard, 2004, Project: Magnetic Helicity and Solar Flaring Activity Observations, Currently graduate student at Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Arizona State University, USA
  • Jessica Windschitl, 2005, Project: Magnetic Helicity and Flux Tube Dynamics in the Solar Convection Zone, Currently graduate student at Department of Astronomy, Indiana University, USA
  • Sarah Lakatos, 2005, Project: Analysis of Stellar Chromospheric and Coronal Activity, Currently graduate student at the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, USA
  • Jenna Rettenmayer, 2005, Project: Statistical Analysis of Long-Term Trends in Solar Activity, Currently undergraduate student at Department of Physics, Montana State University, USA
  • Andy Koepke, 2006, Project: Analysis of Coronal Mass Ejection Kinematics, Currently undergraduate student at Department of Physics, West Virginia University, USA
  • Adam Calhoun, 2006, Project: Measuring Twist in Solar Active Region Magnetic Fields, Currently graduate student at Department of Computational Neurobiology, University of California at San Diego, USA
  • Sarah Joy, 2007, Project: Solar Influence on Global Climate, Currently undergraduate student at Department of Physics, University of Florida, USA
  • Chris Lowder, 2007, Project: Solar Vector Magnetic Field Inversion and Analysis, Currently undergraduate student at Department of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

 

Graduate (PhD) Student Thesis Research Supervision:

  • Andres Munoz, 2005-continuing, Project: Theoretical and Numerical Investigations of Solar and Stellar Magnetic Activity, Currently graduate student at Department of Physics, Montana State University, USA

 

Visiting Graduate Student Research Supervision:

  • Antonia Wilmot-Smith, 2004-2006, Project: Mathematical Models of Solar and Stellar Dynamos, Currently graduate student at School of Mathematics and Statistics, St. Andrews University, UK
  • Anthony Yeates, 2006-continuing, Project: Exploring the Physical Basis for Solar Cycle Forecasting through Dynamo Simulations, Currently graduate student at School of Mathematics and Statistics, St. Andrews University, UK

Teaching & Related Activities

  • NSF Chautauqua Short Courses for College Teachers, Montana State University, 2005

 

  • Carried out summer reading courses on Fluid Mechanics and Magnetohydrodynamics for Research Experience for Undergraduate students, Montana State University, 2004, 2005

 

  • Instructed at Space Camp for school and college students co-sponsored by NASA, NSF, Salish Kootenai College and Montana State University, Montana, USA, 2006

 

  • Tutorial lectures on Solar Physics for Research Experience for Undergraduate Students, Montana State University, 2006. 2007

 

  • Co-taught Astrophysical Magnetohydrodynamics (a 500 level course) at Department of Physics, Montana State University, Spring Semester, 2007

 

  • Invited tutorial lectures on Dynamo Processes in the NASA-International Heliophysical Year Asia Pacific School, to be held in Kodaikanal, India, December, 2007 

 

  • Doctoral Committee member of the following Montana State University graduate students: Andres Munoz, Maria Kazachenko and Anna Malanushenko

Meeting Presentations

“Magnetic Buoyancy and the Solar Dynamo”,  Poster, IAU Colloquium 179 on “Cyclical Evolution of Solar Magnetic Fields: Advances in Theory and Observation”, Kodaikanal, India, 13-16th December, 1999

“On the Propagation of CMEs through the Solar Wind”, Poster, SHINE 2000 Workshop, Lake Tahoe, USA, 14-17th June, 2000

“Incorporating Magnetic Buoyancy in Solar Dynamo Models: New Results, Problems -- and their Possible Solutions”, Poster, Annual SPD Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Lake Tahoe, USA, 19-22nd June, 2000

“Space Based Observations of the Sun: It’s Contribution to Our Understanding of Solar Internal Dynamics”, Talk, Tenth United Nations - European Space Agency Workshop on Basic Space Science, Reduit, Mauritius, 25-29th June, 2001

“Towards a Mean Field Formulation of the Babcock Leighton Solar Dynamo”, Talk, IAGA - IASPEI Joint Scientific Assembly, Hanoi, Vietnam, 19-31st August, 2001

“On the Absence of Sunspots at High Solar Latitudes and Associated Constraints on the Meridional Flow in the Solar Interior”, Talk, Annual SPD Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Albuquerque, USA, 2-6th June, 2002

“Insights on Turbulent Flows in the Solar Interior from the Behaviour of Dynamo Generated Magnetic Fields”, Talk, NATO Advanced Research Workshop on “Turbulence, Waves, and Instabilities in the Solar Plasma”, Budapest, Hungary, 16-20th September, 2002

“Re-viewing Magnetic Field Generation in the Sun in the Light of Helioseismology”, Talk, SOHO 12 / GONG+ 2002 Meeting on “Local and Global Helioseismology: The Present and Future”, Big Bear Lake, USA, 27th October-1st November, 2002

“Delving Deeper into the Solar Dynamo Mechanism: Alpha Effect, Parity Selection and Large Scale Flows”, Poster, Solar Physics Division Meeting, John Hopkins University (Laurel), USA, 16-20th June, 2003

“Full Sphere Axisymmetric Simulations of the Solar Dynamo: Exploring the Parity Issue”, Poster, IAU Symposium 223 on “Multi-Wavelength Investigations of Solar Activity”, St. Petersburg, Russia, 14-19th June, 2004

“Detection of a Taylor-like Plasma Relaxation Process in the Sun”, Poster, IAU Symposium 223 on “Multi-Wavelength Investigations of Solar Activity”, St. Petersburg, Russia, 14-19th June, 2004

“Exploring Magnetic Activity from the Sun to the Stars”, Talk, “First International Symposium on Space Climate: Direct and Indirect Observations of Long-Term Solar Activity”, Oulu, Finland, 20-23rd June, 2004

“Meridional Circulation and the Solar Magnetic Cycle”, Invited Talk, SOHO 14 / GONG 2004 Meeting on “Helio- and Asteroseismology: Towards a Golden Future”. Yale University (New Haven), USA, 12-16th July, 2004

“The Relationship between Active Region Twist and Solar Flaring Activity”, Poster, American Geophysical Union Joint Assembly, New Orleans, USA, 23-27th May, 2005

“Magnetic Helicity and Flux Tube Dynamics in the Solar Convection Zone”, Talk, Magnetic Flux Tubes Mini-Conference in the Division of Plasma Physics Meeting of the American Physical Society, Denver, USA, 24th-28th October, 2005

“Unravelling Long-Term Solar variability and its Impacts on Space Climate: The Stars as Suns Project”, Invited Talk, NASA International Living With a Star Workshop, Goa, India, 19-24th February, 2006

 

“Generation and Dynamics of Magnetic Fields in the Solar Convection Zone”, Invited Talk, International Astronomical Union General Assembly, Prague, Czech Republic, 14-25th August, 2006

 

“Space Climate and the Solar-Stellar Connection: What can we learn from the Stars”, Invited Talk, Second International Symposium on Space Climate, Sinaia, Romania, 13-15th September, 2006

 

“Quantifying Solar Active Region Eruptive Potential through Twist Determination and its Utilization in Simulations of the Sun-Earth System”, Talk, International Symposium on Recent Observations and Simulations of the Sun-Earth System, Varna, Bulgaria, 17th-22rd September, 2006

 

“Observation and Modelling of Solar Active Region Magnetic Helicity: Implications for Subsurface Dynamics and Eruptive Activity”, Invited Talk, National Solar Observatory Sac Peak Workshop 24, Sunspot, USA, 16th-20th April, 2007

 

“A New Technique For Measuring The Twist Of Photospheric Active Regions Without Recourse To The Force-Free-Field Equation: Reconfirming The Hemispheric Helicity Trend”, Poster, American Astronomical Society Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 27th-31st May, 2007

 

“Long-Term Evolution of Solar Magnetic Activity Derived from Stellar Proxies”, Invited Talk, American Geophysical Union General Assembly, Acapulco, Mexico, 22nd-25th May, 2007

Research Interests

Theory:

  • Astrophysical Plasmas and Magnetic Fields
  • Magnetohydrodynamics and Dynamo Theory
  • Magnetic Activity of the Sun and Stars
  • Stellar Coronal Heating
  • Turbulence in Stellar Envelopes, Convection Zone Dynamics and Stellar Evolution
  • Space Climate, Global (Paleo) Climate and Long-Term Solar Evolution

 

Observations:

  • Solar Magnetic Fields
  • Magnetic Helicity of Solar Active Regions
  • Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections
  • Stellar Magnetic Activity and Coronal X-ray emissions
  • Space Weather Forecasting