Archana Bhattacharyya (born 1948) is an Indian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

. She specializes in the field of

ionospheric The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

physics, geomagnetism, and

space weather Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the varying conditions within the Solar System and its heliosphere. This includes the effects of the solar wind, especially on the Earth's magnetosphere, ion ...

and is Director of the

Indian Institute of Geomagnetism The Indian Institute of Geomagnetism is an autonomous research institution established by the Government of India's Department of Science and Technology. The facility is engaged in basic and applied research in geomagnetism, as well as alli ...

Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...

Education

Bhattacharyya completed B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. in physics from the

University of Delhi The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

in 1967 and 1969, respectively. She also held a National Science Talent Scholarship (1964–69). She received PhD degree in physics from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

(1975), working in the area of theoretical condensed matter physics.

Career

Bhattacharyya joined the

(IIG),

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

in 1978. She worked with the group of KC Yeh at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign during 1986-87 and during 1998–2000 she was a Senior NRC Resident Research Associate at the

Air Force Research Laboratory The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research and development detachment of the United States Air Force Air Force Materiel Command, Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of direct- ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, USA. She was the Director of IIG during 2005–2010. Currently, she is an Emeritus Scientist at IIG.

Awards and honours

*The Professor KR Ramanathan Memorial Lecture and Medal by the

Indian Geophysical Union The Indian Geophysical Union is the Government of India's scientific body responsible for all activities related with Earth Science System such as seismology, magnetism, meteorology, geodesy, volcanology, oceanography, hydrology and tectonophysi ...

in 2008 *Dr. KS Krishnan Gold Medal by the University of Delhi in 1969 *Fellow of the

Indian Academy of Sciences The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and List of Nobel laureates, Nobel Laureate Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 27 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it ...

and

National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, also known as NASI, was established in 1930 and is the oldest science academy of India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows * Suddhasatwa Bas ...

Research interests

*Plasma instabilities in the equatorial ionosphere *Probing the ionosphere with radio waves *Effects of space weather on the ionosphere *Spatio-temporal variations of the geomagnetic field

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharyya, Archana Indian women physicists Bengali physicists 20th-century Indian physicists Articles created or expanded during Women's History Month (India) - 2014 1948 births Living people Delhi University alumni Indian women earth scientists 20th-century Indian women scientists 21st-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian earth scientists Women scientists from Maharashtra Indian condensed matter physicists 21st-century Indian earth scientists 21st-century Indian physicists Indian academic administrators Women academic administrators Indian women academics