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 a ...

physics, geomagnetism, and

space weather Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the time varying conditions within the Solar System, including the solar wind, emphasizing the space surrounding the Earth, including conditions in the ...

and is Director of the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism,

Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city i ...

Education

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

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

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 is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

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

Career

Bhattacharyya joined the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG),

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

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 organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of aerospace warfighting technologies, pl ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, 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 tectonophysic ...

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 Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meet ...

and

National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, established in 1930, is the oldest science academy in India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows *Suddhasatwa Basu * Sudha Bhattacharya * Ch ...

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