Indian-origin astronomer wins UK's Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal
London (PTI): US-based astronomer Professor Shrinivas Kulkarni has been awarded the prestigious Gold Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London for his "field-defining" discoveries in time-domain astronomy.
Maharashtra-born Kulkarni is the George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he has discovered a wide range of astronomical objects, including brown dwarfs and remote bursts of gamma rays.
His RAS Gold Medal citation from last week recognises his "sustained, innovative and ground-breaking contributions to multi-wavelength transient astrophysics".
In receiving the highest honour from the historic organisation, awarded annually since 1824, he joins great scientific minds such as Stephen Hawking, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Albert Einstein and Edwin Hubble.
"I was very surprised to hear the news, especially given the stellar list of past winners," said Kulkarni.
"I would like to thank my long-term collaborators and the engineering crew and members of the Palomar Transient Factory and the Zwicky Transient Facility for their immense contribution to the projects," he said.
The scientist described this discovery of the first millisecond pulsar as "the most fun achievement in my life", adding: "I was a graduate student when I made the discovery. I could not sleep for several days!"
Kulkarni, who also won the 2024 Shaw Prize in Astronomy recently, joined Caltech in 1985 and has since made many landmark findings including demonstrating in 1997 that powerful gamma-ray bursts originate outside our galaxy.
He went on to lead the development of the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and its successor, the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), which have caught thousands of real-time cosmic events as they blink, explode, and otherwise light up the skies. ZTF, based at Caltech's Palomar Observatory near San Diego, is still going strong and surveying the entire Northern sky every two nights.
His RAS award citation notes that these "have revolutionised time domain astrophysics at optical wavelengths".
In his 2024 Watson Lecture at Caltech titled 'Illuminating the Dynamic Night Sky: Discoveries from the Zwicky Transient Facility’, Kulkarni discussed his passion for building instruments to explore uncharted areas in astronomy. He has built a total of 10 instruments in his career.
"My motto has been to build a big enough gizmo and things will happen," he said at the time.
Currently, Kulkarni is involved with developing NASA’s Ultraviolet Explorer (UVEX) mission, led by Fiona Harrison, the Harold A. Rosen Professor of Physics at Caltech. The mission, targeted to launch in 2030, will perform the most sensitive sky survey in ultraviolet light to date.
He is the principal investigator of Z-Shooter, a very powerful and versatile spectrometer for the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawai'i that is under development with a first light expected in 2029.
Kulkarni received his Master's from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 1978, his PhD from UC Berkeley in 1983 and has been based at Caltech for over 40 years.
Each year the RAS recognises significant achievement in the fields of astronomy and geophysics through a number of awards, medals and prizes, encompassing different types of talent from research to education and outreach.
This year's Gold Medal in Geophysics has been won by Professor Andrew Jackson of ETH Zurich for his instrumental work in the field of geomagnetism.
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Rajnath Singh chairs IGoM meet, urges constant vigil over West Asia crisis
New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday emphasised the need for round-the-clock monitoring of the West Asia conflict and called for a calibrated response to deal with any eventuality to ensure that national interests remain protected.
Singh made the comments while chairing a high-level meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) set-up to monitor the situation in West Asia.
The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Power Minister Manohar Lal, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J P Nadda, Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi and Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.
In view of the "uncertain situation", the defence minister underlined the importance of round-the-clock monitoring of the situation and the need to respond in a calibrated manner to deal with any eventuality, an official readout said.
He stressed on the need to leave no stone unturned to ensure that the people of the country face the minimum effect of the conflict, it said.
It was the second meeting of the IGoM after it was set up last month.
The IGoM was apprised of the measures being taken by the government in the wake of the ongoing West Asia conflict, Singh said on social media.
"We also deliberated upon the next steps to be taken by the government to mitigate any adverse impact arising due to the ongoing conflict," he said.
The defence ministry said in the readout said, "In the meeting, the seven empowered groups of secretaries briefed the IGoM on the steps being taken to tackle the situation."
"The IGoM was apprised about measures undertaken by the Ministry of Finance to address concerns arising due to global trade disruptions and provide relief and support to the industry, especially manufacturing, and bolster investor confidence," it said.
It listed measures including notification issued on Wednesday on full customs duty exemption on 40 critical petrochemical products till June 30.
The ministry also mentioned announcement of a special one-time relief measure for eligible units in SEZs to sell manufactured goods in Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) at concessional customs duty rates to be effective from April 1 to March 31.
It also noted another notification issued by the Department of Revenue clarifying that the provisions of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules) will not be invoked in respect of investments made prior to April 1, 2017.
"These measures will reduce cost pressures on downstream sectors including textiles, packaging and pharmaceuticals, facilitate supply stability in the country and provide requisite clarity for investors contemplating investments in India," the readout said.
Defence Minister Singh appreciated the government's decision to impose a 25 per cent cap on the monthly increase in aviation turbine fuel prices for domestic operations, with effect from April 1.
This step will help protect the people from sudden increase in fares, he said.
The government has accorded highest priority to domestic LPG supply, with refinery production enhanced to fully meet consumption requirements, according to the readout.
"The IGoM was informed that there have been no reports of dry-out at LPG distributorships, and delivery of domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders continues as per the normal schedule. The temporary supply concerns arose due to instances of hoarding and black marketing, which triggered panic buying in certain areas," it said.
The ministers were informed that strict enforcement action is being undertaken, with raids being carried out across multiple states and Union territories to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG, the ministry said in the readout.
Action has also been taken against some LPG distributors who engaged in malpractices, it said.
"To support migrant labour and low-consumption households, the government is ensuring adequate availability of 5 kg free trade LPG cylinders, and since March 23, over 4.3 lakh such cylinders have been sold. Special focus is being given to states where demand is higher," it said.
The IGoM was apprised that industrial requirements dependent on commercial LPG are being met, with over 80 per cent of pre-crisis supply levels being maintained to ensure continuity of operations.
"Special meetings have been held with ministries and stakeholders of different industries to understand their demand and meet their needs. Oil PSUs are ensuring continued supply of Auto LPG across the country," the readout noted.
"However, some supply constraints are being faced by private operators due to their procurement challenges, which is why lines are being observed at PSU auto LPG pumps. Wherever the autos are dual feed and can use petrol, they are being encouraged to use petrol," it said.
