Anshu Kumari

Anshu Kumari (Singh) is a NASA postdoctoral program fellow in the Solar Physics Laboratory (671), working with Dr. Nat Gopalswamy. She received an integrated M.Tech-PhD in Astronomical Instrumentation from the Gauribidanur Radio Observatory (GRO) of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), India. Before joining GSFC, Dr. Kumari was a postdoctoral researcher at the Space Physics group of the University of Helsinki. In her PhD years, she worked on designing a wideband, near-ionospheric cut-off ground-based radio telescope for Spectro-polarimetric observations of the Sun at low frequencies. She combined this instrument's data with other space and ground-based instruments to constrain the elusive coronal magnetic fields associated with solar eruptions. Dr. Kumari also developed a semi-automated imaging pipeline for interferometric observations of the solar corona with the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) at ASTRON, the Netherlands. In Helsinki, she worked on data-driven time-dependent magneto-frictional modeling (TMFM) of solar flux ropes, and solar radio observations from novel radio telescopes to state-of-the-art coronal modeling and remote sensing observations.

At GSFC, her NPP project focuses on proof of concept study of the Faraday Effect Tracker of Coronal and Heliospheric Structures (FETCH) onboard the next-generation multi-spacecraft comprehensive mission concept, Multiview Observatory for Solar-Terrestrial Science (MOST). Dr. Kumari has expertise in radio instrumentation, numerical simulations, and observational data.

University of Helsinki, Solar Physics Advanced course (PAP321, TA, 2020-2021)

PhD (Astronomical Instrumentation ) : Sep 2015 - Dec 2019 (Submitted); Dec 2020 (Defended)

Indian Institute of Astrophysics-Calcutta University, India

Thesis Title : Radio Polarimetric Imaging of the Solar Corona at Low Frequencies

Supervisor: Dr. C. Kathiravan

M.Tech (Astronomical Instrumentation ) : Aug 2013 - July 2015

Indian Institute of Astrophysics-Calcutta University, India

Thesis Title : Development of a Cross-Polarized Log-Periodic for Low Frequency Radio Spectral Observations

Supervisor: Dr. C. Kathiravan

B.Tech (Electronics and Communication) : Aug 2008 - May 2012

Rajasthan Technical University

Thesis Title : Development of a Parallel Telephone System with Secrecy and Call Prevention

• Reviewer
• Astrophysical Journal Letters
• Solar Physics
• Advances in Space Science
• Astrophysics and Space Science
• Physics Scripta
• Frontiers
• Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics
• MDPI Journal
• Remote sensing
• Universe
• Review Editor for Astronomical Instrumentation (specialty section of Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
• Reviewer for Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) proposals
• PhD Committee member for KU Leuven/Royal Observatory of Belgium since 2022.

• Awarded NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellowship.
• Young Scientist Award in Commission J (Radio Astronomy) at URSI-RCRS 2022 held at IIT Indore.
• ASI Justice Oak thesis award 2021 Honourable Mention during Astronomical Society of India Meeting, 2022.
• K. D. Abhyankar Best presentation of thesis 2021 during Astronomical Society of India Meeting.
• Young Scientist Award 2021 by Madhawi-Shyam Educational Trust.
• NASA grant to attend the African Geophysical Society (AGS) International Conference 2023 at Lusaka, Zambia.
• Awarded visiting scholar grant, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Belgium in 2020 (postponed due to COVID-19).
• SCOSTEP travel grant award to attend COSPAR KSO Workshop at Kodaikanal Solar Observatory, India in 2020.
• Awarded Solar Science with the MWA Post-Doctoral Fellowship at National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCRA-TIFR), India in 2019 (did not join).
• Awarded Summer Fellowship at ASTRON, the Netherlands in 2018.
• SCOSTEP travel grant award to attend COSPAR Capacity building workshop at Mekele, Ethiopia in 2018.
• Awarded Radionet travel grants to attend CESRA - 2018.
• Awarded 32 hours of observation with the uGMRT.
• Best Poster award in Astronomical Instrumentation at ASI - 2016.
• Best Poster award in Commission J (Radio Astronomy) at URSI-RCRS - 2015.
• Qualified GATE-2013 and -2014 (National eligibility exam for Engineers in India) with 98.83 percentile.
• University 7th rank holder of 2008 - 2012 batch in Electronics & Communication

Associated Projects

• FETCH (The Faraday Effect Tracker of Coronal and Heliospheric structures ) in collaboration with NASA, Planetary Science Institute, National Solar Observatory, Naval Research Laboratory.
• RadioCME (Radio Observations as a Tool to Investigate the Space Weather Impact of Coronal Mass Ejections) with University of Helsinki.
• SolMAG (Unravelling The Structure and Evolution of Solar Magnetic Flux Ropes and Their Magnetosheaths) with University of Helsinki.
• FORESAIL (Finnish Centre of Excellence in Research of Sustainable Space).

Observing and Field Experience

• Member of the LOw Frequency Array (LOFAR) Solar Science Key Science Project (KSP), the New Extension in Nan cay (NenuFAR) and the Gauribidanur Radio Observatory (GRO) team
• Solar observations campaign with upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) at Pune, (2016)
• Low-frequency Radio Observations of the Solar Corona on 200 km Long Interferometer Baseline at Gauribidanur Radio Observatory and Indian Mesospheric-Stratospheric-Tropospheric Radar, India (2016-2017)
• Measurement of antenna patterns, performance and polarisation properties at Gauribidanur Radio Observatory (2015-2018)

Electronics – 4Nec2 Antenna Design Software, Xilinx Tool Suite, Simulink, CST Microwave & LabView

Programming – MATLAB, C/C++, Python & Shell Scripting

Data Analysis Packages – AIPS, CASA, IDL–solarsoft, Origin

Simulations – MPI-AMRVAC, CORMA, ELECTICIT, ZEMAX

Data Visualisation – ParaView, VisIT

Handling test and measurement instruments like Vector Network Analysers, Spectrum Analysers & Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes.