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Reshmi Mukherjee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reshmi Mukherjee is an Indian-American astrophysicist known for her research on gamma-ray astronomy and blazars, involving work based on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory,[1][2] VERITAS,[3] Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET), and Cherenkov Telescope Array collaborations.[4] She is Helen Goodhart Altschul Professor of Physics & Astronomy at Barnard College.[5]

Education and career

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Mukherjee writes that she was inspired to go into physics by her father, who encouraged her in it despite his own lack of a college education.[6] She graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics from Presidency College, at the time part of the University of Calcutta, in 1986, and earned a master's degree there in 1989. She went to Columbia University for graduate study, under the supervision of Elena Aprile, and completed her Ph.D. in physics at Columbia in 1993.[7]

After postdoctoral research with the EGRET project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and a visiting position at McGill University, she joined the Barnard faculty in 1997.[5][7]

Mukherjee's teaching includes introducing undergraduates to research by bringing them on visits to the ground-based observatories she works with[8] and by including them in the analysis of data from the observatories.[9] As a faculty member at Barnard, she also teaches physics at Columbia University.[10]

Recognition

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Mukherjee was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 2017, after a nomination from the APS Division of Astrophysics, "for advancing multifrequency strategies for the identification of gamma-ray sources and contributing significant leadership in blazar studies between the GeV and TeV gamma-ray bands".[11]

References

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  1. ^ Graham, Sarah (16 August 2002), "Galaxy Clusters May Be Main Source of Universe's Gamma Rays", Scientific American
  2. ^ Knight, Will (15 August 2002), "Galaxy clusters radiate gamma ray "fog"", New Scientist
  3. ^ O'Carroll, Eoin (12 July 2018), "Neutrino demonstration heralds a new way of observing the cosmos", Christian Science Monitor
  4. ^ Innovative Telescope Will Be Inaugurated for High-Energy Astronomy, Barnard College, 16 January 2019, retrieved 2020-11-16
  5. ^ a b "Reshmi Mukherjee", Profiles, Barnard College, retrieved 2020-11-21
  6. ^ O Pioneers! Barnard faculty members reflect on what inspired them to enter and excel at their career, Barnard College, 28 February 2017, retrieved 2020-11-16
  7. ^ a b Curriculum vitae (PDF), May 2004, retrieved 2020-11-21
  8. ^ Hartmann, V. L. (Winter 2013), "Introduction to Physics", Barnard Magazine
  9. ^ The Great Escape: Barnard Researchers Capture Light from Far-away Galaxy, Barnard College, 14 December 2015, retrieved 2020-11-16
  10. ^ Positive role models, Gates Cambridge Trust, 18 June 2012
  11. ^ APS Fellow Archive: 2017 Fellows nominated by the Division of Astrophysics, retrieved 2020-11-16
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