Research Interests : My prime research interests are in the study of high energy phenomena of star- planet systems and associated space-science instrumentation development for space borne experiments.

Education

PhD - Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) / Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore, India. - 2015

Thesis Title : Study of lunar surface chemistry using Swept Charge Devices

Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI)FOXSI-3 : Sounding rocket experiment to perform imaging and spectroscopy of the Sun in hard X-rays (HXR) using direct focusing X-ray optics

• X-ray instrumentation and Team management : I play a lead role in managing the FOXSI-3 detector team at the University of Minnesota. Planning and executing calibration experiments of focal plane X-ray detectors. Participated in the testing and calibration of FOXSI X-ray optics at Stray light facility, Marshall space flight center and contributed to the analysis of optics calibration data. Demonstrated an improved way of calibrating FOXSI detectors using thin foil X-ray fluorescence.
  • 2017 SPIE article on improved calibration for FOXSI detectors https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/10397/2273915/Calibration-of-the-hard-x-ray-detectors-for-the-FOXSI/10.1117/12.2273915.short
• Solar science : I study the plasma distribution as a function of temperature for the FOXSI-2 observed microflare regions. For this work, I perform a combined differential emission measure (DEM) analysis using EUV data from SDO/AIA, SXR data from Hinode/XRT and HXR data from FOXSI-2.
  • Preliminary investigation results presented at AGU 2017 can be found here https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321886590_Combined_DEM_analysis_of_FOXSI-2_microflare_observations.

Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) ESA/RAL, UK, ISRO, India : X-ray fluorescence (XRF) experiment on India's first Moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, to study the surface chemistry of the Moon.

• Lunar X-ray studies : I played a major role in the X-ray spectral analysis of C1XS data and determination of lunar surface elemental abundances. I have developed a new XRF inversion algorithm “x2abundance” and rigorously validated it using laboratory XRF experiments. My thesis work describes the first direct evidence of enhanced Sodium surface abundances on the Moon
  • Link to my PhD thesis https://goo.gl/pAk5tV
  • First direct evidence of enhanced Sodium abundances on the lunar surface - C1XS results https://goo.gl/pkwXnB
  • Nature Asia article on C1XS results - “High surface sodium may rewrite lunar history” - https://goo.gl/5d0Bj7

Chandrayaan-2 X-ray Spectrometer Collaboration

ASTROSAT :

• National Merit Scholarship, University Grants Commission, India : 2003-2005
• Department of Science and Technology (DST) Research Fellowship : 2008-2009
• ISRO - IIA Research Fellowship : 2009-2015
• LPI Career Development Award : Lunar & Planetary Institute, NASA, USRA : 2014
• K. D. Abhyankar Best Thesis Presentation Award : Astronomical Society of India. : 2016

Publications feed from Google Scholar

Email: spanchap@.umn.edu, athray@gmail.com

Phones: (612) 814-5739

Office : Tate Building, Room 264 (office), 255 (lab)