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====== Subramania Athiray Panchapakesan ======
 
==== Postdoctoral Associate  ====
=== University of Minnesota ===


 __**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

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====Projects and Missions : Roles and responsibilities====


**Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (//FOXSI//)**[[http://foxsi.umn.edu/|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 **:

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==== Awards and fellowships  ====

  * 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


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==== List of publications - source Google Scholar  ====

[[https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=m5O6Dn8AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate| Publications feed from Google Scholar ]]


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

**Phones:** (612) 814-5739

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