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Where Curiosity Meets the Cosmos

At UPES, astronomy is more than a subject — it's a journey into the unknown. Learn how stars are born, galaxies evolve, and black holes bend the fabric of space-time. With hands-on experience using telescopes and real astronomical data, our students turn their curiosity into meaningful discovery.

Meet The Leadership

Prof. Ranjeet Kumar Brajpuriya

Cluster Head

Cluster Head

Prof. Ranjeet Kumar Brajpuriya

Key Research Areas:
  • Carbon-Based 2D Nanomaterials.
  • Thin Film and Multilayers
  • Magnetic Materials

Prof. Santosh Dubey

Program Lead

Program Lead

Prof. Santosh Dubey

Key Research Areas:
  • Phase transformation in materials under thermal and irradiation conditions using mathematical modelling.
  • Synthesizing Nickel Silicides through annealing and ion beam irradiation.
  • Applications of synthesised material in microelectronics, solar photovoltaics, and other fields.

Meet Our Faculty

Dr. Prashant S. Rawat

Dr. Prashant S. Rawat

Sr. Associate Professor, Applied Science Cluster

Key Research Areas:
  • Laboratory Astrophysics: Experiments related to planetary and space physics.
  • Solar Physics: Collaboration with ARIES on the Coronal heating problem.
Publications:
  • "On the Formation Height of Low-corona and Chromospheric Channels of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)", The Astrophysical Journal, 2024. DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad7d8c
  • "Height-Dependent Slow Magnetoacoustic Wave Amplitude and Energy Flux in Sunspot Atmospheres", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2025. DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2504.15030

Dr. Balendra Pratap Singh

Dr. Balendra Pratap Singh

Assistant Professor, Applied Science Cluster

Key Research Areas:
  • Black Hole Physics: Study of black hole shadow, thermodynamic properties, and quasinormal modes.
  • Solar Physics: Solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejection.
Publications:
  • "Black hole evaporation process and Tangherlini–Reissner–Nordström black holes shadow", Annals of Physics, 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.aop.2024.169803
  • "Effect of higher dimensions on rotating black holes shadow", New Astronomy, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.newast.2022.101945
  • "Shadows of quintessential dark energy black holes in the domain of outer communication", Physics of the Dark Universe, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.dark.2023.101279

Dr. Nitesh Kumar

Dr. Nitesh Kumar

Assistant Professor, Applied Science Cluster

Key Research Areas:
  • Stellar Astrophysics: Study of stellar structure, evolution, and modeling.
  • Galactic Globular Clusters: Observational and theoretical studies of globular clusters.
  • Variable Stars: Analysis of light curves and variability mechanisms.
  • RR Lyrae Stars: Multiwavelength photometry and pulsation modeling.
  • Stellar Evolution and Modeling: Computational approaches to stellar interiors and evolution.
Publications:
  • "Physical parameters of stars in NGC 6397 using ANN-based interpolation and full spectrum fitting", New Astronomy, 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.newast.2025.102416
  • "Multiwavelength photometric study of RR Lyrae variables in the globular cluster NGC 5272 (Messier 3)", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, May 2024. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stae1334
  • "Predicting light curves of RR Lyrae variables using artificial neural network-based interpolation of a grid of pulsation models", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, March 2023. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad937

Dr. Prince Sharma

Dr. Prince Sharma

Assistant Professor, Applied Science Cluster

Key Research Areas:
  • Compact Object Astrophysics: Studying neutron stars and black holes in X-ray binary systems.
  • X-ray Spectroscopy: Analyzing high-energy spectra to understand accretion and emission processes.
  • Timing Analysis: Investigating variability and pulsations to probe spin and accretion dynamics.
  • Cyclotron Line Studies: Using spectral features to measure magnetic fields in neutron stars.
  • Broadband X-ray Observations: Combining data from multiple missions to study accreting systems.
Publications:
  • Timing analysis of Be/X-ray transient 4U 0115+63 during Type II outburst of 2023 using NuSTAR observations, Advances in Space Research, 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2024.10.021
  • Torque reversal and cyclotron absorption feature in HMXB 4U 1538-522, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2023. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad1285
  • Discovery of cyclotron and narrow Fe Kα lines in HMXB GRO J1750-27, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 2022. DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/slac041
  • Broad-band spectral analysis of LMXB 2S 0921-63 with Suzaku, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2022. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stac2698

Dr. Arka Chatterjee

Dr. Arka Chatterjee

Assistant Professor, Applied Science Cluster

Key Research Areas:
  • X-ray Images of Black Holes.
  • Timing Analysis of Black Hole Accretion.
  • Active Galactic Nuclei.
Publications:
  • "Images and spectral properties of two-component advective flows around black holes: effects of photon bending", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2017. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stw2975
  • "Time-domain variability properties of XTE J1650-500 during its 2001 outburst: Evidence of disc-jet connection", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2020. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa2263

Dr. Raju Roychowdhury

Dr. Raju Roychowdhury

Associate Professor, Applied Science Cluster

Key Research Areas:
  • Extremal Black Holes and Attractor Mechanism.
  • Gauge/Gravity Correspondence.
  • Gravitino and Cosmology.
Publication Journals:
  • Journal of High Energy Physics (JHEP).
  • General Relativity and Gravitation (GRG).
  • International Journal of Modern Physics A (IJMPA).


Department of Physics Faculty

Our department is home to experts in a wide range of research areas, dedicated to teaching and advancing science.The Department of Physics at UPES comprises over 30 faculty members with expertise spanning condensed matter physics, astrophysics, materials science, nuclear physics, computational physics, and more. Our faculty are committed to excellence in teaching, research, and mentoring students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

List of all faculty members