Devendra Ojha
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
Devendra Ojha received PhD degree from Strasbourg University, France, in 1994 in Astronomy and Astrophysics. He joined TIFR, Mumbai in 1997, after postdoctoral positions at IUCAA, Pune and IAP, Paris, France. He is currently the Chairperson of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at TIFR. His research area encompasses a wide range, viz., galactic structure, interstellar medium, star formation, as well as design, development and operation of astronomical instruments. These include the operation of 100 cm TIFR balloon-borne far-infrared telescope, development of an instrument for the small satellite mission of ISRO for carrying out Infra-Red Spectroscopic Imaging Survey, and development of near-infrared spectrometer and imaging cameras for ground-based Indian telescopes. He was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and NASI in 2015.
Session 2D: Inaugural Lectures by Associates/Fellow
Chairperson: H M Antia, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
Star formation in the MilkyWay Galaxy View Presentation
Understanding how stars form within the Universe is one of the fundamental questions in modern astrophysics and is central to many other fields, including the evolution of galaxies and the formation of planets. In this talk, the speaker will present his work on the formation of stars within the Milky Way galaxy, where one can study the processes of star formation in much greater detail than in more distant galaxies. The speaker and his team lead extensive multi-wavelength surveys of the Milky Way from visible wavelengths, through the infrared, millimetre and submillimetre, and radio wavelengths. The major goals in star formation research are to study the earliest stages in the formation of massive stars and to determine the importance of triggering processes in star formation. Also, they are heavily involved in design, development and operation of infrared instruments for ground-and space-based Indian observational facilities used for star formation studies.