The award was introduced throughout the forty sixth COSPAR Scientific Meeting in Florence, Italy, in August 2026. Subramaniam, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, can be the fourth Indian to obtain the medal.
Who’s Annapurni Subramaniam?
Subramaniam is an astrophysicist with greater than three many years of analysis expertise. Her work spans star clusters, stellar populations, galaxies, ultraviolet astronomy and the Magellanic Clouds. In response to the IIA, she has round 175 analysis publications and has guided 15 PhD college students.
She turned the primary girl to move the Indian Institute of Astrophysics when she took over as director in 2019. Her analysis has targeted on understanding stellar populations and their evolution, together with work on blue stragglers, globular and open clusters, close by galaxies and the Magellanic Clouds.
Annapurni’s function in India’s AstroSat mission
One in all Subramaniam’s key contributions has been to AstroSat, India’s first devoted multi-wavelength area observatory. She served because the calibration scientist for the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) on AstroSat and led its in-orbit efficiency verification.
UVIT permits scientists to review celestial objects at ultraviolet wavelengths which are tough to look at from Earth attributable to atmospheric absorption. The telescope’s observations have supported analysis into stars, star clusters, galaxies and different astronomical objects.
From AstroSat to India’s subsequent area telescope
Subramaniam’s work has continued past AstroSat. She is the Principal Investigator of INSIST, a proposed next-generation ultraviolet-optical area telescope that builds on the expertise gained by means of AstroSat and UVIT. She has additionally contributed to India’s participation within the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) undertaking, a global effort to construct a strong ground-based optical and infrared telescope.
What’s the COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal?
The COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal is awarded each two years for excellent contributions to area analysis in creating international locations. The medal is collectively related to COSPAR and ISRO and honours Vikram Sarabhai, one of many architects of India’s area programme.
Subramaniam is the fourth Indian recipient. Earlier than her, the medal went to U.R. Rao in 1996, Gurbax Singh Lakhina in 2014 and Anil Bhardwaj in 2024.
Annapurni has one other main science honour
The COSPAR medal just isn’t her first main nationwide recognition. In 2024, Subramaniam obtained the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar Vigyan Shri in House Science and Expertise.
The award recognised her work on stars, blue stragglers, star clusters, star formation, galactic construction, and the Magellanic Clouds, in addition to her contributions to AstroSat and ultraviolet astronomy.
Subramaniam’s newest recognition places her amongst a small group of Indian scientists honoured with the COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal and makes her the primary Indian girl to obtain it.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
