PhD Candidate · Department of Astronomy · Yale University
I use stellar oscillations, or asteroseismology to study red giants in open clusters and white dwarfs to learn how stars live, age, and die.
Type 1 diabetic astrophysicist, and McDougal STEM Career Fellow at Yale.
01 About
I'm Surendra, a PhD candidate in the Department of Astronomy at Yale University, working with Sarbani Basu and Earl Bellinger. Stars ring like bells: sound waves and gravity waves travel through their interiors, and the frequencies they ring at tell us what is inside. I use those frequencies to study the cores of dead stars and the ages of star clusters.
Before Yale, I completed an integrated BS-MS dual degree in Physics at IISER Kolkata, with my Master's thesis at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
Outside research, I'm learning the flute and guitar, and I'm an active supporter of people living with type 1 diabetes.
Yale University, New Haven, CT
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore
IISER Kolkata, India
02 Research
Oscillation frequencies are some of the most precise measurements in astronomy. I combine them with stellar models (MESA and GYRE) and space photometry from TESS and Kepler.
Current · PhD
Many white dwarfs carry heavy elements in their atmospheres, debris from rocky planets they are still accreting. With MESA and GYRE models, I study how that pollution reshapes the envelope of pulsating (ZZ Ceti) white dwarfs and shifts their g-mode periods, and whether it can bias the masses and temperatures we infer from asteroseismology.
Current · PhD
Stars born together in an open cluster share one age and one chemical makeup, which makes them a controlled experiment. I measure the oscillations of cluster red giants in TESS (and Kepler/K2) light curves to build a homogeneous seismic catalog, pin down cluster ages and helium abundances, and use them for Galactic archaeology.
Previously
Statistical validation of super-Earths and sub-Saturns with the VaTEST collaboration.
MS thesis at IISc: simulating white dwarfs that may exceed the Chandrasekhar limit.
Discovered a main-belt asteroid in the International Asteroid Search Campaign.
03 Publications
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA)
The Astronomical Journal, 166, 9
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 521, 1066–1078
Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, The Relativistic Universe: From Classical to Quantum (Springer Nature)
04 Highlights
Some of the talks I've given, the observing I've done with students, and the events I've helped organize.
05 Career Conversations
As a McDougal STEM Career Fellow at Yale's Office of Career Strategy, I host conversations with experts in academia, industry, government and beyond, so that graduate students and postdocs heading into the job market can hear how others found their path.
Have a career story that could help students in STEM? I'd love to have you on.
Get in touch06 Curriculum Vitae
Teaching Assistant, Yale
Teaching Assistant, Yale
Teaching Assistant, Yale
Teaching Assistant, Yale
Teaching Assistant, IISER Kolkata
Yale STEM Hill Day, Capitol Hill, DC
Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics
42nd ASI Meeting, IISc Bangalore
National Space Science Exhibition, Science City, Kolkata
Chegg.com
07 Honors & Awards
Yale University · 2024 · $2,500
Top 1% of students in India in Higher Secondary · ₹400,000
For excellent scores in Secondary education
08 Beyond research
Campuses I've called home, places I've wandered, and friends who were part of the journey. Click any photo to see it larger.
09 Contact
Questions about my research, a collaboration, a career conversation, or just saying hello: I'm happy to hear from you.