Astrophysicist Somak Raychaudhury Appointed Vice-Chancellor of Ashoka University

Professor Somak Raychaudhury, eminent Indian astrophysicist and currently director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), has been appointed vice-chancellor of Ashoka University. His date of joining will be announced shortly. Professor Raychaudhury will take over from Professor Malabika Sarkar, who has been serving as VC of the university since August 2019.

Professor Somak Raychaudhury holds a PhD in astrophysics from Churchill College, University of Cambridge and undergraduate degrees in physics from Trinity College at University of Oxford and Presidency College at University of Calcutta. He was earlier the head of department of physics and dean of sciences at Presidency University. He also held various positions at the University of Birmingham, UK, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Lowell House at Harvard University, and the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge.

Professor Raychaudhury’s appointment follows an extensive global search conducted by a search committee consisting of the chancellor, deans, faculty members, founders and trustees of Ashoka University, it said.

Professor Raychaudhury has made seminal discoveries using observations at radio, optical and X-ray frequencies. “He pioneered the study of galaxy superclusters as the Universe’s largest structures, and has worked on exotic stars such as black holes in nearby galaxies. He has developed innovative machine-learning algorithms for mining large astronomical datasets, and recently co-chaired the committee to compile the Vision document for the next decade of Astronomy research for the Government of India,” said the varsity.

“It is an honour to take over as Vice-Chancellor of Ashoka University which is today recognized nationally and internationally for its pioneering approach towards academic excellence, research and innovation and wide impact. Ashoka is already India’s premier interdisciplinary teaching and research institution, and I am delighted to join it at this exciting juncture. I look forward to working with the faculty, students, administrators, founders and partners to take Ashoka to the next level in its evolution into India’s best university,” says prof Raychaudhury.

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