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The Hindu
2 days ago
- Science
- The Hindu
India's Astronomy Olympiad training camp concludes at IISER Mohali
The Astronomy Olympiad Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) is being held at IISER Mohali. The camp aims to provide training to bright students selected through national-level exams and also test their understanding of concepts and techniques in Astronomy and Astrophysics. A total of 54 students were selected for Astronomy OCSC from among the nearly 500 students who took the Indian National Astronomy Olympiad and ranked among the top in their respective groups. Group A consisted of students in Class 12, group B consisted of students in class 10 or 11. The selection is based on rank and subject preferences for students. Of these, 37 students from different parts of India are participating in the OCSC, a team of five students will represent the country in at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2025 (IOAA), which is to be held in Mumbai, India in August 2025. The OCSC consists of lectures, tutorials, telescope setup and handling sessions and sky observation sessions. Normally the Astronomy OCSC is organised by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, a centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (HBCSE-TIFR). However, this year, as HBCSE is hosting the IOAA, the task of selecting and training the Indian team was given to IISER Mohali. A team of astronomers from Central University, Haryana, Mahendargarh, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, IIT Kanpur, Ashoka University, Sonepat, Central University, Himachal Shahpur, and IISER Mohali worked together to do the groundwork and conduct the OCSC. Sessions in the training program were anchored by resource persons from these institutes as well as scientists from Raman Research Institute Bangalore, Indian Institute of Astrophysics Bangalore, National Institute for Science Education and Research Bhubaneswar and the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, etc. Some members from the core group will accompany the students as team leaders and scientific observers to the IOAA. The selection of the final team was announced during the valedictory function held at IISER Mohali on June 11, 2025. There was a special lecture by Professor Dipankar Bhattacharya from Ashoka University. He spoke about imaging in different wavebands in Astronomy. This was followed by distribution of certificates and medals from the Indian Association of Physics Teachers, announcement of best performers in the OCSC and also the final team that will represent India in IOAA-2025. The medals were distributed by Professor Kulinder Pal SIngh from IISER Mohali and certificates were given by Professor Dipankar Bhattacharya. The selected team is: Aarush Mishra, Sumant Gupta, Banibrata Majee, Panini, and, Akshat Srivastava. Aarush Misra also got the C L Bhat memorial award for best performance in OCSC. This awarded is given by the Indian Physics Association and was instituted by Arnold Wolfendale. Sumant Gupta got the best performance in observational test award. Akshat Srivastava bagged the two awards for best performance in theory, and, data analysis. The team leaders and scientific observers who will accompany the team were also introduced to students :Professor Jasjeet Singh Bagla and Dr Harvinder Kaur Jassal are the team leaders given their long association with the astronomy olympiad activity. Drs. Kinjalk Lochan, Pankaj Kushwaha, Jaswant Yadav, Central University Haryana; and Mamta Gulati Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala are the scientific observers who will accompany the team for IOAA-2025.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Science
- The Hindu
Five students to represent India at 2025 International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics
At the 'Astronomy Olympiad' — Orientation-cum-Selection Camp (OCSC) held at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, five students were selected on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) to represent India at the 2025 International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA), scheduled to be held in Mumbai in August this year. The OCSC was aimed at providing intensive training to students shortlisted through national-level examinations and assessing their grasp of core concepts and practical techniques in astronomy and astrophysics. Jasjeet Singh Bagla, Professor at the Department of Physical Sciences, IISER Mohali, said a total of 54 students were selected for the Astronomy OCSC from nearly 500 candidates who appeared for the Indian National Astronomy Olympiad and ranked among the top in their respective categories. 'Of these, 37 students from different parts of India participated in the OCSC. A team of five students was selected to represent the country in the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2025, which is to be held in Mumbai, India, in August 2025,' he said in a statement. The selected students are Aarush Mishra, Sumant Gupta, Banibrata Majee, Panini, and Akshat Srivastava. Prof. Bagla said that Aarush Mishra was conferred the 'C.L. Bhat Memorial Award' for best performance at the camp, while Sumant Gupta received the award for best performance in the observational test. Akshat Srivastava secured two awards — for best performance in theory and in data analysis. The OCSC curriculum included lectures, tutorials, telescope setup and handling, as well as sky observation sessions. 'The Astronomy OCSC is usually organised by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), a centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. However, this year, as HBCSE is hosting the IOAA, the responsibility for selection and training of the Indian team was entrusted to IISER Mohali,' Prof. Bagla noted. A team of astronomers and faculty members from the Central University of Haryana, Mahendragarh; Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala; Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur; Ashoka University, Sonepat; Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Shahpur; and IISER Mohali collaborated to organise the camp. 'Sessions in the training programme were anchored by resource persons from these institutes, along with scientists from the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru; Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru; National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar; and the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA),' he said. The camp also featured a special lecture by Professor Dipankar Bhattacharya of Ashoka University, who delivered a talk on imaging across different wavebands in astronomy.
