Main profile

Guneshwar Thangjam

School: 

Earth & Planetary Sciences

Designation: 

Assistant Professor, Chairperson

Education: 

• 2015, PhD,   Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Göttingen (enrolled in Clausthal University of Technology (TUC), Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany)
• 2008, M.Sc. Geology, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, UP, India (MSc Dissertation in Atomic Minerals Directrorate for Exploration, AMD/DAE, Jaipur)
• 2005, B.Sc.  Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Yamuna Nagar, Haryana (Kurukshetra University), India

Specialisation: 

• Reflectance spectroscopy and planetary surface mineralogy
• Small bodies (asteroids, comets), meterorites, analogues and the early Solar System science

Awards: 

Recognitions & Related:

• Max Planck Partner Group, 2020, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften (MPG)
• Ramanujan Fellowship, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, 2019 (declined)
• 'Returning Expert',  2019, a program under Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) jointly run by GIZ and ZAV/BA, Germany, promoting knowledge transfer through migrants in their conutries of origin, and also providing top-up salary and relocation costs
• 'Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing', 2017, by Icarus (Elsevier) in cooperation with AAS's Division for Planetary Sciences, recognizing the contribution made to the quality of the journal
• NASA Group Achievement award, 2016, Framing Camera team, NASA Dawn mission to asteroids Vesta and Ceres
• Geologist, Geological Survey of India (GSI), 2012, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), India (declined)

Publications: 

Selected list:

• Nathues A., Schmedemann N., Thangjam G., et al., 2020. Recent cryovolcanic activity at Occator crater on Ceres. Nature Astronomy, 4, 794–801.
• Thangjam G., Nathues A., Platz T., Hoffmann M., Cloutis E. A., Mengel K., Izawa M. R. M., Applin D. M. Spectral properties and geology of bright and dark materials on dwarf planet Ceres. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, doi:10.1111/maps.13044, 53 (9), 1961-1982.
• Thangjam G., Hoffmann M., Nathues A., Li J.-Y., Platz T. (2016). Haze at Occator crater on Ceres. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 833, L25.
• Thangjam G., Nathues A., Mengel K., Hoffmann M., Schäfer M., Reddy V., Cloutis E.A., Christensen U., Sierks H., Le Corre L., Vincent J.-B., Russell C. T., (2014). Olivine-rich exposures at Bellicia and Arruntia craters on (4) Vesta from Dawn FC. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 49, 10, 1831-1850.
• Pieters C.M., Nathues A., Thangjam G., Hoffmann M., Platz T., De Sanctis M. C., Ammannito E., Tosi F., Zambon Pasckert F, J. H., Hiesinger H., Schröder S. E., Jaumann R., Matz K-D., Castillo- Rogez J. C., Ruesch O., McFadden L. A., O’Brien D. P, Sykes M., Raymond C. A., Russell C. T. Geologic context of unusual organic-rich areas on Ceres, Meteoritics and Planetary Science, DOI:10.1111/maps.13008, 53 (9), 1983-1998.
• Nathues A., Hoffmann M., Schaefer M, Le Corre L., Reddy V., Platz T., Cloutis E. A., Christensen U., Kneissl T., Li J.-Y., Mengel K., Schmedemann N., Schaefer T., Russell C. T., Applin D. M., Buczkowski D. L., Izawa M. R. M., Keller H. U., O’Brien D. P., Pieters C. M., Raymond C. A., Ripken J., Schenk P. M., Schmidt B. E., Sierks H., Sykes M. V., Thangjam G. S., Vincent J.-B., (2015). Sublimation in bright spots on Ceres. Nature, 528, 237-240.
• Platz T., Nathues A., Schorghofer N., Preusker F., Mazarico E., Schröder S. E., Byrne S., Kneissl T., Schmedemann N., Combe J.-P., Schäfer M., Thangjam G. S., Hoffmann M., Gutierrez-Marques P., Landis M. E., Dietrich W., Ripken J., Matz K.-D. & Russell C.T., (2016). Surface water-ice deposits in the northern shadowed regions of Ceres. Nature Astronomy, 1, 0007.

Detailed List:

• Google scholar (https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=ilANSnwAAAAJ&hl=en)
• Researchgate ((https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Guneshwar_Thangjam)
• ORCiD (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5697-112X)
• Web of Science ResearcherID: P-1489-2017

Research: 

Research Experience:

• 2019 Feb - continued, Assistant Professor, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, NISER, India
• 2016 May - 2019 Feb, Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Göttingen, Germany (NASA Dawn FC team member, asteroid Ceres geology and CC meteorites)
• 2015 Sept - 2016 April, Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Göttingen and Clausthal University of Technology (TUC), Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany (NASA Dawn FC team member, asteroid Vesta geology and HED meteorites)
• 2012 Feb -2015 Sept, PhD / Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Göttingen (NASA Dawn FC team member, asteroid Vesta geology and HED meteorites)
• 2009 Nov -2012 Jan, Research Fellow, Space Applications Center, Indian Space Research Organization, SAC/ISRO, Ahmedebad, India (Chandrayaan-2 team member, lunar geology)
• 2009, March - Nov, Research Fellow, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, UP, India (Landslide and Tectonics in MBT Himalaya, study area Dehradun)
• 2008, May - Aug, MSc Dissertation in Atomic Minerals Directrorate for Exploration, AMD/DAE, Jaipur (Field mapping and petrography of Uranium bearing rocks, study area Saladipura-Kotri, Rajasthan)

Research Interest:

• Planetary geology and early Earth geology
• Planetary mineralogy and morphology using spacecraft data (e.g., ISRO’s Chandrayaan, NASA Dawn, NASA Cassini, ISRO and NASA Mars missions, etc.),
• Asteroids & comets & meteorites & analogues and the early solar system science
• Geochemical and geologic evolution of planetary bodies
• Icy planetary bodies in outer solar system and analogues on Earth

Research activities and Participation:

• Team member, Asteroid Framing Camera (AFC), ESA's Hera mission to binary asteroid Didymos, to be launched in Oct, 2024 (AFC team, lead by Dr. Holger Sierks, MPS)
• Collaborator, Planetary Mission Concept Study / PMCS on dwarf planet Ceres, in preparation for NASA 2023-2032 Decadal Survey (PMCS team, lead by Dr. Julie Castillo-Rogez, JPL)
• Participating Scientist, NASA Dawn mission, first mission to largest asteroids Ceres and Vesta (FC team, lead by Dr. Andreas Nathues, MPS)
• Visiting Scientist, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Goettingen, Germany 
• Team member, Chandrayaan-2 Lunar Science Working Group, ISRO, India
• Member, External Advisory Board, Centre for Terrestrial and Planetary Exploration (C-TAPE), the spectrophotometry laboratory of Earth and Planetary sciences, University of Winnipeg, Canada (Director, Prof. Edward Cloutis)
• Reviewer of Nature Astronomy, Nature Communications, Icarus, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Current Science

Phone No.: 

+916742494483

Extension: 

2483

Room No.: 

05

Mail ID: 

thangjam[at]niser[dot]ac[dot]in;; thangjam[at]mps[dot]mpg[dot]de

Personal Page: 

Earth and Planetary Composition Research Lab http://www.niser.ac.in/~thangjam/

Group Members: 

• Dr. Rahul Das Gupta, Postdoctoral Researcher, Max Planck India Partner project, NISER (link)
• Dr. Nithin Mohan, Postdoctoral Researcher, NISER (link)
• Dr. Ranjan Sarkar, Postdoctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Germany (Co-supervisor; Supervisor- Dr. Andreas Nathues) (link)
• Debosmita Paul, PhD Researcher, IIT Bombay (Co-guide; Guide- Prof. Alok Porwal) (link)
• Sandeepan Doundiyal, PhD Researcher, IIT Bombay (Co-guide; Guide- Prof. Alok Porwal) (link)

Other Links: 

Research Opportunities in planetary science

Available positions (last modified, 05-07-2021):

• Available positions in Max Planck India Partner Group at NISER, funded by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften (MPG):

  • 1 Ph.D. student, highly motivated, and hard-working, with Geoscience /Physics /Chemistry /Computer background (for PhD through NISER PhD advertisement and Exam). Candidates with good programming skill (in python) is preferred.

  • Internship & Dissertation upto 6 months with stipend / financial support, for MSc/BTech/MTech students from Geoscience/Physics/Chemistry/Computer-Science. Students with profound programming language are highly encouraged. Interested students are welcomed for online mode of project and work.
    • Nature of project and work: The project is focussed on spectral analysis of ammoniated absorption feature on the largest asteroid Ceres and their geologic and geochemical study using NASA Dawn data (Framing Camera /FC and Visible and Infrared Spectrometer / VIR). The expected outcome of this project is to understand the origin of asteroid Ceres, whether formed in outer solar system and migrated later, or formed in situ at the present inner solar system location.
    • Collaboration: The project is in collaboration primarily with MPS (Dr. Andreas Nathues), and also others (Edward Cloutis / University of Winnipeg, Canada;  Prof. Kurt Mengel / University of Clasuthal, Germany; Dr. Jean-Philippe Combe / Bear Fight Institite, USA). 
    • Work environment and culture: The researchers will get the opportunity to work in an ambient international research environment and space to train themselves as a self-reliant and independent researcher. Oportunties to visit the collabotaors and their labs shall be provided and also opportunities to present their work in national/international conferences in order to motivate and reward the researchers hard work and only the hard work. 

• NISER PhD postion 2020, as per NISER advertisement, in areas of surface compositional and morphological studies of inner solar system rocky and outer solar system icy bodies, geologic and geochemical evolution, planetary geology and early Earth geology, asteroids and comets, meteorites and planetary analogue/sample, etc.