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MORE ABOUT ME

Ever since I can remember, I have been curious and adventurous. Growing up, I found a way to turn these virtues into a thriving career. A career that has been a manifestation of my passion for

physics, astronomy and problem solving. 

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My resume has been a reflection of my appreciation towards a wide variety of life experiences. In addition to my education and accolades, it also includes my research interests activities that I have engaged myself in, in due course of shaping my career. Take a look at my brief CV below and please don’t hesitate to contact me.

CV

Interests and Experiences

RESEARCH INTERERSTS

My primary research interests are in strong gravity, mostly involving gravitational waves. I am a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and LISA Consortium, as a part of which I work on testing whether General Relativity (GR) is our best description of strong gravity with Dr. Nathan Johnson-McDaniel and Dr. Anuradha Gupta at the University of Mississippi. Currently, we are studying gravitational waves generated by coalescing Binary Black Holes (BBH) and investigating the 'false' causes of GR deviations due to missing GR physics in BBH waveform templates. 

You can find a detailed CV here - Purnima_Narayan_CV_August_2024

EDUCATION

  • Expected Aug 2025

Ph.D.,  Physics, University of Mississippi (UM), U.S.A.,

Research area: Testing General Relativity using Gravitational Waves

Dissertation Advisor : Dr. Anuradha Gupta

  • May 2023

           M.A., Physics​, UM

  • May 2019,

MSc Astrophysics, University of Potsdam, Germany

Thesis Title : Potential Detection of a change in the Gravitational Constant with Scalar  Gravitational Waves 

Research Advisor: Dr. Jean-Luc Lehners, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)

  • May 2016

BSc Physics, Fergusson College, Savitribai Phule Pune University, India

Thesis Title: Determining Hubble’s constant and Deceleration parameter using Supernova type Ia. 

 Thesis Advisor: Dr. Aseem Paranjape, Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

  • Spring 2024

          - 2024 StudyMississippi International Graduate Student of the Year Award

             Chosen from candidates across the state of Mississippi based upon exemplary academic achievement, intercultural engagement, 

             and community involvement.

           - DGRAV Travel Award, 2024, APS April Meeting​

          - Gulf Coast Gravity Meeting (GCGM10): Best Student Presentation Award

           - Excellence in Community Engagement Partnership Development Award,
             For outstanding accomplishments in community-engaged research, learning, and service for my contribution towards Astronomy   

             Public Outreach.

  • 2023 - 24

SEC Emerging Scholars Doctoral Fellowship, Awarded by the South Eastern Conference (SEC) at UM.

For demonstrated commitment to diversity, excellence in academics and research.

  • Spring 2023

DGRAV Travel Award, 2023, APS April Meeting

  • 2015-16

INSPIRE scholarship awardee, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Awarded to  top 1% students of the state

  • 2013-16

Late Prof D.S.Jog Prize,  Endowment Prize awarded for second highest marks in Physics, Fergusson College, Pune.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

  • Fall 2024 - Present: Research Assistant, UM, Oxford, MS

  • Summer 2024: Undergraduate Physics Instructor of Record, UM, Oxford, MS

  • Fall 2023 - 2024: SEC Emerging Scholars Doctoral Fellow, UM, Oxford, MS​

  • Spring 2023 - Fall 2023: Research Assistant, UM, Oxford, MS​

  • Summer 2023: Undergraduate Physics Instructor of Record, UM, Oxford, MS

  • Fall 2020 -Spring 2023: Teaching Assistant for Physics labs, Department of Physics and Astronomy,  University of Mississippi,

  • Fall 2017 - Spring 2019: Student assistant in the IT department, Max Planck Institute for gravitational physics (Albert Einstein Institute), Potsdam.​

PUBLICATIONS 

  • "Observation of Gravitational Waves from the Coalescence of a  2.5-4.5 Msol Compact Object and a Neutron Star", LIGO Scientific Collaboration, Virgo Collaboration, KAGRA Collaboration, arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.04248

  • A Gupta et al., "Possible Causes of False General Relativity Violations in Gravitational Wave Observations", arXiv preprint arXiv:1905.07403.

  • P.Narayan, N. K. Johnson-McDaniel, and A. Gupta, “Effect of ignoring eccentricity in testing general relativity with gravitational waves,” Phys. Rev. D, vol. 108, p. 064 003, 6 Sep. 2023.  doi: 10.1103/PhysRevD.108.064003.

  • H. Bohra, S. Choudhury, P. Chauhan, P. Narayan, S. Panda, and A. Swain, “Relating the curvature of de sitter universe to open quantum lamb shift spectroscopy,” The European Physical Journal C, vol. 81, pp. 1–36, 2021. arXiv: 1905.07403.​

  •  H. Shankar, A. Tiwary, and P.Narayan, “Highly efficient method towards space debris scavenging,” 2nd International Space Conference, 2015.

CONTRIBUTED RESEARCH TALKS

  1. 2024 Physics and Astronomy Joint Research Symposium, Impact of strong gravitational lensing on GR tests with binary black hole signals, 2024.

  2. APS April Meeting, Assessing biases in testing general relativity due to type II lensing of binary black hole signals, 2024.

  3. GCGM10, Impact of strong gravitational lensing on GR tests with binary black hole signals, 2024.

  4. 15th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves, When can we ignore eccentricity when testing general relativity with gravitational waves? 2023.

  5. APS April Meeting, When can we ignore eccentricity when testing general relativity with gravitational waves? 2023.

  6. SESAPS, University of Mississippi, When can we ignore eccentricity when testing general relativity with gravitational waves? 2022.

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  1. Webinar: Introduction to Gravitational Wave Astronomy, University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Gravity’s secrets: The fascinating world of black holes through the lens of gravitational waves, Summer 2024.

  2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, GR deviations or mimicking biases? Understanding effects of Eccentricity and Strong Gravitational Lensing on GW tests of GR, Summer 2024.

  3. Center for Gravitational Physics, UT Austin, Exploring deviations in tests of general relativity with binary black hole coalescences: Eccentricity and Strong Gravitational Lensing effects, Spring 2024.

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  1. 50 Years of Horndeski Theory, GR Deviations or Biases? Effects of Eccentricity and Strong Gravitational Lensing on GW tests of GR, Summer 2024.

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  1. First High School Research Conference, UM, From curiosity to discovery: Researching black holes and gravity, Summer 2024.

  2. Gravitational Wave Summer Workshop, UM, Gravitational wave detectors, Summer 2024.

  3. Center for Multi-messenger Astrophysics, UM, aps tv, 2023.

  4. UM SEC Emerging Scholars, interview, 2023.

  5. Fergusson College, Pune, India, a journey from a back-bencher to a gravitational physicist, a popular talk given to physics aspiring undergraduate students, 2018.

  6. Udayan Care, Pune, India, what will the society say if i pursue my dreams? 2018.

  7. Interview with The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Berlin, Germany, Life in Germany as a student, 2017.

INVITED RESEARCH TALKS

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

INVITED OUTREACH TALKS and VIDEO APPEARANCES

SCHOOLS AND MEETINGS ATTENDED

  • 2024 - Physics and Astronomy Joint Research Symposium

  • 2024 - American Physical Society (APS) April Meeting, Sacramento, California

  • 2023 - 15th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves, virtual meeting.

                     SEC Emerging Scholars Workshop, Professional Development Workshop for SEC Scholars, University of Arkansas.

                     American Physical Society (APS) April Meeting, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

  • 2022 - SESAPS, 89th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS) meeting.

  • 2017 - Jurgen Ehlers Spring School, Albert Einstein Institute, Potsdam

  • 2016 - Introductory School on Astronomy and Astrophysics, IUCAA

  • 2015, 16 - Pulsar Observatory School, Ooty Radio Telescope, India

  •  2014 - Radio Astronomy Winter School, National Center for Radio Astrophysics, December 

                      National Initiative for Undergraduate Sciences (Physics), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • 2023 - Present

Member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboraion (LSC)

  • 2022-Present

Member of the American Physics Society (APS) 

Member of Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) Consortium

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