नमो वः!

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Welcome to My Website

I love science and astronomy and enjoy sharing my knowledge. I also do amateur radio with the call sign VU3PXE. In my free time, I watch birds, take photos of mushrooms and flowers, collect interesting things, read about history, and listen to podcasts on history, language, Money (Debt) and politics. Check out my work and achievements in science.

I have created this page from scratch. but I have used some snippets from many places. main source would be w3schools.com. feel free to use this page as a source if you are interested in creating your page. the page is hosted on the GitHub server and I am using free hosting.

About VU3PXE

I am a proud Indian. My mother tongue is Marathi and I am also fluent in Hindi and English.

Education

  • M.Sc. Physics, Fergusson College, Pune
  • B.Sc. Physics, Abasaheb Garware College, Pune

Hobbies

  • Amateur Astronomy
  • Reading (History, Astronomy and Technology)
  • Playing online or offline chess
  • Traveling and Hiking
  • Birding (have spotted >85 species)
  • clicking pictures with mobile camera
About Me

Work Experience

Project Scientific Assistant - Vigyan Pratibha Project, HBCSE

10 Jan 2023 - Current

The Vigyan Pratibha Project is a government initiative to foster an inclusive environment within Indian schools, where students of various abilities and underserved backgrounds can develop their talents in science and mathematics.

Accomplishments:

  • Translated four Learning Units into Marathi (Links will direct you to the particular learning unit.).
  • Assisted in the editorial process for the Marathi translation of the Class 8 booklet. Both booklets are available in print Now
  • Translated three articles for Anandi. ‘Anandi’ is a friendly newsletter tailored to answer a curious young mind’s questions. See link
  • Conducted an online talk on rainy season "पावसाळा" as a part of STEAM Boat talk series

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Assist in maintaining the Vigyan Pratibha Project website.
  • Contribute to the development of innovative and challenging learning units for science and mathematics.
  • Conduct field testing of Learning Units across various schools.
  • Engage in teacher professional development and work closely with in-service teachers.
  • The role demands strong academic skills, the ability to engage with teachers and students in diverse settings (urban, rural, and tribal), and a deep sensitivity to the learning needs of students from different backgrounds across the country.

Instruction Specialist - Pi Jam Foundation

22 Dec 2021 - 30 Jun 2022
  • I worked as an Instructor Specialist at Pi Jam Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to advancing computer science education in government schools.
  • Guided students in creating a website for their school from scratch. here is the sample of the website.
  • I also created a short video showing steps to change the keyboard language on Raspberry Pi

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Implement the curriculum and lessons designed by the Pi Jam Foundation in every classroom session.
  • Contributed by creating new lesson plans to implement the curriculum
  • Collect and input data as directed by the Impact and Assessment team at Pi Jam Foundation.
  • Manage relationships with stakeholders and ensure effective communication.

Intern - MVS, IUCAA

24 Apr 2018 - 18 MAy 2018
23 Apr 2017 - 30 Jun 2017

My Role as an Intern:

  • Assisted students in the summer school program by guiding them through experiments.
  • Taught science and math concepts to participants.
  • Helped collect and analyze data during the summer camp.
  • Edited videos for the IUCAA SciPop channel.

Projects

Astrophysics Fellow (Summer Research Fellowship Program) at SARSTEM

17 Jul 2021 – 25 Sept 2021

Project Title: Constraints on the Variable Chaplygin Gas Model from Gravitational Wave Merger Events

Description:

Scientific observations often challenge and refine existing theories. One such groundbreaking observation was of Type Ia supernovae. While numerous cosmological models attempt to explain the universe's expansion, the Variable Chaplygin Gas model stands out. This model transitions from a dust-dominated era to a quintessence-dominated era and aligns well with current Type Ia Supernovae data. In this project, we constrained the parameters of the Variable Chaplygin Gas model by analyzing supernova events and gravitational wave events across different redshifts.

Project Student at GMRT (Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope)

01 Nov 2019 – 30 Apr 2020 (Certificate not available)

Project Title: Analysis of Matched Frequency Data from Legacy and Upgraded GMRT

Description:

Collaborating with Prof. Ishwar Chandra from NCRA, this project involved creating and analyzing images from 100 datasets selected from GMRT archival data. Using the Common Astronomy Software Application (CASA), I worked on these datasets to produce images, modifying the provided pipeline to optimize processing time. During the analysis, I detected an unusual Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) in one of the backend datasets, which did not appear in the other. This peculiar RFI, observed to shift its position within the frequency domain, was reported and investigated by GMRT engineers, with my involvement to understand its origin.

Construction of a Radio JOVE Receiver (MSc Second Year Project)

Description:

During my second year of MSc, I built a Radio JOVE receiver using a design by Jim Rowe, which is an improved and cost-effective version of NASA’s original design. NASA's version contained many obsolete and expensive components, making Rowe’s design more practical. I successfully assembled the receiver from scratch and fine-tuned it using a signal generator at 20 MHz.

Sci-Pop Activities:

Meetups, Schools, Workshops, and Conferences Attended:

Special Experience:

Contact Me

Feel free to reach out to me through this contact form

HAM call sign: VU3PXE

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nilkantha-gholap