Scientist Profile

Dr.(Smt.) Thara Prabhakaran

Designation
: Scientist G

Phone
: +91-(0)20-25904371

Fax
: +91-(0)20-25865142

Email ID
: thara[at]tropmet[dot]res[dot]in

Cloud microphysics
Degree University Year Stream
Ph.D. Uni. of Natural Resources & Appl. Life Sciences (BOKU), Austria 1996 Atmospheric Sciences
M.Tech. University of Pune 1991 Atmospheric Sciences
M.Sc. University of Pune 1989 Physics

  Meso and microscale modeling and simulation

  Boundary Layer Meteorology

 Cloud microphysics

Award Name Awarded By Awarded For Year
Anna Mani Award Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) Women Scientist 2021
IAMAS/ICCP commission honour IAMAS/ICCP commission The conduct of International conference on clouds and precipitation (ICCP 2021) 2021
WMO nominee ASEAN workshop on weather modification Nominated 2018
4th Biannual Golden Jubilee Award 2017 Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology Outstanding contributions in Atmospheric Sciences and excellent leadership to CAIPEEX 2018
Senior Associate International Centre for Theoretical Studies (ICTS) Invited 2018
Member WMO Expert Team on Weather Modification Expert in the Field 2016
Certificate of Merit Award MoES - 2013
ICCP commission member IUGG/IAMAS/ International Commission on Clouds and Precipitation (ICCP) Elected member 2012-2021
Editorial board member Asia Pacific Journal of atmospheric Sciences Member 2011-2016
Research fellowship OAED Austrian Academic Exchange, Govt. of Austria Research 1993
Merit scholarship Kerala Educational board Best Performance 1982
Year Designation Institute
2023-Present Scientist G, Project Director (CAIPEEX/ PDTC) Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune
2018-2022 Scientist F, Project Director (CAIPEEX/ PDTC) Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune
2013-2017 Scientist E Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune
2008-2013 Scientist D Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune
2008-2008 Visiting Scientist National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
2001-2008 Postdoctoral Associate University of Georgia, USA
1998-2000 Scientist D Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam
1997-1998 Visiting Scientist Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, India
1997-1997 Postdoctoral fellow Institute for Meteorology and Physics (IMP/BOKU), Vienna, Austria

Research Highlight


CAIPEEX Indian Cloud Seeding Scientific Experiment

The study illustrates the scientific investigation of cloud seeding in convective clouds using hygroscopic (cloud base) seeding. The study has followed physical ( with detailed observations), statistical, and numerical modeling-based methodologies proposed by WMO to illustrate the impact of cloud seeding, microphysical changes within clouds, and the transformation of raindrops on the ground. The comprehensive experiment ( with airborne and ground-based observational setup) and the outcome from the 150 seed and 122 no-seed randomized seeding samples are illustrated. It is shown that it is possible to investigate convective cloud seeding using technological advances and advanced numerical modeling. The study fulfills the long pending task of IITM in accomplishing the scientific investigation of cloud seeding over the arid, water-scarce regions. The study also points to the extra area impacts of seeding, which is a key aspect to be considered for planning any operational project.

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