भारतीय उष्णदेशीय मौसम विज्ञान संस्थान
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
पृथ्वी विज्ञान मंत्रालय, भारत सरकार का एक स्वायत्त संस्थान
An Autonomous Institute of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India
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
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fellow | India Meteorological Society (IMS) | - | 2024 |
| Plenary speaker | International Commission for Clouds and Precipitation (ICCP) | ICCP conference 2024 | 2024 |
| Member of the Reviewers Panel | Department of Science and Technology (DST) | for evaluating the R&D proposals in the field of "Urban Climate and Extreme Events." | 2024 |
| Member | World Meteorological Organizations (WMO) World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) Urban Prediction Project | to have improved state-of-the-science modeling capabilities and recommendations for predictions at sub-kilometer scales | 2024 |
| Member | WMO/WWRP Steering Group of the Integrated Hydro&Precip project | Part of WMO Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative | 2023 Aug |
| Member of the SURE committee SERB | Science and Engineering Board SERB) | 2023 | |
| Chairperson | MoES | drafting of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) Mission Mausam | 2023 |
| Chairperson for the planning of the new International Commission on Tropical Meteorology (ICTM) | IAMAS | - | 2023 |
| Best Employee Award 2023 | Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology | Outstanding contribution in the Implementation of Official Language | 2023 |
| Nodal person for Weather modification, WMO from India | MoES | - | 2023 |
| Member of the POWER committee SERB | Science and Engineering Board SERB) | - | 2023 |
| Member | CSIR | Expert Committee to review 4rd Tranche FTT-FTC Projects (2022-2024) | 2022-2024 |
| Member of Project Appraisal & Monitoring Committee (PAMC) | Science and Engineering Board SERB) | - | 2022 |
| Member of TEACHERS ASSOCIATESHIP FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE (TARE) Scheme, SERB | Science and Engineering Board SERB) | - | 2022 |
| Member of Project Appraisal & Monitoring Committee (PAMC) | Ministry of Earth Sciences | - | 2021-till now |
| ICCP/IAMAS | Honor | Conducting ICCP conference 2021 | 2021 |
| Anna Mani Award | Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) | Women Scientist | 2021 |
| Point of contact | for MoU between MoES and UAE | cloud seeding science and technology | 2021 |
| Senior Associate | International Centre for Theoretical Studies (ICTS) | Invited | 2018 (for a period of 3 years) |
| 4th Biannual Golden Jubilee Award 2017 | Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology | Outstanding contributions in Atmospheric Sciences and excellent leadership to CAIPEEX | 2018 |
| Member | WMO Expert Team on Weather Modification | Expert in the Field | 2016-2024 |
| 26th Silver Jubilee Award 2013 | Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology | Published paper | 2014 |
| Certificate of Merit Award | MoES | Outstanding contributions to Atmospheric Sciences | 2013 |
| ICCP commission member | IUGG/IAMAS/ International Commission on Clouds and Precipitation (ICCP) | Elected member | 2012-2021 |
| Associate Editor | Asia Pacific Journal of atmospheric Sciences | Editorial board 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.