I was born and brought up in Sonepur (Subarnapur), western Odisha, India. Education: Adarsha UGME School (Estd. 1921), M R High School (Estd. 1913), Sonepur College (Estd 1964). Sambalpur University (Estd. 1967). I got my Ph.D.  (Physics (Astronomy & Astrophysics)) from Joint Astronomy Programme of the Indian Institute of Science  (IISc; Bengaluru) & National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCRA-TIFR; Pune), India in 2007. After my 5 years postdoctoral research in Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA; Taiwan), I was invited to join UM-DAE CEBS in Dec 2012. I was promoted to Reader-F in August 2013 through an international expert review (for a Regular Faculty position) which has the approval from the Governing Council of UM-DAE CEBS.

Since June 2014, I am University Grant Commission (UGC) Assistant Professor in UM-DAE CEBS as CEBS authorities requested UGC to re-appoint me and two others in UM-DAE CEBS. This UGC position is a Regular faculty position (till superannuation at 65 years) created by mission Faculty Recharge Programme of UGC-Ministry of Human Resource Development (now Dept of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Govt of India). UGC provides me monthly-salary and start-up-grant which has partially helped establish my Nationwide Inter-University Citizen Science Research Startup named RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory, India ( #RADatHomeIndia ), as presented in my UGC job interview and as per UGC service condition. This was the prime reason for my return to India.

I have received the Best PhD Thesis award in the year 2007 from the Astronomical Society of India, the largest body of professional astronomers in India (now this is renamed as Justice Oak Award for Outstanding Thesis in Astronomy).

Felicitated by Honorable Chief Minister, Govt of  Odisha (Shri Naveen Patanaik) for my astronomical discoveries and my role as founding Director and Principal Investigator of RAD@home for citizen-science research with the GMRT, on 13th Dec 2017. Reference https://goo.gl/2gdC3e

I am one of the three, who has been awarded "Samanta Chandrasekhar Jyotirbigyani Sanman" by SCAAA at IOP, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India on 28th Feb 2018 Ref: https://goo.gl/PYjV97

For the same reason, I have been felicitated by the Director of Indian Institute for Science Education and Research (IISER, Kolkata), on 17th Aug 2019, in front of a gathering of ~130 students/scientists.

Similarly I have been felicitated by  Director, IISER-Berhampur for my leadership and contributions to Citizen Science Research in India in the field of astronomy and astrophysics. This was during an ODRAW with 155 participants on 19th Oct. 2019

Elected Member of The International Astronomical Union (IAU, Paris). IAU is the largest and oldest body of professional astronomers in the world. IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (Germany) and Shaw prize foundation invited me to speak on RAD@home in October 2021 along with citizen science representatives from NASA, Zooniverse, NAOJ(Japan) and CosmoQuest (USA). With IAU's financial supports RAD@home also presented its research results and conducted International workshop during IAU symposium-375 (December 2022).

I am an Associate member (independent) of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) India Consortium (SKAIC), and international member of Extragalactic Continuum (galaxies/AGN, galaxy clusters) science working group. SKA, head-quartered in UK, is an international observatory with India as a partner country (Mega-project of India funded through DAE & DST). This will be the world’s largest radio telescope to explore the Universe. My research result on NGC3801 (NASA-JPL-CalTech news release 2012) was chosen to represent one of the 8 big science goals of SKA in the brochure and appeared in all SKA posters of multi-city Vigyan Samagam exhibition organised by DAE DST NCSM Govt of India (May 2019 to March 2020).

I am a Member of the Principal Scientific Adviser’s Consultative Group to advise the Govt of India on various matters of policy relating to science and society (I am coordinator of astronomy sub-group).

Reviewer/referee for Time Allocation Committees of GMRT, ASTROSAT, DOT telescopes and for international refereed journals MNRAS-Letter(IF 5.231), A&A (IF 6.209), Galaxies (IF 2.05), JOAA (IF 1.61).

PI of successful research proposals in various international/national telescopes like GMRT, VLA, XMM-Newton, ASTROSAT, SMA, ALMA, Subaru, CFHT, KISO, HCT, Lulin …

Research Publications:  https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=paxEpRcAAAAJ&hl=en

Total citations= 605, h-index=14, Total Impact Factor: 100+

*** International Press Releases and news on four of my Discoveries (Exotic galaxy Speca (2011), Cosmic Leaf-blower galaxy (2012), A blue supergiant star the farthest star (2013), RAD12 black hole jet hitting a galaxy (2022) and a national DST-GoI press release on founding the first Indian citizen science research in astronomy RAD@home (2018).  (Each of the first 3 news created nearly 3 Lakhs Google hits and the 4th news had Lakhs of Views)). They are linked here

1. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/jpl/news/galex20120403.html

2. http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=121556

3. http://www.ncra.tifr.res.in/ncra/outreach/press-releases/gmrt-discovers-an-exotic-galaxy-revealing-tantalizing-tale

4. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2111311,00.html

5. http://www.naoj.org/Pressrelease/2013/04/10/index.html

6. https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/black-hole-discovered-firing-jet-neighbouring-galaxy

7.  http://vigyanprasar.gov.in/isw/inspired_bollywood_flick_power_facebook_indian_scientist_builds_army_e-astronomers_story.html

RAD@home, India (www.radathomeindia.org) launched on 15th April 2013 is the only Swadeshi/Indian Citizen-science Research platform in astronomy which uses data and observes from Indian telescopes to publish discoveries Internationally. It is a zero-funded zero-infrastructure nation-wide inter-university collaboratory of 200+ trained citizen-scientists or e-astronomers, dozen professional astronomers, and thousands of online-learners. Over thousand students/citizens have been trained on the basic multi-wavelength (UV-Optical-IR-radio) extragalactic astronomy by RAD@home. We always welcome external cash/kind/moral support from any individual/institution, both Govt/Pvt, for our citizen-science research with the GMRT telescope, the largest such in the world, and pride of the nation. RAD has received institutional (infrastructural/financial) support from Vigyan Samagam (SKA-India Consortium, DAE, DST, NCSM, Govt of India), ICTS-TIFR, IOP, IISc, HRI, NISER, UM-DAE CEBS, Nehru Planetarium (Delhi), Vigyan Prasar (DST), IISER (Kolkata & Berhampur), IIT (Delhi, BHU & Mandi), St. Stephens College (Delhi University), Thapar Institute, International Astronomical Union (IAU-OAD, OAE, & OAO), Dept of Science & Technology, Govt of Rajasthan, Govt of Odisha, Tata Steel, SCAAA, SKA-India Consortium, GTAC (GMRT/NCRA-TIFR), NIAS, University Faculty Association (India), etc. Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt of India, of which I am also a member, now promotes citizen science research. New Science, Technology & Innovation policy of the Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India also promote citizen science. Our Motto: Any BSc/BE Can Do research using GMRT sitting at home anywhere in India by joining RAD@home free of cost. #ABCDresearch #RADatHomeIndia #DilyGalaxyRGBC #DilSeDiscovery #NIUgalaxyRGBCanalysis
The Internationally Published conference paper (Hota et al. 2014) and Refereed Journal Paper (Hota et al. 2016 and 2022)  are available through NASA ADS here

https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022MNRAS.517L..86H/abstract

https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016JApA...37...41H/abstract
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014ASInC..13..141H/abstract

Press/News release from ISW, Vigyan Prasar, DST, Govt. of India on RAD@home is here http://vigyanprasar.gov.in/isw/inspired_bollywood_flick_power_facebook_indian_scientist_builds_army_e-astronomers_story.html

Press release by Royal Astronomical Society (UK) is here (similarly from NCRA-TIFR, UM-DAE CEBS & RAD@home )
https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/black-hole-discovered-firing-jet-neighbouring-galaxy

International Recognition to  #RADatHomeIndia 

Nature Index has chosen RAD@home, 1 of 3 globally, and highlighted in an article on citizen science research. The article is available here go.nature.com/2ZJraif This was also highlighted by the international SKA Observatory (UK) in their website and magazine Contact.

SKA: Square Kilometre Array (SKA telescope) international organisation (UK) have given public declarations for students/citizens to join RAD@home. This highlight appeared in their website and in the SKA magazine Contact. SKA listed RAD@home as one of the seven radio astronomy citizen science research programmes in the world. Refer https://www.skatelescope.org/outreachandeducation/outreach-resources/citizen-science/

IAU: International Astronomical Union (Paris, 100+ years old, largest body of professional astronomers in the world) has given public declarations for students/citizens to join RAD@home (especially so during the Covid-19 pandemic). IAU listed RAD as one of 20 astronomy programmes globally. IAU-OAD has supported one RAD workshop, and IAU-OAE has invited the PI to speak in their meetings. RAD proudly was one of the 5 selected astronomy citizen science programmes in the world along with Zooniverse, NASA citizen science programmes, NAOJ's Galaxy Cruize and CosmoQuest (USA). IAU has given grant support to enable RAD@home members present their research results and its model and co-organise the 1st international RAD@home Astronomy Workshop at the IAU Symposium 375.

Refer: RAD@IAU presentation and workshop certificate
https://astro4edu.org/shaw-iau/sessions/citizen-science/
https://www.iau.org/public/callforonlineresources/

The Brochure of RAD@home can be found here https://radathomeindia.org/brochure

Some of my other initiatives........
NIISS: https://www.facebook.com/NIISScollaborationIndia

QASTRO: . https://www.facebook.com/QastroSKAindia/

SARP:  https://www.facebook.com/SARPatCEBS/   http://goo.gl/VYLM2t

#eAstroLab:   https://goo.gl/qMpSmP

S3N3_India: https://www.facebook.com/S3N3.India/

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