Ravindra Kumar
28 July - 01 August 2025
Yerevan State University
Yerevan, Armenia
Events
Ravindra Kumar
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India
Ultrafast Dynamics of High Energy Density Matter
Ultrahigh-intensity, femtosecond lasers can heat matter to extremely high temperatures at a high density, a situation not encountered in any other scenario. The dynamics of this interaction are very crucial, and we will look at the experiments and simulations that track the ultrafast evolution of relativistic electron beams, the giant magnetic fields they create, and the laboratory simulations of astrophysical phenomena they provide. This field opens up tremendous applications in particle acceleration and novel high-energy particle and EM sources.
About the Speaker
G. Ravindra Kumar obtained his M.Sc. (Hons) in Physics and B.E. (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani and a Ph.D. in Physics from IIT Kanpur. He did a postdoctoral stint for one year at IIT Kanpur before joining TIFR, Mumbai, in 1992, where he is presently a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Nuclear and Atomic Physics. His research involves experimental studies of high-intensity laser pulse interaction with matter, creation and understanding of extreme states of matter, and nonlinear optics. His research has implications for many branches of physics, including plasma physics, astrophysics, condensed matter physics, and optical sciences. He has about 190 peer-reviewed research publications to his credit.
He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (IASc), the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), and the National Academy of Science of India. He received the B.M. Birla Prize for Physical Sciences, the S.S. Bhatnagar Prize for Physical Sciences, a DAE Outstanding Investigator award, a J.C. Bose Fellowship, and the Infosys Prize in Physical Sciences. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of BITS, Pilani, and IIT Kanpur. He has been on the International Committee on Ultrahigh Intensity Lasers (ICUIL) since 2008 and was the Co-Chair during 2016-2020. He is presently the Chair of the Asian Intense Laser Network (AILN). He is a life member of the American Physical Society, the Plasma Science Society of India, and the Indian Laser Association. He is a member of the Optical Society of America. Details of his work can be accessed at www.tifr.res.in/~uphill.
