Vice Chancellor, IIST

Prof. Dipankar Banerjee, Vice-Chancellor, joined IIST on 14 October 2024. He is an astrophysicist with a bachelor’s degree in physics (St. Xavier’s college) and master’s degree in Theoretical Physics from University of Kolkata. He has obtained his PhD from Indian Institute of Astrophysics and completed two postdoctoral tenures in reputed institutions in Europe. He served as Director, Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital from 2019-2024. He was also a senior professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.

Dr Banerjee’s area of interest is the Sun and the solar atmosphere. His work involves theoretical and numerical modeling using data from ground and space-based instruments. His work has enriched our understanding of the Sun and its impact on Space Weather.

He is the co-chair of the Science working group of the “Aditya” mission. Aditya is the first dedicated Indian mission to study the Sun, launched by ISRO on 2nd September 2023. He is also involved with NASA’s PUNCH mission. He is fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, National Science Academy, Royal Astronomical Society and currently the immediate past president of the Astronomical Society of India.

Dr Banerjee has more than 190 peer-reviewed publications with around 4200 Citations in international journals. He is currently supervising 5 PhD students while 17 of his students have completed their PhDs.

Apart from his scientific career, Dr Banerjee has interest in various other activities. He is trained in Hindustani vocal and part of a Bengali theatre group, Smarannik and regularly performs in plays, participating in national and international theatre festivals. Dr Banerjee’s love for science and zest for life are infectious.