Three Master’s Students from IISER Pune Join MPI-M for Their Thesis Work
For the fourth year in a row, the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) is hosting guests as part of a collaboration between the Max Planck Society (MPG) and the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs).
This year, Raghav Kapoor, Steve Padua, and Ashik S. from IISER Pune in western India had successfully applied for exciting master’s projects at the MPI-M. Kapoor recalls learning of his acceptance on the day of the Hindu spring festival, Holi—also known as the “Festival of Colors”—amid the campus celebrations. A moment of euphoria: “I was so excited that I first ran a lap around campus.”
Virtual experiments with ICON
Kapoor is now contributing his enthusiasm to Moritz Günther’s research group in the Climate Dynamics department. Using the ICON climate model, Kapoor will run aquaplanet simulations, that is, simulations of a planet completely covered by water. The goal is to study how a systematic bias found in most climate models, namely the occurrence of two tropical rain belts instead of one, influences the circulation in the tropical atmosphere and tropical sea surface temperatures. “Highly idealized models fascinate me,” Kapoor says. “I’ve worked with idealized models for biophysical and traffic flow questions and I think it’s great. By removing the complexity, you can conduct interesting and elegant experiments that ultimately allow inferences about the real world.”
Steve Padua has joined Günther’s group as well. His work will be supervised by MPI-M researcher Masaki Toda. The project aims to determine how differing rates of land and ocean warming affect sea surface temperatures in the Pacific and consequently, atmospheric circulation. To achieve this goal, Padua will conduct virtual experiments with ICON, varying the land’s heat capacity. “I love playing around with model parameters and experimenting with different setups,” Padua says. This project is therefore tailored to his interests.
Climate data from sailing ships
Ashik has joined Claudia Timmreck’s team in the Climate Physics department. He will be analyzing historical climate data as part of the DOLDRUMS project, which investigates whether past changes in the tropical rain belt can be reconstructed using historic ship logs. “What I particularly like about this project is that it’s very out of the box,” Ashik says. “It also allows me to contribute my experience with climate data analysis and expand my machine learning skills.”
The three early-career researchers have a positive first impression of the MPI-M and Hamburg. “I like that the institute is very international,” says Kapoor. “You meet people from all corners of the world.” The guests also appreciate the cycling infrastructure and public transportation system, and they even find the Hamburg weather enjoyable: “Summer in Hamburg is like winter in India,” says Ashik, “I like that.”
About the IISER-MPG Master Internship Program
The IISER-MPG Master Internship Program enables outstanding master's students from prestigious IISER universities to conduct research at a Max Planck Institute. MPI-M has participated in the program since the collaboration began in 2023, hosting several talented young researchers. Two master’s students from this program were later accepted into the International Max Planck Research School on Earth System Modelling.
Further Information
- Working Group Large-Scale Coupled Dynamics
- Working Group Stratospheric Forcing and Climate
- Max Planck Partner Programs
Contacts
Christina Rieckers
International Office, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology
christina.rieckers@mpimet.mpg.de
Dr. Ulrike Kirchner
Research Coordination, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology
ulrike.kirchner@mpimet.mpg.de