Research Interests

• Isotope Cosmochemistry
• Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis
• Origin and Early Evolution of the Solar System and its planetary bodies

Current Research Activities

• Short-Lived now extinct radionuclides in early Solar System
• Organics in primitive meteorites
• Secondary alteration processes in meteorites
• Heavy element Nucleosynthesis in AGB stars
• Study of grains from Itokawa Asteroid (Hayabusa I)
• Model for grain destruction in Inter-stellar Medium
• Interstellar dust grain from upper atmosphere

Laboratory Facilities

• Nano Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (nanoSIMS)
• Class 1000 clean chemistry laboratory for Extra-terrestrial materials
• Sample processing laboratory

Academic Qualifications

• 1996-2001:   Ph.D., Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India
• 1993-1995:   M.Sc., Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore, M.P, India
• 1990-1993:   B.Sc., Holkar Science College, Indore, M.P, India

Professional Experience

• 2022-2023:   Fulbright Fellow,   Carnegie Institute of Sciences, Washington D.C., USA
• 2020-Present:   Professor,   Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India
• 2013-2020:   Associate Professor,   Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India
• 2014-2015:   Visiting Scientist,   Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science,   NASA Johnson Space Center , Houston, USA
• 2007-2013:   Reader,   Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India
• 2005-2007:   Research Associate,   McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
• 2002-2005:   Postdoctoral Fellow,   Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
• 2001-2002:   Postdoctoral Fellow,   Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India

Awards

• Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award, United States-India educational foundation, 2022-23
• SERB POWER Fellow, Department of Science & Technology, India, 2021
• Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 2019
• Devendra Lal Memorial Medal: American Geophysical Union, 2019
• Eminent Mass Spectrometrist: Indian Society of Mass Spectrometry , 2019
• Kavli fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 2015
• Women Excellence Award: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Department of Science & Technology, India, 2013
• Member of STARDUST preliminary examination (cometary sample return mission) team, 2006
• INSA Young Scientist Award: presented by Indian National Science Academy, India, 2004

Professional Services

• Nominating Committee, Meteoritical society 2023-2024
• Council member, Meteoritical society 2018-2022
• NASA Review Panelist
• Scientific advisor board, Astronomy with Radioactive Isotopes, Budapest, Hungary 2020
• Scientific advisor board, Meteoritical society meeting, Japan 2019
• Co-convener: Workshop on the theme: Role of sample return in addressing major outstanding questions in Planetary Sciences, Bern, Switzerland, 2018.
• Co-convener: Goldschmidt conference, for session titled: Presolar Grains and Isotopic Heterogeneity in Planetary Materials, Paris, France, 2017
• Convened a meeting on: Search for micro-organisms in space, September 2016, sponsored by ISRO at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, 2016

Research Grants

• PI, "The Evolving Protostellar Enviorment: A study of spatial and temporal variations of rare earth elements in Calcium Aluminium-Rich Inclusions" (2025-2028)
  Women Involvement in Science and Engineering Research (WISER), Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.[IGSTC-05232]
• Co-PI Indian Space Research Organization Respond project on
  “Fe-Ti cumulate Interaction with the Lunar Mantle- Insight into Lunar crust composition and evolution”. (2024-2027)
• Co-PI SPARC: Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (P3824)
  “Space weathering on Mercury, Moon and Carbon-rich asteroids: Experimental simulations and nanoscale study” 1st April 2024 - 31st March 2026
• Co-PI, "The origin and evolution of large carbonaceous molecules in our solar system" (2022-2023)
  Hayabusa 2 sample return mission. JAXA curation center
• PI, "Organics in meteorites: Understanding the parent body processes in the early solar system" (2023-2026)
  Department of Science & Technology, India [CRG/2022/009047]
• PI, "Nascent Sun: Solar flares and million year old protoplanetary disk" (2021-2024)
  SERB-POWER Fellowship, Science and Engineering Research Board-Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research
  Department of Science & Technology, India [SPF/2021/000116]
• PI, "High precision Chronology of refractory Inclusions from primitive chondrites" (2021-2024)
  CEFIPRA, Indo French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research [6407-A]
• Co-PI, "Chronology, evolution of CAIs in Ordinary chondrites" (2021-2022)
  Europlanet 2024 RI -Research Infrastructure [20-EPN2-036]
• PI to JAXA for Hayabusa 1 on “Al-Mg analyses of pristine particles from Itokawa” 2017
• PI, "Stellar nucleosynthesis of transition elements" (2013-2016)
  SERB, Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science & Technology, India [SB/WEA-007/2013]

Group Members

Present Members
• Vikram Goyal, Sr. Scientific Assistant
• Shreeya Natrajan, Scientist/Engineer'SD
• Ankit Prakash Singh, Senior Research Fellow
• Antariksha Mitra, Senior Research Fellow
• Neha, Junior Research Fellow

Past Members
• Dr. Manish Sanghani(2021-22), Post Doctoral Fellow
• Dr. Rahul Das Gupta(2021-22), Research Associate
• Advait Unnithan, Research Fellow

Teaching Experiences

• Cosmochemistry: Basics and advance courses
• Instrumentation and Vacuum technology
• Nucleosynthesis:Evolution of elements
• Nuclear Physics

Recent Publications

• Spectroscopic investigation of insoluble organic matter in aubrites and enstatite chondrites.
  Neha^#, S. Natrajan and K. K. Marhas
  Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 2025 DOI : 10.1029/2025JE009101
• Petrography and isotopic studies of refractory inclusions and Al-rich chondrules in Semarkona, ALHA81251, and Chainpur unequilibrated ordinary chondrites.
  R. K. Mishra, K. K. Marhas, J. I. Simon, Y. Marrocchi, J. Villeneuve
  Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 2025 DOI : 10.1111/maps.70062
• Thermo-temporal constraints on CM parent body via spectroscopic study of insoluble organic matter.
  S. Natrajan, K. K. Marhas, V.J. Rajesh, A. Mitra
  Chemical Geology, Volume 690, Article 122880, 2025 DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2025.122880
• Solar system research prospects for the decade and beyond.
  S. N. Nath, S. Ganesh, R. K. Mishra, M. Bhatt, D. Sahu, S. Sarkhel, G. Thangjam,
  K. K. Marhas, K. Aravind, K. Venkataramani, P. Halder, P. Prajapati and P. Sreekumar
  Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, Volume 46, Article number 34, 2025 DOI : 10.1007/s12036-025-10060-0
• In Situ, Microscopic, Microanalytical View of the Solar System Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer. (Book Chapter)
  R. K. Mishra and K. K. Marhas
  Analytical Isotope Geochemistry. Techniques and Data Interpretation. Page No. 53, Book ISBN:978-3-031-88388-0 2025 DOI : 10.1007/978-3-031-88388-0
• Primitive lunar mantle materials at the Chandrayaan-3 landing site.
  R. K. Sinha, N. Panwar, N. Srivastava, D. Ray, N. Mithun, K. K. Marhas , S. Vijayan, M. Bhatt, A. R. Patel, M. Shanmugam, S. Vadawale, A. Bhardwaj
  Nature Communications Earth & Environment, volume 6, Article number 321, 2025 DOI : 10.1038/s43247-025-02305-1
• Report on the International Conference Meteoroid, Meteor and Meteorites: Messengers from Space-MetMESS-2024 held during 20-22 November 2024.
  D. Ray, K. K. Marhas, V. Sheel, A. Bhardwaj
  Volume 101, Issue 1, Pages 136-137, Publisher Geological Society of India, 2025 DOI : 10.17491/jgsi/2025/174073
• ²⁶Al-²⁶Mg isotopic studies in some calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions and chondrules from unequilibrated chondrites.
  R. K. Mishra, K. K. Marhas M. Trieloff
  Current Science 125 (2), 191-203, 2023 DOI : 10.18520/cs/v125/i2/191-203
• Microstructural and Chemical Investigations of Presolar Silicates from Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars and Type-II Supernova Explosions.
  M. N. Sanghani^#, L. Lajaunie, K. K. Marhas W. D.A. Rickard, S. S.-Y. Hsiao, Z. Peeters, H. Shang, D.-C. Lee J. J. Calvino and M. Bizzarro
  The Astrophysical Journal, 925: 110, 2022 DOI : 10.3847/1538-4357/ac3332
• Presolar silicate and oxide grains found in lithic clasts from Isheyevo and fine grained matrices of NWA 801.
  M. N. Sanghani^#, K. K. Marhas S. S.-Y. Hsiao, Z. Peeters, H. Shang, D.-C. Lee, and M. Bizzarro
  The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 253:41, 2021 DOI : 10.3847/1538-4365/abdbab
• Isotopic, Structural and Chemical Analyses of Pre-Solar Silicates from Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars and Type-II Supernova Explosions Microscopy and Microanalysis.
  L. Lajaunie , M. Sanghani^# , W. Rickard , S. S.-Y. Hsiao , Z. Peeters , H. Shang , D.-C. Lee , J. Calvino , K. K. Marhas , M. Bizzarro
  Microscopy and Microanalysis, Volume 27, Issue S1, 1 August 2021, Pages 2782–2784, DOI : 10.1017/S1431927621009752
• Sputtering of presolar grains via Galactic Cosmic Rays in the Interstellar medium.
  A. Garg*, K. K. Marhas and V. Goyal
  The Astrophysical Journal, 905:80, 2020 DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abc25b
• Meteoritic evidences of a late superflare as a source of ⁷Be in the early Solar System.
  R. K. Mishra and K. K. Marhas
  Nature Astronomy,3:498, 2019, DOI: 10.1038/s41550-019-0716-0
• Transition elements in Supernova presolar grains: Condensation vs. Implantation.
  K. K. Marhas and P. Sharda*
  The Astrophysical Journal, 853:12, 2018, DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa9e8e

• Role of Sample Return in Addressing Major Questions in Planetary Sciences.
  Editors: M. Anand, S. Russell, Y. Lin, M. Wadhwa, K. K. Marhas , S. Tachibana
  Space Sci Rev (2020) 216:101 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00724-4