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{{Short description|Indian astronomer}}
{{Orphan|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox scientist
| name = Nikku Madhusudhan
| honorific_suffix =
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| birth_date =
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| birth_name = Nikku Madhusudhan
| death_date =
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| fields = [[Exoplanets]]
| workplaces = [[Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge]]<br>[[MIT]]<br>[[Princeton University]]<br>[[Yale University]]
| education =
| alma_mater = [[IIT-BHU]] (B. Tech)<br>[[MIT]] (MS, PhD)
| doctoral_advisor = [[Sara Seager]]
| thesis_title = Retrieval of Atmospheric Properties of Extrasolar Planets
| thesis_url =
| thesis_year = 2009
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| awards = {{Plainlist|
* [[European Astronomical Society|EAS]] MERAC Prize in Theoretical Astrophysics (2019).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eas.unige.ch/merac_prizes.jsp|title=MERAC Prizes|publisher=unige.ch}}</ref>
* [[International Union of Pure and Applied Physics|IUPAP]] Young Scientist Medal in Astrophysics (2016)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://iupap.org/commissions/c19-astrophysics/news/#2016_YSP_NS|title=News, IUPAP|publisher=iupap.org}}</ref>
* [[Astronomical Society of India|ASI]] Vainu Bappu Gold Medal (2014)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.astron-soc.in/vainu_bappu|title=Professor M. K. Vainu Bappu Gold Medal, IUPAP|publisher=iupap.org}}</ref>}}
| signature =
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| website = {{URL|https://people.ast.cam.ac.uk/~nmadhu/Nikku_Madhusudhan/Home.html}}
}}

'''Nikku Madhusudhan''' is a Reader in [[Astrophysics]] and Exoplanetary Science at the [[Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge|Institute of Astronomy]], [[University of Cambridge]]. He is credited with developing the technique of atmospheric retrieval to infer the compositions of [[exoplanet]]s.

==Education==
Madhusudhan obtained a B. Tech at [[Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi]] before pursuing an MS and [[PhD]] at [[MIT]]. His doctoral advisor was [[Sara Seager]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.saraseager.com/exoplanet-atmospheres/|title=Exoplanet Atmospheres - Sara Seager|publisher=saraseager.com}}</ref>

==Research==
During his PhD, Madhusudhan developed a method for inferring the composition and temperature structure of exoplanet atmospheres known as atmospheric retrieval, which is widely used today.<ref name="madhusudhan2009" /> In 2012, Madhusudhan showed that the mass and radius of the [[super-Earth]] [[55 Cancri e]] was consistent with a [[carbon]]-rich interior.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/121011-diamond-planet-space-solar-system-astronomy-science|title=Diamond Planet Found - Part of a "Whole New Class?"|publisher=nationalgeographic.com}}</ref> In 2014, he led a team which obtained high-precision measurements of the atmospheric water abundances of three [[hot Jupiter]]s, finding less water than would be expected given planet formation models at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2014/news-2014-36.html|title=Hubble Finds Three Surprisingly Dry Exoplanets|publisher=hubblesite.org}}</ref> Madhusudhan was part of a team that detected [[titanium oxide]] in the atmosphere of the planet WASP-19b.<ref name="Sedaghati2017" /> In 2020, Madhusudhan led a team who studied the interior and atmosphere of the [[mini-Neptune]] exoplanet [[K2-18b]].<ref name="madhusudhan2020" /> They found that in certain cases, liquid water may exist on the planet's surface, albeit at temperatures and pressures higher than [[Standard conditions for temperature and pressure|STP]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/26/world/k218b-exoplanet-water-habitable-scn/index.html|title=Potentially habitable exoplanet could broaden the search for life beyond Earth|publisher=cnn.com}}</ref>

== References ==

{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="madhusudhan2009">{{Cite journal | title= A Temperature and Abundance Retrieval Method for Exoplanet Atmospheres
| last1=Madhusudhan | first1=Nikku | last2=Seager | first2=Sara| display-authors=1 | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=707 | issue=1 | date=December 2009 | pages=24–39 | arxiv=0910.1347 | bibcode=2009ApJ...707...24M | bibcode-access=free | doi=10.1088/0004-637X/707/1/24 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

<ref name="Sedaghati2017">{{cite journal | title=Detection of titanium oxide in the atmosphere of a hot Jupiter | last1=Sedaghati | first1=Elyar | last2=Boffin | first2=Henri M. J. | last3=MacDonald | first3=Ryan J. | last4=Gandhi | first4=Siddharth | last5=Madhusudhan | first5=Nikku | last6=Gibson | first6=Neale P. | last7=Oshagh | first7=Mahmoudreza | last8=Claret | first8=Antonio | last9=Rauer | first9=Heike | display-authors=1 | journal=Nature | volume=549 | issue=7671 | pages=238–241 | year=2017 | arxiv=1709.04118 | bibcode=2017Natur.549..238S | doi=10.1038/nature23651 }}</ref>

<ref name="madhusudhan2020">{{Cite journal | title=The Interior and Atmosphere of the Habitable-zone Exoplanet K2-18b | last1=Madhusudhan | first1=Nikku | last2=Nixon | first2=Matthew C. | last3=Welbanks | first3=Luis | last4=Piette | first4=Anjali A. A. | last5=Booth | first5=Richard A. | display-authors=1 | journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters | volume=891 | issue=1 | at=L7 | date=March 2020 | arxiv=2002.11115 | bibcode=2020ApJ...891L...7M | bibcode-access=free | doi=10.3847/2041-8213/ab7229 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madhusudhan, Nikku}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]

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Nikku Madhusudhan - Revision history

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