Manavi Jadhav

Research Interests

I am a cosmochemist and a laboratory astrophysicist. My academic interests are in presolar (stardust) grains, isotope cosmochemistry, stellar nucleosynthesis, dust formation in circumstellar and interstellar environments, meteoritics, and early Solar System processes. I specialize in the laboratory analysis of stardust grains that are found in meteorites. The analytical techniques I commonly use to analyze stardust are, but are not limited to, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), resonant ionization mass spectrometry (RIMS), synchrotron x-fluorescence and tomography, and electron microscopy (SEM, TEM). Studying stardust in the laboratory allows me to understand the materials that made our Solar System. I decipher the history of the grains and use them as tools for enhancing our understanding of the physical conditions and processes operating in each of the environments to which the grains were exposed to during their lifetimes. This involves developing an understanding of their origins in stellar outflows, residence time in the interstellar medium, introduction into the protosolar nebula, incorporation into the solid bodies of the early solar system, and eventually, their survival in the various kinds of meteorites.

You can read more about my research activities on my website.

I am looking for enthusiastic and dedicated undergraduate and graduate students to join my lab. Please contact me if you are interested.

Teaching

• PHYS 207 (Sections 4 and 5): Algebra-based introductory physics -- Mechanics, Wave concepts, Thermodynamics for non-science majors.
• PHYS 215: Laboratory experiments covering mechanics, waves, simple harmonic motion, sound, and thermodynamics.