On March 27, 2024, the Inter-campus Marine Science (IMS) of University of Massachusetts (UMass) hosted an symposium at the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST). The event brought together students and faculties from various UMass campuses to showcase their latest findings and innovations in marine science. One of the highlights of the symposium was Sid Kerhalkar (a 5th year PhD candidate in the Tandon Lab), who was invited as a plenary speaker. Sid captivated the audience with his talk on the physics of hurricanes, drawing on insights from our recently concluded field trip to the Arabian Sea where we sampled the ocean post-hurricane (read more about the field campaign here).

Sid Kerhalkar presenting a plenary talk

Debarshi Sarkar (1st year PhD student) presented his research on biases in reanalysis fluxes in the Arabian Sea through a compelling poster and a lightning talk. His work with Sid and Dr. Tandon as co-authors shed light on the biases in the Arabian Sea meteorological and flux variables.

Debarshi Sarkar presenting a lightning talk on his research

In addition to his plenary talk, Sid was voted with the best “Marine-Science” themed photo award in the symposium’s photo contest. Sid’s winning photograph captured the most essential instrument associated with oceanography, the CTD rosette. Overall, the UMass IMS symposium proved to be a fruitful gathering for the Tandon lab members.

Sid’s photo contest winning picture!