We are excited to announce that Dr. Siddhant Kerhalkar successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis titled “Salinity Stratification and Lateral Variability in the Northern Indian Ocean: From Calm Diurnal Cycles to Cyclone-Induced Recovery” on July 28, 2025.

The thesis was defended in front of a public audience including Dr. Kerhalkar’s distinguished committee members, who have been instrumental in his research. We thank them for their attendance –

– Prof. Amit Tandon (Advisor, Commonwealth Professor, DEOS, UMassD)
– Prof. Miles A Sundermeyer (Professor, DEOS, UMassD)
– Prof. Steven Lohrenz (Professor, DEOS, UMassD)
– Dr. J Thomas Farrar (Senior Scientist, WHOI)
– Dr. Kenneth Hughes (Senior Lecturer, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand)

Following the public session at SMAST, there was a private session with only Sid and his committee.

We also thank the several attendees, both in person in SMAST and online over zoom, of which there were several.

Dr. Siddhant Kerhalkar now starts as a postdoctoral investigator in Dr. Hyodae Seo’s lab at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in September. We wish him luck on this new journey!

Congratulations, Dr. Sid!

Dr. Siddhant Kerhalkar (second from left) with his committee members after his successful defense! (From L to R – Prof. Miles A Sundermeyer, Dr. Siddhant Kerhalkar, Dr. Kenneth Hughes (on screen), Dr. J. Thomas Farrar, Prof. Amit Tandon, Prof. Steven Lohrenz)