Dr Nimisha Kumari

(ESA/AURA Astronomer)

I am an ESA/AURA astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), where I devote half of my time supporting JWST and the other half to conducting my independent research.  I currently serve JWST as the Lead of the JWST Science Operations Calibration Planning Team and as the Calibration lead of JWST/NIRSpec Instrument. 

I also hold a joint position as Associate Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University. 

My research is mainly driven by questions related to galaxy formation and evolution, focusing on its three fundamental properties - chemical abundances, star-formation and gas-dynamics. I address these questions via observational studies of emission line galaxies, primarily using integral field and multi-object spectrographs.  I am also experienced with ultraviolet spectroscopy and multi-wavelength (FUV, optical, IR, radio) data analysis from various ground-based and space-borne instruments.

Beside research, I deeply care about making education and astronomy available to children and students (especially from disadvantaged backgrounds), and have been part of several outreach efforts.