Dr. Somnath Mahato is a Project Scientist III at the INSAT Automatic Weather Station (AWS) Laboratory, Office of Climate Research & Services, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Pune, India. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). His research focuses on satellite navigation, geospatial technologies, GNSS-based positioning, and meteorological applications.

Dr. Mahato received his Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology, in 2012, followed by a Master of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering (Microwaves) from The University of Burdwan in 2014. He was awarded his Ph.D. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Sikkim in 2023. His doctoral research focused on multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) for standalone and Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning, with particular emphasis on improving positioning accuracy and navigation performance.

His research expertise encompasses NavIC, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and other multi-GNSS constellations, with a particular interest in high-precision positioning techniques, including Real-Time Kinematic (RTK), Post-Processed Kinematic (PPK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), PPP ambiguity resolution, and MADOCA State Space Representation (SSR) corrections. He is also actively interested in smartphone-based GNSS positioning, low-cost GNSS receivers, GNSS signal analysis, GNSS-enabled Internet of Things (IoT), precision agriculture, and geospatial applications.

In addition to satellite navigation and geodesy, his interdisciplinary research interests include satellite and radar meteorology, automatic weather station networks, solar radiation variability, climate interactions, and the influence of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), aerosols, and cloud cover on global and diffuse solar radiation. His research integrates experimental GNSS observations, geospatial data analysis, statistical modeling, and emerging computational techniques for scientific and operational applications.

Throughout his research career, Dr. Mahato has been associated with the GNSS Laboratory at The University of Burdwan (August 2017–March 2023) and the National Centre for Geodesy at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur (April 2023–July 2023), before joining the India Meteorological Department in July 2023. His research contributions have resulted in peer-reviewed publications in international journals and conference proceedings, addressing satellite navigation, high-precision positioning, geodesy, meteorological applications, and emerging geospatial technologies.

In recognition of his research and professional contributions, he has received several distinctions, including the Young Scientist Award (2020), IEEE Young Professional of the Year (2025), IEEE Senior Member of the Year Award (2026), and elevation to Fellow of IETE (2025). He was also included in the Stanford–Elsevier World's Top 2% Scientists 2026 list in the field of Information and Communication Technologies, with a strong research focus in Networking and Telecommunications. 

Dr. Mahato is actively engaged in scientific research, academic collaboration, professional activities, and technology development. His broader research vision is to advance satellite navigation, high-precision positioning, geospatial technologies, and meteorological applications through interdisciplinary research, innovation, and international scientific collaboration.