On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I extend a warm welcome to you for the 7th Association of Nepali Physicists in America (ANPA) Conference, scheduled to take place from July 19th to 21st, 2024. This conference will be conducted in a hybrid format, featuring in-person sessions at Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Central Department of Physics, Tribhuvan University (T.U.), Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal and online session via Webex.

Since its inception in 2018, ANPA has been at the forefront of fostering collaboration among Nepali and international physicists and scientists hailing from various corners of the globe. Our primary objective has been to provide a platform for the presentation of cutting-edge scientific discoveries while facilitating connections and collaborations across academia, research institutions, and industries.

The conference program will encompass a diverse range of sessions, including keynote addresses, plenary lectures, invited talks, and contributions from students, researchers, early-career professionals, and seasoned experts in the field of Physics. These sessions are thoughtfully designed to contribute to the enrichment of the global physics community.

For the benefit of our in-person attendees, a limited number of participants will be eligible to receive financial support to cover their reasonable travel expenses, including airfare, ground transportation, meals, and lodging. The selection process for this support will be based on financial need, on a first-come, first-served basis, and will be contingent upon the availability of funds.

We are enthusiastic about the upcoming conference and eagerly anticipate engaging with participants from around the world to explore and discuss the latest advancements in the field of physics. Your participation is vital in ensuring the success of this event, and we look forward to your valuable contributions.

Warm regards,

Email: events@anpaglobal.org

Biography:

Prof. Narayan Chapagain, is a Professor of Physics at Amrit Campus, Tribhuvan University, Thamel, Kathmandu. Prof. Chapagain earned his MSc in Physics 1992 from TU and M.Tech in Space and Atmospheric Physics from Andhra University, India in 2003.  He completed his PhD in Space Physics in 2011 from Utah State University, USA. Thereafter, he worked as a postdoctoral research associate under the NASA Living with a Star Postdoctoral Fellowship program at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA until 2013.  Prof. Chapagain has more than 100 publications, among which 40 are SCIMAGO papers, which yields a total citation of 837. He has been serving as Supervisor for eight PhD students. In addition, he also served as the president of Nepal Physical Society from 2019 to 2022. 

Abstract

Space is the ultimate high ground from which a variety of satellite-based surveillance, communications, and navigation systems operate. As these technologies become increasingly intertwined into our day-to-day lives and national security, it becomes paramount to understand how they can be disrupted. When plasma in the ionosphere between a satellite and a receiver is turbulent, the transmitted signals scintillate. This scintillation poses a problem for a receiver, which can lose the ability to track that signal, adversely affecting technologies that rely on this system. Although low- to mid-latitude ionospheric irregularities have been studied for several decades, the capability to forecast their occurrence and day-to-day variability is still elusive and remains a challenge in space physics. In this presentation, our investigation of the morphology and dynamics of these ionospheric plasma irregularities will be discussed. Similarly, total electron content (TEC), i.e. the total number of electrons present per square meter along a path between a radio transmitter from a satellite and a receiver, using GPS network widely distributed across Nepal will be presented to study the trend of the ionospheric variability over Nepal. The ionospheric anomalies using the TEC data during solar eclipse as well as before and after the huge Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal (28.23°N, 84.73°E) with a magnitude of 7.8 on April 25, 2015 have been analyzed.