Jaydeep Mukherjee, Ph.D.
Florida Space Grant Consortium Director
407-823-6177
Jaydeep.Mukherjee@ucf.edu
Dr. Jaydeep Mukherjee is the Director of the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium, association of seventeen public and private Florida Universities and colleges led by the University of Central Florida and administered by the Florida Space Institute. The Consortium also includes all of Florida’s community colleges, as well as the Astronaut Memorial Foundation, Space Florida, Kennedy Space Center, and Orlando Science Center. FSGC supports the expansion and diversification of Florida’s space industry, through providing grants, scholarships, and fellowships to students and educators from Florida’s public and private institutes of higher education.
Dr. Jaydeep Mukherjee received his Bachelor’s degree in Physics from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai and Master’s degrees in Physics from Mumbai University (University of Mumbai), India, and his M.S and Ph.D degrees in Astronomy from the University of Florida.
He was the Administrator of the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) at the University of Florida and later the Director of NASA FSGC at the University of Central Florida, located at the Kennedy Space Center. He was also the Director of the Florida Space Institute from 2006-2011. He served as the Chair of the Southeast Regional Space Grant, comprising of 10 southeast states from 2006-2014. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Space Grant Foundation from 2006-2008 and from 2012-2013.
Currently he is serving on the Board of Directors of the National Space Grant Alliance and is a member of the Commercial Space Operation Advisory Panel at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In 2011 the National Education Society of India presented him with the 2011 National Eminence Award. In 2003, he was a member of the Radio JOVE team that received the Group Achievement Award from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for excellence in outreach. In 1993, he was also awarded the Kerrick Prize by the Astronomy Department at the University of Florida for the commitment to the education of the public and to their understanding of Astronomy. He has published one book titled Close Binary Stars: A Pictorial Atlas along with co-authors Dr. Robert Wilson and Dr. Dirk Terrell.
Dr. Mukherjee personal interests include, following the sport of cricket worldwide, and he was an avid cricket and tennis player during his college and university days. He is married to Sreela Mallick and they both reside in Titusville, Florida.
His main interest is in close binary stars and STEM Education. His research interests include synthesis of observable quantities for interacting binaries, understanding binary star mass transfer, mass loss, and formation of particularly interesting or unusual close binary stars.
Areas of Interest
- Synthesis of observable quantities for interacting binaries.
- Understanding binary star mass transfer, mass loss, and formation of particularly interesting or unusual close binary stars.
- Space Education
Education
- BSc Dept. of Physics, St. Xaviers College, Mumbai, India, 1981
- MSc Dept. of Physics, Mumbai University, Mumbai, India, 1983
- MS Dept. of Astronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, 1988
- Ph.D Dept. of Astronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, 1993
Professional Employment
- Interim Director, Florida Space Institute, University of Central Florida, 2006 to 2011
- Director, Florida Space Grant Consortium, University of Central Florida, 2005 to present
- Administrator, Florida Space Grant Consortium, University of Central Florida, 2000-2005
- Administrator, Florida Space Grant Consortium, University of Florida, 1994-2000
- Visiting Lecturer, Dept. of Astronomy, University of Florida, 1993-94
- Adjunct Faculty, Santa Fe Community College, 1993-94