Kuljeet Kaur Marhas was elected as a 2026 Fellow of the Meteoritical Society

Kuljeet Kaur Marhas was elected as a 2026 Fellow of the Meteoritical Society

¨     Kuljeet Kaur Marhas was elected as a 2026 Fellow of the Meteoritical Society on 9 May 2026.

¨     She became the first Indian woman to receive this international honour in the field of meteoritics and planetary science.

¨  She is associated with the Planetary Sciences Division of Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad.

¨  The Meteoritical Society is an international scientific organization related to meteorites, planetary materials, and solar system research.

¨     Fellows of the society are selected for their contributions to planetary materials and related laboratory studies.

¨     In the 93-year history of the society, Kuljeet Kaur Marhas became only the third Indian scientist to receive this honour.

¨    Her research focuses on short-lived radionuclides and stable isotopes found in extraterrestrial materials.

¨   She has worked on presolar grains, calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions, chondrules, and organic matter found in meteorites.

¨    These materials are used in cosmochemistry and the study of the early solar system.

¨  She has analysed samples collected from the Stardust mission, Hayabusa mission, and Apollo programme.

¨     Her work involves the use of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and NanoSIMS techniques.

¨ These laboratory techniques are used to measure isotopic and elemental compositions at microscopic scales.

¨     Kuljeet Kaur Marhas is also a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.

¨     She is a recipient of the Devendra Lal Memorial Medal.