Dr. Lika Guhathakurta

Dr. Madhulika Guhathakurta (also known as Lika) is a program scientist in NASA’s Heliophysics Division. Her work focuses on understanding and ultimately predicting solar variability and its diverse effects on Earth, human technology and astronauts in space.

Dr. Guhathakurta is also the program scientist for the STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) twin satellites. STEREO was launched as a two-year mission employing two nearly identical space-based observatories — one ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind — to provide the first-ever stereoscopic measurements to study the Sun and the nature of its coronal mass ejections, or CMEs and their impact on space-weather. Dr Guhathakurta also manages a theory, modeling and data analysis program to integrate scientific output, data, and models to generate a comprehensive, systems understanding of Sun-Heliosphere-Planets coupling.

Before joining NASA Headquarters in December of 1998, her career focused on studying the importance of the scientific exploration of space in particular understanding the Sun as a star and its influence on the planet Earth, with research focus on understanding the magneto hydrodynamics of the Sun’s outermost layer, the solar corona. She has been a Co-Investigator on five Spartan 201 missions on aboard space shuttles (STS-56, STS-64, STS-69, STS-87, STS-95) to study the solar corona in white-light and UV radiation and has authored over 70 publications.

A native of India, Dr. Guhathakurta received her masters degree in Astrophysics from University of Delhi and Ph.D. in Physics from University of Denver and University of Colorado at Boulder.