Dr. Kusham

Scientist-C , Geological and Planetary Sciences

Dr. Kusham

kushamsandhu.ngri@csir.res.in

Academic Identity
        

Specialization

Magnetotellurics, Seismology, Planetary Sciences

Research Area

Dr. Kusham received her B.Sc. degree (Batch 2011) and M.Tech. degree in Applied Geophysics (Batch 2014) from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. She obtained her Ph.D. in Magnetotelluric Methods from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, in 2021.

Following the completion of her Ph.D., she joined the prestigious SERB–National Post-Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) program (2021-2022) at the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, where she carried out research on the petrophysical analysis of rock samples. In November 2022, she joined as a Scientist at CSIR–National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI), Hyderabad. Her current research focuses on planetary sciences, particularly Mars and the Moon, along with magnetotelluric investigations.

Ongoing Research Projects

Probabilistic Ground Motion Modeling of Marsquakes (2024-2026) (Principal Investigator)

Honors & Awards

  • National Post Doctoral Fellowship (2021-2022), DST-SERB, Govt. of India 
  • International Travel Grant (2019), DST-SERB, Govt. of India, to attend 27th IUGG General Assembly, Canada
  • ONGC-IGU Best Poster Award- Indian Geophysical Union (IGU), 2012

Publications

  • Kusham, Pradeep Naick B, Pratap A, Naganjaneyulu K., 2026. Crustal electrical resistivity structure of the western Dharwar craton, India: A 3D magnetotelluric perspective. Tectonophysics 931, 231209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2026.231209 
  • Naganjaneyulu, K., Pradeep Naick, B., Kusham*, Pratap, A., Pooja Bhargavi, V., 2025. Unveiling the crustal structure beneath the Chotanagpur Granite Gneiss Complex, eastern India: Interpretation from the 3-D magnetotelluric study. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 366, 107406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2025.107406 
  • Mukherjee, S., Kusham, Ravi, S., Shalivahan, Kumar, P., 2024. Characterizing Eastern Dharwar craton kimberlites in light of petrophysical, geochemical, and petrological data. J Earth Syst Sci 134, 14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-024-02447-4 
  • Pratap, A., Pradeep Naick, B., Kusham, Rama Rao, P., Naganjaneyulu, K., 2023. The elusive crustal resistive boundary beneath the Deccan Volcanic Province and the western Dharwar craton, India. Geologica Acta, 21.2, 1-14. DOI: 10.1344/GeologicaActa2023.21.2
  • Kusham, Pradeep Naick B, Pratap A, Naganjaneyulu K., 2021. 2-D versus 3-D Magnetotelluric Data Interpretation: a case study from the Dharwar craton, India. Tectonophysics 816, 229028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2021.229028 
  • Kusham, Pradeep Naick B., Pratap A., Naganjaneyulu K., 2021. Magnetotelluric 3-D full tensor inversion in the Dharwar craton, India: Mapping of subduction polarity and kimberlitic melt. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 315, 106708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2021.106708 
  • Kusham, Pratap A., Pradeep Naick B., Naganjaneyulu K., 2019. Crustal and lithospheric mantle conductivity structure in the Dharwar craton, India. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 176, 253–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2019.02.015 
  • Kusham*, Dinesh Kumar, 2019. The 2011 Sikkim earthquake (Mw 6.9) of the Himalaya: Estimates of earthquake source parameters and representability of attenuation characteristics. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 169, 237–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2018.08.013 
  • Kusham, Pratap A., Pradeep Naick B., Naganjaneyulu K., 2018. Lithospheric architecture in the Archaean Dharwar craton, India: A magnetotelluric model. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 163, 43–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2018.05.022 
  • Pratap A., Kusham, Pradeep Naick B., Naganjaneyulu K., 2018. A magnetotelluric study from over Dharwar cratonic nucleus into Billigiri Rangan charnockitic massif, India. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 280, 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2018.04.008 

Books

Research Scholars

Educational Qualification

Ph.D. (Geophysics), M.Tech. (Applied Geophysics), B.SC.

Proffessional Experience

  • Scientist, CSIR-NGRI, Hyderabad, 2022-present
  • N-PDF, IIT(ISM), Dhanbad, 2021-2022
  • Research Scholar, CSIR-NGRI, Hyderabad, 2014-2021

 

Proffessional Affiliations

  • Assistant Professor, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR)