Science Adviser Profile

Surendra Adhikari

Biography

Surendra Adhikari is a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology. He is a glacier physicist by training with extensive experience in observing and modeling a suite of glaciological and related processes. In particular, he is interested in understanding the complex interactions between the ice sheet, solid Earth, and sea level across timescales. Surendra has developed several numerical models within the computational framework of JPL’s Ice-Sheet and Sea-level System Model (ISSM) and has utilized these models in combination with large in-situ and remotely sensed data sets to solve some crucial interdisciplinary science problems, which he has reported in many high-impact journal articles. Surendra has published more than two dozen papers, half of which are first-authored, on topics ranging from kilometer-scale glacial (mass transport and hydrological) processes to inherently global-scale processes of Earth’s gravitation, rotation, and deformation. He plans to continue developing Earth system model components, particularly those related to climate change and solid Earth. The main focus is on formulating future observational systems that could pave the way for new research avenues. Surendra is currently a member of the NASA Sea-level Change Team (2015–2024), the GRACE and GRACE-FO Science Team (2016–2023), and the NASA Earth’s Surface and Interior Science Team (2020–2022). 0000-0003-1021-6860