Colloquium – Thejesh Bandi – Atomic Clocks: the workhorses of precision timing

Speaker: Thejesh Bandi

Title: Atomic Clocks: the workhorses of precision timing

Abstract:

Precision timing is ubiquitous in our everyday lives. For instance, the workings of
telecommunication networks, power grid synchronization, navigation – GPS/GNSS, imaging of
Blackholes etc all need precision timing in its background, without which it is impossible to
operate these technologies. The precision timing, down to nanoseconds over a day or longer is
only possible with the atomic clocks. More so, the time as we know has its definitional binding to
atomic clocks since 1967. Which shows everyone on the earth just wanting to know what time it
is, is also directly or indirectly dependent on atomic clocks. This talk gives an overview of the
types of atomic clocks, both ground and space-based clocks that are helpful in enabling the above-
mentioned technologies. The presentation will also cover the working principles of the different
categories of clocks, such as the microwave clocks and the optical clocks and provides an outlook
on the present trends and prospects.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Thejesh N. Bandi is an associate professor at the department of Physics and Astronomy, the
college of Arts & Sciences at the University of Alabama. Dr. Bandi’s research on atomic clocks –
precision timing and navigation, bridges the basic Science of Physics with the niche technologies
of Engineering. His experiences in space science and technologies from the three major space
agencies – European Space Agency (ESA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), spanning more than a decade has helped
towards the formation of Bandi’s Research Group: Precision Navigation, Timing and Frequency
(PNTF) Lab at The UA [https://PNTFLab.ua.edu]. The Lab is focused on students training and
hands-on research opportunities in PNT; especially focused on the next-Gen portable robust clocks
and related technologies; alternate & safe-GNSS methods; AI-methods in PNT and building of
precision ensemble timescales. In addition to the PNTF Lab, Dr. Bandi founded Tide Timing Clock
Club (T2 C2 ), which facilitates the undergraduate and graduate researchers to exchange ideas,
brainstorm and collaborate.