Valluri: Brief Biosketch

EDUCATION

Integrated BS. & MS. Physics: Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India, 1983-1987

Ph.D. Astrophysics: Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, (December 1993)

Appointments

  • 2017 –  Research Professor, Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan.
  • 2011–2017  Associate Research Professor, Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan.
  • 2007–2011 Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan.
  • 2002–2007 Assistant Director, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago.
  • 2001–2007 Senior Research Associate, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Uni- versity of Chicago.
  • 1999–2001 Research Scientist, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago.
  • 1996–1999 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Rutgers University, NJ
  • 1994–1996 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Columbia University, NY
  • 1/1994–10/1994 Postdoctoral Scholar, Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, India.

Recent Grants and Awards

  • 2022-2025 JWST Cycle 1, GO proposal: “Do massive black holes come in small packages: A census of black holes in compact stellar systems in the Virgo cluster?” (US-Co-PI – M. Valluri)
  • 2020-2023 National Science Foundation (NSF), Astronomy and Astrophysics Grants: “Raising the bar for black hole mass measurement in lower mass galaxies” (PI – M. Valluri)
  • 2020-2023 NASA, Astrophysics Theory grant: “Exploring the nature of dark matter with Gaia” (PI – M. Valluri)
  • 2019-2020 Michigan Institute for Computational Engineering &Design(MICDE) Catalyst grant: “Determining the 3D shape of Milky Way’s Dark Matter Halo (PI – M. Valluri)
  • October 2016 University of Michigan, Research Faculty Achievement Award 
  • 2015-2018 NSF, Astronomy and Astrophysics Grants:  “Black holes in barred galaxies: the Rosetta stones of secular galaxy evolution” (PI – M. Valluri)
  • 2015-2018 NASA, Astrophysics Theory grant: “Self-consistent dynamical modeling of the Milky Way halo with stellar orbits”  (PI – M. Valluri)
  • 2014-2017 HST Cycle 22 Theory Grant:  “Quantifying the Bias in the Masses of Su- permassive Black Holes in Barred Galaxies”  (PI – M. Valluri)
  • 2012-2013 Elizabeth Crosby Award: University of Michigan, (PI – M. Valluri)
  • 2009-2013 NSF-Astronomy and Astrophysics Grant: “The dynamics of rotating triaxial galaxies with massive black holes”  (PI – M. Valluri)