Rinu Fathima
Panaji, Goa| Grant Category: | Fulbright-Kalam Doctoral Research Fellowships |
| Project Title: | Decoding Indian monsoon variability using a multiproxy approach and core top foraminiferal trace metal/Ca calibration from the Andaman Basin |
| Field of Study: | Climate |
| Home Institution: | CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Panaji, Goa |
| Host Institution: | Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey , Brunswick, NJ |
| Grant Start Month: | October 2025 |
| Duration of Grant: | Nine months |
Brief Bio:
Ms. Rinu Fathima is a PhD candidate at the CSIR National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India. After finishing her master’s in Applied Geology from Pondicherry University, her passion for marine sciences took her to the National Institute of Oceanography in Panaji, Goa. Her research focuses on understanding past monsoon variability using marine microfossils known as foraminifera. She uses their assemblage and shell geochemistry to understand past climate. She studies the ecology of foraminifera in surface samples and further calibrates the proxies before using them in paleoclimate studies.
Rinu has published her work in multiple research journals and presented it at several national and international conferences. She was one of the two recipients of the American Geophysical Union-Berkner travel grant in 2024. During her master’s, she also received the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology-sponsored summer trainee grant, which helped her study tree rings to decode past climate. She has also participated in ocean expeditions onboard the research vessel Sindhu Sankalp.
At Rutgers during her fellowship, Rinu is using trace element geochemistry of the core top samples from the Andaman basin as a proxy calibration and will use this to understand past monsoon variability in a sediment core. Rinu is an avid consumer of fiction, cinema, and books. You can also find her watching sunsets or hiking during her free time. From one coastal city to the next, Rinu is looking forward to exploring the beaches of New Jersey during her time at Rutgers.