• Experimental atomic and molecular physics
• Laboratory astrophysics
• Ion-photon and ion-neutral interactions
• Ion trapping and ion-storage devices
• Velocity map imaging (VMI) and photoelectron spectroscopy
• Life-time studies of ions and table-top experimental set-ups for physics pedagogy.

Roby Chacko is an experimental atomic and molecular physicist who studies how charged molecules — called molecular ions — behave, especially in environments like outer space. His work involves building instruments that trap and cool these molecules so their internal structure and dynamics can be carefully observed.

He did a master’s in Physics with specialisation in Astrophysics from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. Post his masters, he worked as a Project Assistant (Research) at IISER Thiruvananthapuram in gravitational wave physics.

Roby completed his PhD at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, where he designed and built India’s first 22-pole radio-frequency ion trap to study ion-photon and ion-neutral interactions. He developed another experimental setup by coupling a time-of-flight mass spectrometer with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser and studied how polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) — complex carbon-based molecules found in space — break apart under intense ultraviolet light. He also conducted ion-collision experiments at the Negative-Ion source lab in Pelletron-Linac Facility at TIFR-BARC, Mumbai. His thesis proposed new formation and destruction pathways for molecular anions in the interstellar and circumstellar medium and was awarded the Best Thesis Award by the Indian Society of Atomic and Molecular Physics (ISAMP).

He then spent over three years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, where he worked with electrostatic ion-beam traps and velocity-map imaging to explore the internal dynamics of ro-vibrationally excited molecular dimer anions.

Roby is passionate about creating affordable lab setups that enable students to explore physics hands-on. He enjoys mentoring, engaging in conversations, and following global developments.