Pandey obtained his masters and bachelor's degrees in Electronics and science respectively from Allahabad University. He completed his D.Phil. degree from the same university in 1972. In 1966, Pandey became a lecturer in DAV Degree college, Azamgarh. From 1968 to 1972 he was Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Research Fellow at the microwave research laboratory of the Department of Physics, University of Allahabad, and from 1973 to 1977 a research officer at the Central Water and Power Research Station, Khadakwasla. In 1977 he joined the Space Applications Centre/ ISRO, Ahmedabad and became the founder head of the Oceanic Sciences Division/ Meteorology and Oceanography Group/ Remote Sensing Applications Area. He worked for the next twenty years at SAC. In the 1980s he was also a research associate at the NASA – Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, where he worked on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and SEASAT programs. During 1997–2005, he was the founding director of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research /Ministry of Earth Sciences, Goa. At the initiative of Murali Manohar Joshi he founded the K. Banerjee Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies to initiate Atmospheric and Ocean Science Studies at Allahabad University which is now a full-fledged faculty academic centre of Allahabad University. He was Visiting Professor at the Center for Ocean, River, Atmosphere and Land Sciences, IIT Kharagpur from 2005 to 2007 then Emeritus Professor from 2007 to August 2011, playing a key role in the establishment of the CORAL. He joined the faculty of School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar as a Professor with effect from 1 September 2011. where also he played key role in establishment of the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar and after a satisfactory development of this school, Dr. Pandey returned to IIT Kharagpur on 20 November 2017 as Emeritus Professor.
Certificate of Recognition and Cash Award-1985 by NASA.
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology Award in Earth Sciences given by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for outstanding scientific contributions
Felicitation by Shri Kapil Sibal, Honorable Minister for S/T and Ocean Development, for outstanding achievements in Polar Science & Ocean Science and Technology, on 27 July 2004, on DOD foundation Day.
An Honor of "Proud Past Alumni" in the list of 42 members, from "Allahabad University Alumni Association", NCR, Ghaziabad Chapter 2007–2008 registered under society act 1860 with registration no. 407/2000.
Membership in special national and international expert committees/ bodies (past/present)
IIT Kharagpur Nominee : Ocean Atmospheric Science and Technology Cell of MoES
Advisory Board Member, Text Books for Higher Education : The Energy Research Institute, New Delhi
Also remained member of Executive Council of the Indian Geophysical Union.
Works
Pandey has published more than 134 research papers, 7 books, 9 reports and 4 Atlases, and has guided 11 PhDs. He has also edited the journals Marine Geodesy, Indian Journal of Polar Science, 2008 and the Remote Sensing section in Mausam, the quarterly research journal of India Meteorological Department. He has been a member of the editorial board of the Journal of the Indian Society of Remote SensingIndian Journal of Radio & Space Physics, Indian Journal of Marine Science, India, Vayu Mandal, Bulletin of Indian Meteorological Society,, Proceedings of Indian Academics and the Journal of Indian Society of Remote Sensing.
