The Computational Geodynamics Laboratory (CGL) at ECS IISER Pune, led by Ajay Kumar, develops integrated lithospheric-scale models to investigate the thermochemical and thermomechanical evolution of the Earth’s lithosphere. His research combines multidisciplinary observations, including gravity, passive seismic, petrological, and mineral-physics constraints, with thermodynamic and geodynamic modelling to constrain the present-day structure, composition, and mechanical state of the lithosphere across tectonic environments. Through these integrated approaches, his work seeks to understand the fundamental processes governing lithosphere formation, deformation, and long-term evolution across geological timescales.

The resulting data-integrated lithospheric models provide a framework for investigating tectonic processes, assessing georesource potential, including geothermal and natural hydrogen systems, and developing data-driven digital twins of the solid Earth for process-based simulations across spatio-temporal scales. In parallel, his research on earthquake source processes investigates how lithospheric heterogeneities modulate rupture dynamics, with implications for tectonics and seismic hazard assessment.