About me

Working as Project Scientist at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, IISc, Bengaluru, since June 2022.  My research interests include (a) Radiative effects of atmospheric aerosols on free-space optical communication systems, (b) Optical pulse propagation, (c) Impact of aerosols on optical turbulence, (d) Atmospheric optics, (e) Numerical weather prediction models.

Education

Ph.D.      Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India

M.E.        Communication Systems, Anna University, Chennai, India

Experience

Visiting Scientist : University of California, Riverside (Dec 2025 - present)

Chief Scientist : High-altitude Balloon Experiments, IISc, Bangalore and TIFR-BF, Hyderabad, India (Jan 2023 - Apr 2024)

Project Scientist               : Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, IISc, Bengaluru, India (Jun 2022 - till date)

Profiles

LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ksunilkumarphd/

Google Scholar : https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?hl=en&user=8uW8wZwAAAAJ

Web of Science : https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/2124468

Researchgate : https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sunilkumar-K

Publications

1. K. Sunilkumar, Travis M. Crumpton, and Luat T. Vuong, "Global coherence of Laguerre–Gaussian beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence: a dominant-scale approximation approach," Appl. Opt. 65, H126-H135 (2026) 

2. N. Anand, K. Sunilkumar, S. K. Satheesh, and K. Krishna Moorthy, "Satellite-to-Earth free-space optical communication: effects of aerosols and boundary-layer dynamics," Appl. Opt. 65, 5860-5868 (2026).

3. K. Sunilkumar, A. Ajay, N. Anand, T. Dharmesh, P. G. Stalin, BVN Kapardhi, K. Santosh, K. K. Moorthy and S. K. Satheesh, “Persistent elevated black carbon aerosol layers in the upper troposphere and its linkage to aircraft emissions”, Geophysical Research Letters, (2025).

4. Prasanth, S., Anand, N. S., Sunilkumar, K., Jose, S., Arun, K., Satheesh, S. K., and Moorthy, K. K.: Australian bushfire emissions result in enhanced polar stratospheric clouds, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7161–7186, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7161-2025, 2025.

5. Ajay, A., Anand, N., YA, A. K., Ilavazhagan, G., & Sunilkumar, K. Free-tropospheric aerosols contribute to large aerosol optical depth at a remote, inland location with insignificant anthropogenic emissions. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 253, (2023).

6. K. Sunilkumar, N. Anand, S. K. Satheesh, K. Krishna Moorthy, and G. Ilavazhagan, "Radiative effects of atmospheric aerosols on the average channel capacity of free-space optical communication systems," Applied Optics, 60, 9957-9965 (2021).

7. K. Sunilkumar, N. Anand, S. K. Satheesh, K. Krishna Moorthy, and G. Ilavazhagan “Enhanced optical pulse broadening in free-space optical links due to the radiative effects of atmospheric aerosols,” Optics Express, 29, 865-876 (2021).

8. Anand, N., Sunilkumar, K., Satheesh, S. K., and Moorthy, K. K., Entanglement of near-surface optical turbulence to atmospheric boundary layer dynamics and particulate concentration: implications for optical wireless communication systems, Applied Optics, 59 (5), 1471-1483 (2020).

9. K. Sunilkumar, N. Anand, S. K. Satheesh, K. Krishna Moorthy, and G. Ilavazhagan, “Performance of free-space optical communication systems: effect of aerosol-induced lower atmospheric warming,” Optics Express, 27, 11303-11311 (2019).

10. N. Anand, K. Sunilkumar, S. K. Satheesh, and K. Krishna Moorthy, "Distinctive roles of elevated absorbing aerosol layers on free-space optical communication systems," Applied Optics, 57, 7152-7158 (2018).

11. Sunilkumar, K., Anand N., Satheesh S. K., Moorthy, K. K., and Ilavazhagan, G. “Bit error rate of free-space optical communication systems through exponentiated Weibull turbulent channels: Impact of atmospheric aerosol induced warming”, Proc. SPIE, 11834-35 (2021).

12. Anand, N., Sunilkumar, K., Satheesh S. K., and Moorthy, K. K., “Statistics of optical turbulence from multi-year sonic anemometer-thermometer observations at a semi-arid region: effects of aerosols and atmospheric boundary layer dynamics”, Proc. SPIE, 11834-30, (2021).

13. Sunilkumar, K., Anand N., Satheesh S. K., Moorthy, K. K., and Ilavazhagan, G. “Radiative effects of atmospheric aerosols on optical pulse propagation: implications to high data rate Free Space Optical (FSO) communication systems”, Proc. SPIE, 11133, (2019).

14. Anand, N., Sunilkumar, K., Satheesh S. K., and Moorthy, K. K., “Dual role of absorbing aerosols in atmospheric refractive index fluctuations: a closure study from balloon-based and multi-satellite observations”, Proc. SPIE, 11133, (2019).

15. Sunilkumar, K., Ajay, A., Anand, N. S., Satheesh, S. K., and Krishna Moorthy, K.: Vertical profiles of black carbon measured using high-altitude balloon experiments over an urban location in India, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-14674, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-14674, 2025.

16. K. Sunilkumar, A. Ajay, N. Anand, K. K. Moorthy, and S. K. Satheesh, "Estimation of Atmospheric Extinction from Vertical Profiles of Black Carbon Using Balloon-Borne Observations," in Optica Imaging Congress 2025 (3D, DH, COSI, IS, pcAOP,RadIT), Technical Digest Series (Optica Publishing Group, 2025), paper PW4E.2.

17. R. Thakur, D. S. S., N. Anand, K. Sunilkumar, S. K. Satheesh, and K. K. Moorthy, "A new model for the layered structure of atmospheric optical turbulence in the tropics," in Optica Imaging Congress 2025 (3D, DH, COSI, IS, pcAOP,RadIT), Technical Digest Series (Optica Publishing Group, 2025), paper PTu1E.2.

18. A. J. Nechippadath, D. S. S., K. Sunilkumar, S. K. Satheesh, K. Krishnamoorthy, and N. Anand, "Optical turbulence characteristics at a complex terrain in the tropics," in Optica Imaging Congress 2025 (3D, DH, COSI, IS, pcAOP,RadIT), Technical Digest Series (Optica Publishing Group, 2025), paper PM4E.2.

19. Sunil S, D., Narayana Sarma, A., Kudilil, S., Sreedharan Krishnakumari, S., and Krishnaswamy, K.: Modulation of temporal evolution of black carbon aerosols at a rural location in the Western Ghats by meteorology and boundary layer dynamics, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-1100, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1100, 2025.

20. Prasanth, S., Narayana Sarma, A., Sunilkumar, K., Jose, S., Arun, K., Satheesh, S. K., & Moorthy, K. K. (2023, December). Impact of Bushfire Aerosols on Stratospheric Chemistry and Dynamics. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (Vol. 2023, No. 2391, pp. A21I-2391).

21. R. Sneha, N. Anand, K. Sunilkumar, S. K. Satheesh, and K. K. Moorthy, "Observed increase in atmospheric optical turbulence with increasing stability in the nocturnal boundary layer," Proc. Imaging and Applied Optics Congress, OSA (2023).

22. A. Ajay, N. Anand, K. Sunilkumar, S. K. Satheesh, K. K. Moorthy and G. Ilavazhagan, "Long-term comparison of near-surface and columnar aerosols over two contrasting environments in peninsular India," IEEE International Conference on Computing, Communication, and Intelligent Systems (ICCCIS), Greater Noida, India, pp. 925-929, (2022).

23. Sunilkumar, K., Anand N., Satheesh S. K., Moorthy, K. K., and Ilavazhagan, G. “Effect of Atmospheric Aerosols on the Performance of Free-Space Optical Communication Systems in Turbulent Medium”, Proc. Imaging and Applied Optics Congress, OSA (2021).

24. Anand, N., Sunilkumar, K., Satheesh S. K., and Moorthy, K. K., “Daytime Reduction in Near-Surface Optical Turbulence due to Black Carbon Aerosols”, Proc. Imaging and Applied Optics Congress, OSA, (2021).

25. Sunilkumar, K., Anand N., Satheesh S. K., Moorthy, K. K., and Ilavazhagan, G. “Energy efficiency and the role of air pollution in high-speed optical links in urban locations”, Proc. GAUC, Beijing, (2020).

26. Anand, N., Sunilkumar, K., Satheesh S. K., and Moorthy, K. K., “Role of atmospheric boundary layer dynamics in regulating the air quality at a semi-arid region in India”, Proc. GAUC, Beijing, (2020).

27. Sunilkumar, K., Satheesh, S. K., Moorthy, K. K., and Ilavazhagan, G., “Free Space Optical Communication System through Turbid Media with Pointing Errors”, Proc. Applications of Lasers for Sensing and Free Space Communications, Optical Society of America, (2018).

28. N. Manikantan and K. Sunilkumar, "Performance analysis of Polarization Shift Keying (PolSK) wireless optical communication systems over K distributed turbulence channel with pointing errors," Proc. Wireless Communications, Signal Processing and Networking (WiSPNET), Chennai, 2016, pp. 1741-1744.

29. S. Shashidharan, J. Johny, S. K. Sudheer and K. Sunilkumar, "Design and Simulation of Non-Linear Photonic Crystal Fiber for Supercontinuum Generation and Its Application in Optical Coherence Tomography," Proc. Symp. on Photonics and Optoelectronics, Shanghai, 2012, pp. 1-4.

30. J. Johny, S. Shashidharan, S. K. Sudheer and K. Sunilkumar, "Design and Simulation of a Radio over Fiber System with Chromatic Dispersion and Polarisation Mode Dispersion Compensation," Proc. Symp. on Photonics and Optoelectronics, Shanghai, 2012, pp. 1-4.

31. Revathi, T. K., Sunilkumar. K, & Sam, A. R, “Design and simulation of very low confinement loss photonic crystal fiber for bio-sensing”. Proc.  In International Conference on Computing and Control Engineering, 2012.

32. Sunilkumar K, Prita Nair “MEMS Mirror Based ROADM with Multiple Add/ Drop Ports.”  Proc. NCMOC-2009 at ACCET, Karaikudi, 2009.