Discipline of Physics
Staff
Staff

Dr Abhikesh Kumar

Position: Lecturer

Email: abhikesh.kumar@usp.ac.fj

Phone: 323 2145

 

 

COURSES Teaching:
Involved with teaching following courses:

Undergraduate Courses:

PH102 – Classical Physics
PH103 – Quantum and Electrical Physics
PH206 – Electromagnetism and Electronics
PH302 – Electronic Communication Systems

Postgraduate Course:

PH402 – Radio wave propagation and applications
PH700 – Masters supervision.

Research Interests

  • Using Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio wave Communication techniques in remote sensing the lower ionosphere.
  • Studying the effects of lightning discharges, Transient luminous events (TLEs), Space weather events like solar flares, geomagnetic storms & geophysical events such as earthquakes on the ionosphere and atmosphere.
  • Studying the precursors of earthquakes and earthquake occurrence patterns using satellite recorded atmospheric data and underground recorded electrical signals.
  • Using Worldwide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) detected lightnings in storm/cyclone activity analysis and their intensification, interest in weather monitoring.


Research Collaborations

  • Space Physics Group, Physics Department, Otago University.
  • University of Electro‐Communications (UEC), Advanced Wireless Communications

Research Center (AWCC), Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, Japan (Prof. Masashi Hayakawa).

  • STAR laboratory, Stanford University, USA.
  • World-wide Lightning Location network, University of Washington, USA.
  • GNSS Research Centre, Wuhan University, China.
  • Distant School COSMIC-METEO-TECTONICS, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia.

Awards and Prizes

  • Recipient of the Reward and Certificate of Recognition for Research publication in high quality journal from Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and International), at the University of the South Pacific in 2014 and 2015.
  • Received the Gold medal for being the outstanding student for the BEd Secondary (Physics) Program in the School of Humanities at USP for the year 2003.
  • Received Certificate of Outstanding Performance in school of humanities at USP for the year 2003.

Service to Profession

Reviewer for the following Journals:

  • Annals of Geophysics Published by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) – ISSN:  2037-416X.
  • South Pacific Journal of Natural Science, by University of the South Pacific.
  • Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risks, Published by Taylor and Francis Inc., ISSN: 19475713, 19475705.

Publications in Peer reviewed Journals

  1. Sushil Kumar and Abhikesh Kumar, Diurnal variation of 19.8 kHz signal propagation over long path to Suva, South Pacific Journal of Natural Science, October 2007.
  2. Sushil Kumar, Abhikesh Kumar and Craig J. Rodger, Subionospheric early VLF perturbations observed at Suva: VLF detection of red sprites in the day? Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, A03311,doi:10.1029/2007JA012734, 2008.
  3. Abhikesh Kumar and Sushil Kumar, Initial results on solar flare effect on 24.8 kHz subionospheric propagation over long path to Suva, South Pacific Journal of Natural Science,
  4. Abhikesh Kumar and Sushil Kumar, Identifying the decay form of the echo amplitude and echo phase of typical early/fast VLF event on 19.8 kHz signal, South Pacific Journal of Natural Science,
  5. Sushil Kumar andAbhikesh Kumar, Lightning associated VLF perturbations observed at low latitude: occurrence and scattering characteristics, Earth, Planets and Space, 65, 25-37, doi:10.5047/eps.2012.05.019, 2013.
  6. Abhikesh Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Masashi Hayakawa, and Fredrik Menk, Subionospheric VLF perturbations observed at low latitude associated with earthquake from Indonesia region,Journal of Atmospheric and Solar Terrestrial Physics, 102, 71-80, org/10.1016/j.jastp.2013.04.011, 2013.
  7. Abhikesh Kumarand Sushil Kumar, Space Weather Effects on the Low Latitude D-Region Ionosphere during Solar Minimum, Earth, Planets and Space, 66:76, doi: 10.1186/1880-5981-66-76, 2014.
  8. Maurya, A. K., D. V. Phanikumar, R. Singh, S. Kumar, B. Veenadhari, Y.-S. Kwak, Abhikesh Kumar, A. K. Singh, and K. Niranjan Kumar, Low-mid latitude D region ionospheric perturbations associated with 22 July 2009 total solar eclipse: Wave-like signatures inferred from VLF observations, Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 119, doi:10.1002/2013JA019521, 2014.
  9. Sushil Kumar, Abhikesh Kumar, Frederick Menk, Ajeet K Maurya, Rajesh Singh and Bhaskara Veenadhari, Response of the low latitude D-region ionosphere to extreme space weather event of 14-16 December 2006, Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 120, 788–799, doi:10.1002/2014JA020751, 2015.
  10. Sushil Kumar, Abhikesh Kumar, Ajeet K Maurya, Rajesh Singh, Changes in the D regionassociated with three recent solar eclipses in the South Pacific region, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 2016.
  1. Abhikesh Kumar and Sushil Kumar, Solar flare effects on D‑region ionosphere using VLF measurements during low- and high-solar activity phases of solar cycle 24, Earth, Planets and Space, 70:29, doi.org/10.1186/s40623-018-0794-8, 2018.
  2. Abhikesh Kumar and Sushil Kumar, Ionospheric D region parameters obtained using VLF measurements in the South Pacific region. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 125, e2019JA027536. https://doi.org/ 10.1029/2019JA027536, 2020.
  3. Sarwan Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Abhikesh Kumar, Earthquakes associated subionospheric VLF anomalies recorded at two low latitude stations in the South Pacific region, Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 229, 105834, ISSN 1364-6826, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2022.105834, 2022.

 

Conference Proceedings

  1. Abhikesh Kumarand Sushil Kumar, Tracking of tropical cyclones and their intensity changes in the South Pacific region using World-wide lightning location network, Proceedings to 12th Pacific Science Inter-Congress, University of the South Pacific, Suva, 2013.

 

Conference papers/presentations

  1. Abhikesh Kumar and Sushil Kumar, Solar flare effect on subionospheric VLF transmitter signals received at low latitude in the South Pacific Region, Presented in International CAWSES symposium, 23-27 October 2007, Kyoto University, Japan.
  2. Sushil Kumar and Abhikesh Kumar, Further investigations on subionospheric VLF perturbations observed at Suva, Fiji, presented in the Chapman conference on the Effects of Thunderstorms and Lightning in the Upper Atmosphere, 10-14 May 2009, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
  3. Sushil Kumar and Abhikesh Kumar, Morphological features of Subionospheric VLF signals Observed in Fiji with AWESOME setup, presented in VLF Sharjah-Stanford Workshop, Sharjah, 22-24 February, 2010.
  4. Sushil Kumar and Abhikesh Kumar, Ionospheric response to the space weather events during December 2006 in the South Pacific Region, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) General Scientific Assembly, Melbourne, Australia, 28 June-07 July 2011.
  5. Abhikesh Kumar and Sushil Kumar, A study on subionospheric VLF signals observed in Fiji. Presented in Indo-US VLF workshop, 27 Nov-01 Dec 2011, Goa, India.
  6. Sushil Kumar, Rajesh Singh, B. Veenadhari, Abhikesh Kumar, and Ajeet Maurya, Space Weather: ELF-VLF observations, Presented in Indo-US VLF workshop, 27 Nov-01 Dec 2011, Goa, India.
  7. Sushil Kumar and Abhikesh Kumar, Tracking of tropical cyclonic storms and thunderstorms in the South Pacific region – Application of World-Wide Lightning Location Network, Science, Technology and Resources Network (STAR) Conference, 3-6 November, 2012, Noumea, New Caledonia.
  8. Abhikesh Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Masashi Hayakawa, and Fredrik Menk, VLF perturbations at Low latitude Associated with December 2006 Natural Hazard Events: Indonesia Region Earthquake and Geomagnetic Storm, Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS), Annual meeting, 24-28 June, 2013, Brisbane, Australia.
  9. Abhikesh Kumar and Sushil Kumar, Tracking of tropical cyclones in the South Pacific region using World-Wide Lightning Location Network, 12th Pacific Science Inter-Congress (To be presented), University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, 8-12 July 2013.
  10. Sushil Kumar and Abhikesh Kumar, Space Weather Effects on the Low Latitude D-Region Ionosphere during Solar Minimum, Presented in International CAWSES II symposium, 18-22 November 2013, Nagoya, Japan.
  11. Sushil Kumar, Abhikesh Kumar, Ajeet K Maurya, and Rajesh Singh, Early VLF perturbations at low latitude in the South pacific region: AWESOME and SOFTPAL observations, 6th VERSIM Workshop, Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand, 20-23 January 2014.
  12. Sushil Kumar and Abhikesh Kumar, An overview of Early VLF perturbations at low latitude in the South pacific region, Presented in Thunderstorm Effects on the Atmosphere-Ionosphere System (TEA-IS) Summer School, Collioure, France, June 23 – 27, 2014.
  13. Sushil Kumar and Abhikesh Kumar, VLF perturbations associated with solar eclipses of November 2012 and May 2013 in the South Pacific Region, 2015, AGU Fall Meeting, 14-18 December, San Francisco, USA [Poster].
  14. Ashneel Chandra, Sushil Kumar and Abhikesh Kumar, Lightning activity variation during the evolution of tropical cyclones in the Southwest Pacific region, 2015, AGU Fall Meeting, 14-18 December, San Francisco, USA [oral].

Research Supervision

Supervising Masters students in Physics

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