Dr. Thirumala Lakshmi K is an accomplished academician and researcher in the field of Electronics and Communication Engineering, with specialized expertise in satellite communication, GNSS/NavIC, radio wave propagation, atmospheric science, remote sensing, machine learning, and smart agriculture. Her research integrates communication technologies with atmospheric and environmental applications, demonstrating a strong interdisciplinary orientation.

Academic & Professional Background

Dr. Thirumala Lakshmi K is currently serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Paavai Engineering College (Autonomous), Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, since July 2025. Prior to this, she served as Teaching Faculty at Sona College of Technology, Salem, from September 2024 to May 2025. She also has extensive research experience, having served as a Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Study on Rainfall and Radio Wave Propagation (CRRP), Sona College of Technology, from March 2017 to August 2024. Her professional experience also includes five years as a Residential Tutor at Sona Girls Hostel.

Research Expertise

Her research interests encompass satellite communication, GNSS/NavIC, radio-wave propagation, rain-induced attenuation, cross-polarization discrimination, tropospheric and ionospheric studies, atmospheric science, remote sensing, image processing, machine learning/deep learning, climate and agrometeorology, and smart agriculture. Her work demonstrates the application of advanced computational and data-driven techniques to satellite, atmospheric, environmental, and agricultural problems.

Research Contributions & Outcomes

Dr. Thirumala Lakshmi K has developed several significant models and methodologies, including location-specific rain-induced attenuation models for microwave and millimetre-wave frequencies, XPD estimation models up to 95 GHz, and methods for ionospheric amplitude and phase scintillation estimation at the L5 band. She has also contributed to the retrieval of precipitable water vapour and tropospheric delays using GPS and IRNSS/NavIC observations. Her research further covers rainfall estimation and prediction, TRMM-based rainfall characterization, freezing-level modelling, radar bright-band analysis, satellite image enhancement, semantic image classification, and machine-learning applications in agriculture.

Publications & Scholarly Activities

She has 26 publications and has contributed to scholarly books and conference proceedings. Her publications include a Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier book chapter on satellite image enhancement, as well as research involving rainfall prediction, flood prediction, machine learning, satellite communication, and atmospheric parameters. Several of her research manuscripts are under review in journals indexed in Web of Science, SCI, and Scopus. She has actively participated in and presented research at international conferences organized by institutions and organizations including SPIE, ISRO, VSSC, IIST, IITM, and the Indian Meteorological Society.

Awards, Grants & Recognition

Her professional accomplishments include the Young Scientist Award 2026, Invited Guest Lecture recognition from the Indian Space Academy, and a Project Completion Appreciation for the AI/ML in Space Program. She received an ISRO Travel Grant in 2017 and a DST Travel Grant in 2023. She has also earned NPTEL Elite + Silver certifications in GNSS and Applications, Effective Engineering Teaching, Remote Sensing and GIS for Rural Development, and Quantum Entanglement.

Training, Academic Leadership & Outreach

Dr. Thirumala Lakshmi K has completed specialized training through IIRS/ISRO, NASA/IPWG-GPM, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, and other technical organizations in GNSS, SAR data processing, climate-smart agriculture, geoprocessing using Python, AI/ML for geodata analysis, atmospheric measurements, and remote sensing. She has attended 22 workshops, webinars, and FDPs and has organized several academic programmes, including workshops on image processing and AI/ML, networking, IPR and patents, scientific computing with Python, 5G communication, IoT-based energy management, and emerging space missions.

Eligibility for Women Researcher Award

Dr. Thirumala Lakshmi K is eligible for the Women Researcher Award in Scientific Laurels in recognition of her sustained contributions to interdisciplinary research in satellite communication, atmospheric and tropospheric science, remote sensing, machine learning, and smart agriculture. Her 26 publications, extensive research experience, innovative modelling and algorithm development, international conference contributions, book chapter publications, research grants, Young Scientist recognition, professional certifications, invited academic engagements, and active contribution to research-oriented academic programmes collectively demonstrate her research excellence. Her ability to connect Electronics and Communication Engineering with satellite-based environmental monitoring, climate studies, rainfall prediction, and agricultural applications further establishes her as a promising woman researcher with significant interdisciplinary impact.