Anin Puthukkudy

Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics (UMBC)

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About Me

Hello and welcome! I am a dedicated Atmospheric Physicist holding a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), USA. My specialization lies in aerosol measurement and instrumentation, and I possess a strong foundation in programming languages such as Matlab and Python. I am particularly enthusiastic about the application of aerosol remote sensing techniques and the development of inverse methods to determine aerosol properties using multi-angle polarimetric observations.

Throughout my academic journey, I have amassed extensive experience working with the HARP family of polarimeter data, and have successfully employed the GRASP algorithm to retrieve aerosol properties. My foray into this field began during my undergraduate studies in Physics when I contributed to a project focused on constructing a cavity-based spectrometer for the purpose of measuring trace gases in the atmosphere.

Upon joining UMBC as a graduate student in 2014, my research interests evolved to encompass both in situ and remote sensing measurements of aerosols. Beyond my passion for atmospheric research, I am an avid backpacker who loves exploring national forests, an enthusiastic learner always eager to acquire new technological skills, and an informed individual who keeps abreast of current events.

As a valued member of our team, I bring an unwavering commitment to advancing the understanding of aerosols and their impact on the environment. My goal is to contribute significantly to the development of cutting-edge remote sensing techniques and to the broader scientific community, while inspiring others to explore and appreciate the wonders of atmospheric physics


Research Interest

  • Research, design, develop, implement, and support decision-science models
  • Aerosol measurement and instrumentation
  • Remote sensing of aerosols and clouds using multi-angle imaging polarimeters

Publications

Peer reviewed

  1. Dubovik, O., …, Puthukkudy, A., … “A Comprehensive Description of Multi-Term LSM for Applying Multiple a Priori Constraints in Problems of Atmospheric Remote Sensing: GRASP Algorithm, Concept, and Applications.” Front. Remote Sens. 2: 706851. doi: 10.3389/frsen (2021).

  2. Gao, M., … , Puthukkudy, A., … “Efficient multi-angle polarimetric inversion of aerosols and ocean color powered by a deep neural network forward model”, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4083–4110, link, 2021.

  3. Puthukkudy, A., Martins, J. V., ….*“Retrieval of aerosol properties from Airborne Hyper Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (AirHARP) observations during ACEPOL 2017” AMTD-2020-64 link

  4. Knobelspiesse, K. D., Cook, A. L., Hair, J. W., Harper, D. B., Hostetler, C. A., Maring, H., …,Puthukkudy, A.,…Tan, Q. (2019). “The Aerosol Characterization from Polarimeter and Lidar (ACEPOL) airborne field campaign”. ESSD(submitted).

  5. Espinosa, W.R., Martins, J.V., Remer, L.A., Dubovik, O., Lapyonok, T., Fuertes, D., Puthukkudy, A., Orozco, D., Ziemba, L., Thornhill, K.L. and Levy, R., 2019. Retrievals of Aerosol Size Distribution, Spherical Fraction, and Complex Refractive Index From Airborne In Situ Angular Light Scattering and Absorption Measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124(14), pp.7997-8024.

  6. Espinosa, W.R., Martins, J.V., Remer, L.A., Puthukkudy, A., Orozco, D. and Dolgos, G., 2018. In situ measurements of angular-dependent light scattering by aerosols over the contiguous United States. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 18(5), pp.3737-3754.

  7. Chandran, S., Puthukkudy, A. and Varma, R., 2017. Dual-wavelength dual-cavity spectrometer for NO 2 detection in the presence of aerosol interference. Applied Physics B, 123(7), p.213.

Conferences

  1. Puthukkudy, Anin et. al Retrieval of aerosol properties from Airborne Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (AirHARP) observations during the 2017 ACEPOL campaign in Advancement of POLarimetric Observations: instruments, calibration, and improved aerosol and cloud retrievals(APOLO) - 2019 (Talk)

  2. Puthukkudy, A., McBride, B., Remer, L., Martins, J.V., Barbosa, H.M. and Dubovik, O., 2018, December. Retrieval of Aerosol properties using GRASP from AirHARP observations. In AGU Fall Meeting 2018. AGU.

  3. Espinosa, R., Remer, L., Martins, J.V., Dubovik, O., Lapyonok, T., Fuertes, D., Puthukkudy, A., Orozco, D. and Levy, R.C., 2018, December. Aerosol Size Distribution, Complex Refractive Index and Spherical Fraction Retrieved from Airborne In Situ Angular Light Scattering and Absorption Measurements. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts.

  4. Puthukkudy, A., Espinosa, R., Lima, A.R., Remer, L., Colarco, P., Whelley, P., Krotkov, N., Young, K., Dubovik, O., Wallace, K. and Martins, J.V., 2017, December. Microphysical Properties of Alaskan Volcanic Ash. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. Poster PDF

  5. Espinosa, R., Remer, L., Puthukkudy, A., Orozco, D., Dubovik, O. and Martins, J.V., 2017, December. Airborne characterization of aerosols over the contiguous United States during the SEAC4RS and DC3 campaigns: an in situ light scattering perspective. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts.

Education

Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics (Fall 2021)

University of Maryland Baltimore County, USA

Thesis: Retrieval of aerosol properties using Polarized Imaging Nephelometer (PI-Neph) laboratory measurements and Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP) remote sensing observations

Completed PhD candidacy in 2018

Advisor:Prof. J. Vanderlei Martins


Masters in Atmospheric Physics (December 2016)

University of Maryland Baltimore County, USA

Bachelor of Technology in Engineering Physics (Decemebr 2013)

National Institute of Techonolgy, Calicut

Thesis: Incoherent Broadband Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy for the detection of trace gases using deep red LED

Advisor:Prof. M K Ravi Varma

Computer Skills

Expertise Language or Software
Basic C, C++, HTML, BASH, FORTRAN 90, LATEX
Intermediate SOLIDWORKS, LabVIEW
Expert MATLAB, Python

Awards and Recognition

Year Award Category
2019 Travel Fellowship Received travel fellowship to attend APOLO19 (NASA-GISS, University of IOWA)
2017-2018 Graduate Student Fellowship Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, UMBC
2013 Best Intern Won Best Intern award from Banyan Scientific
2010-2013 E-grantz fellow Won fellowship for the undergraduates by Kerala state government

Links