ESSO - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services

(An Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India)
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Dr. SRINIVASA KUMAR TUMMALA, Director, INCOIS

Srinivasa Kumar is the Director of Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), a leading organization in the field of ocean observation, information and advisory services under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India. He has extensive research experience, and held progressively senior techno-managerial positions at premier scientific organisations such as Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, INCOIS and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). All through his career, he managed large scientific projects delivering high-impact societal services, having led their design, underpinning scientific foundation and implementation, involving multiple national / international institutions, scientists and end users.

He joined as Director in August 2020 after serving nearly 4 years on an International assignment at IOC-UNESCO Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation Systems (ICG/IOTWMS) in Australia as Head of its Secretariat. During his tenure at ICG/IOTWMS, he was instrumental in strengthening the regional tsunami early warning systems in active collaboration with 28 member states, global harmonization of tsunami watch operations and implementation of the Tsunami ready community recognition programme.

Prior to this international assignment, he served INCOIS since 2001 as Head of the Advisory Services and Satellite Oceanography Group (ASG) that dealt with various national flagship projects. His contributions led to the successful implementation of important projects such as Tsunami Early Warning System, Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) advisories, Multi Hazard Vulnerability Mapping, Coral Reef Bleaching Alert System, Satellite Coastal and Oceanography Research (SATCORE), etc. which provided valuable and impactful services to the coastal community of India. After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, he played a pivotal role in establishment of the "Indian National Early Warning Centre for Tsunamis and Storm Surges" at INCOIS, which is a multi-institutional project with heterogeneous components starting from observation platforms to high-power computational systems for modeling to data analysis and decision support systems. He also led the implementation of the national project on "Indian Seismic and GNSS Network (ISGN) and establishment of GNSS & Strong Motion Sensors Network in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

He was elected as a Vice-Chair of the IOC for 2021-2023 during the 31st Assembly of Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. He also represented India on several high-profile intergovernmental committees of IOC-UNESCO, as Chair of ICG/IOTWMS, Chair of Inter-ICG Task Team on Tsunami Watch Operations, Secretary / Officer of Indian Ocean Global Ocean Observing Systems (IOGOOS), as well as Chair of the Disaster & Risk Reduction Working Group of the International Society of Photogrammetry & remote Sensing (ISRPS).

Srinivasa Kumar was conferred with several national and international awards including the prestigious "National Geosciences Award" in 2010 by the Ministry of Mines towards his contributions in establishing the world-class tsunami early warning centre at INCOIS. He also received the "Indian National Geospatial Award" in 2008, instituted by Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS), for his contributions towards application of geospatial technologies for disaster management. He was recipient of Certificate of Merit given to Young Scientists for the year 2004 by Department of Ocean Development (DOD), presently known as MoES.

Srinivasa Kumar holds a Ph.D in Marine Science and his research interests include Remote Sensing, Geospatial technologies, Disaster Risk Reduction, Marine Resource Management, Coastal Zone Management and Satellite Oceanography. He is the author of more than 70 scientific publications in international peer reviewed journals and contributed chapters in 5 books.

List of Scientific Publications:  https://scholar.google.com/citations?authuser=1&user=Ia0IAcAAAAAJ

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srinivasa-kumar-tummala-2a85111a4/

E-mail: director[at]incois[dot]gov[dot]in

Telephone: +91-40-23886002 (Office Hours: 9 am-5:30 pm)

Fax: +91-40-23892910