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SANAL KUMAR VR

Amity Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Institute of Science, Andong National University

ORCID iD 0000-0002-5643-7223
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About

Dr. V. R. Sanal Kumar, recognized among Stanford University’s Top 2 % Scientists (2024), is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Head of Research and Innovation at the Amity Institute of Aerospace Engineering, India. He is the recipient of the 2025 Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award from the American Heart Association (AHA). His recent publications in npj Microgravity (Springer Nature) <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-025-00517-5> and Circulation Research (AHA) https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/res.137.suppl_1.Fri015 on acoustic softening and Sanal flow choking have provided new insights into the mechanisms underlying sudden cardiac arrest.

A former rocket scientist at ISRO (since 1992), Dr. Kumar is internationally recognized for his theoretical discovery of “Sanal flow choking”, a pioneering concept that has received significant scientific and media attention—including recognition at NASA IWS and AIAA scientific meetings <https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2018-3962> https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2021-0357 and in national newspapers—as a potential Nobel Prize–worthy breakthrough. This theory has profound implications for predicting asymptomatic stroke, acute heart failure, and deflagration-to-detonation transitions in real-world flow systems. He earned his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and received the Young Scientist Award from the Indian National Science Academy (INSA).

Dr. Kumar was twice nominated by INSA for postdoctoral research in South Korea under the INSA–KOSEF Bilateral Fellowship Program, serving as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in propulsion engineering and fostering Indo-Korean scientific collaboration.
In a recent co-authored groundbreaking publication published by Springer Nature and AIAA <https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-0720>, Dr. Kumar and his collaborators highlighted the historical oversight of liquid compressibility and its correction, thereby strengthening the theoretical foundation of Sanal flow choking. and demonstrating its role in the occurrence of aneurysm, sudden heart attack, and hemorrhagic stroke. His related theoretical developments on Sanal flow choking and streamtube flow choking have opened new pathways for addressing complex challenges across the physical, chemical, and biological sciences.

With over 250 international publications and 20 filed patents, Dr. Kumar’s research spans aerospace propulsion, hypersonic vehicle design, biofluid dynamics, and spaceflight cardiovascular risk assessment. He has served as a visiting professor in Japan and contributes as a reviewer and guest editor for leading journals.

Dr. Kumar is actively involved in Indo–U.S. collaborative research on cardiovascular health, partnering with leading U.S. universities and NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) to model decompression sickness and cardiovascular risk in gravity and microgravity environments. His current research covers aerospace vehicle design for planetary exploration, internal flow simulations for propulsion systems, design of jet engines and flying cars, biofluid dynamics, nanotechnology, deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) modeling, and AI-based cardiovascular risk prediction. A Senior Member of the AIAA and an active member of the AHA, Dr. Kumar continues to lead interdisciplinary aerospace and biomedical research collaborations worldwide.

Employment

  • Amity Institute of Aerospace Engineering Professor / Head - Research and Innovation
    2022 - Present
  • Andong National University INSA-KOSEF Postdoctoral Research Scientist
    2002 - 2005
  • Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Scientist/Engineer (SC D.No.25743/2023)
    1992 - Present

Education

  • Indian Institute of Science Ph.D
    1998 - 2001

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (73)