Dr. Anakara Vadakath Ravi Kumar, born in Calicut, Kerala in May 1964, did his schooling in Cochin (KV No.1, Naval Base, Kochi), his BSc in Physics from Bharat Mata College, Thrikkakara, Cochin in 1984 and his MSc in Physics from the Maharaja's College, Cochin in 1986. He completed his PhD in Laser Applications from the Department of Physics, Cochin University of Science & Technology in 1992.

He joined the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), with the Department of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India at Gandhinagar, Gujarat in 1993 as a Scientist and spent the next 31 years (until his retirement in 2024) leading experimental research in Plasma, Laser Technology and high energy Particle Accelerator Physics, including a 2-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship (JSPS) sponsored by the Government of Japan at the Osaka University, Japan. For over a decade, he also managed the National R&D committee for plasma & fusion research under the Department of Atomic Energy, coordinating and funding over 200 collaborative research & development projects across the country.

In 2017, he became the founding Head of IPR's Outreach Division. Until his retirement in May 2024, he and his team dedicated themselves to making complex physics accessible, exciting, and visual for students and the public, for which over 50 exhibits, resource materials, etc. were designed and developed, and they conducted several plasma exhibition events across India, working to inspire the next wave of young scientists.

His other interests include gardening, photography, astrophotography, travelling, graphic art, writing, science communication and classical music. A lifelong rasika of Kerala's classical traditions, he currently immersed in the study of Sopana Sangeetham and Edakka, hoping to understand, preserve, and share this timeless musical heritage of Kerala.