Dr Sujan Rajbhandari

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Institute of Photonics

Personal statement

PhD positions opening

We have PhD positions opening in the area of optical wireless communication, underwater optical wireless communication, visible light communication, and free space optics.

Biography

Dr Sujan Rajbhandari (Senior Member IEEE) obtained his bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus (Tribhuvan University), Nepal, in 2004. He obtained an MSc in Optoelectronic and Communication Systems with Distinction in 2006 and was awarded the P O Byrne Prize for the most innovative project. He then joined the Optical Communications Research Lab (OCRG) at Northumbria University as a PhD candidate and was awarded a PhD in 2010.

Dr Rajbhandari is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde and previously held research and academic positions at Bangor, Northumbria, Oxford, and Coventry universities in the UK, and has worked in industry at Huawei R&D Centre in Sweden. Dr Rajbhandari is a leading expert in optical wireless communication (OWC), with over 200 scholarly publications and more than 9,000 citations (Google Scholar). His expertise spans OWC technologies, including visible light communication (LiFi) and free-space optics (FSO), as well as advanced signal processing and artificial intelligence for emerging applications such as fronthaul, backhaul, and access networks for 5G/6G, intelligent transport systems (ITS), and underwater communication.

Research Interests

Indoor and outdoor Optical wireless communication
Visible light communications (VLC)/LiFi
Free-space optical communications (FSO)
terrestrial, non-terrestrial and underwater Optical Wireless Communications
AI/ML for optical wireless communication
Free-space Quantum key distribution

Google Scholar:

https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=9ElC7VEAAAAJ&hl=en

Expertise

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Prize And Awards

External Examiner at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University: Recipient; 2024
External Examiner: Recipient; 2023
Visiting scholar: Recipient; 2023
Visiting Scholar: Recipient; 2020
IEEE Photonics Technology Letters Best Paper Award: Recipient; 15/6/2019
Highlights of 2017 in Semiconductor Science and Technolog: Recipient; 2017

More prizes and awards

Publications

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Publications

Performance analysis of spatial diversity vertical UWOC systems over depth-dependent WGG turbulence with approximate Beckmann- distributed pointing errors: Jiang Hongyan, Omar Ahmad Fairuz Bin, Liu Tao, Li Xiaoji, Rajbhandari Sujan; Journal of the Optical Society of America A Vol 43, pp. 1575-1587 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAA.607212
UV-C free-space quantum key distribution: Liu Feng, Farmer James, Faulkner Grahame, Trichili Abderrahmen, McKendry Jonathan, Xie Enyuan, Wang Zhaoming, Wang Jianming, Hill Jordan, Herrnsdorf Johannes, Rajbhandari Sujan, Dawson Martin D, O'Brien Dominic; Optica Quantum Vol 4, pp. 397-405 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICAQ.604157
1.5 Gbps optical wireless communications using far-ultraviolet-C micro-light emitting diodes: Zimi Hichem, McKendry Jonathan JD, Babadi Sina, Osahon Isaac NO, Younus Othman I, Ruschel Jan, Rass Jens, Einfeldt Sven, Haas Harald, Dawson Martin D, Rajbhandari Sujan, Herrnsdorf Johannes; 2026 15th International Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks and Digital Signal Processing (CSNDSP) 15th International Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks and Digital Signal Processing 2026 15th International Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks and Digital Signal Processing, CSNDSP 2026 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1109/CSNDSP68462.2026.11654373
ORIS-assisted SWIPT Underwater OWC System with different transmission protocols: Al-Sallami Farah Mahdi, Ata Yalçın, Zedini Emna, Vegni Anna Maria, Rajbhandari Sujan; IEEE Transactions on Communications Vol 74, pp. 10448-10462 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1109/tcomm.2026.3701859
Unified performance analysis of vertical underwater wireless optical communications with layered turbulence and pointing errors: Jiang Hongyan, Wei Zhenyan, Li Xiaoji, Omar Ahmad Fairuz, Rajbhandari Sujan; Optics Continuum Vol 5, pp. 1436-1449 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1364/optcon.590933
High-speed switching of UV-C LEDs for communications and sensing applications: Hill Jordan, Gray Johnathan, Zimi Hichem, Xie Enyuan, McKendry Jonathan, Cheng Chen, Sagar Jaya, Herrnsdorf Johannes, Rajbhandari Sujan, Joshi Siddarth Koduru, Oi Daniel, Haas Harald, Henderson Robert, Dawson Martin; 4th International Conference on UV-LED Technologies & Applications (ICULTA 2026) (2026)

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Research

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Professional Activities

Steps towards market-ready far-UVC light emitting diodes – aspects of efficiency, reliability, modulation, and fiber coupling capability: Contributor; 1/2027
External examination for PhD thesis: Examiner; 20/5/2026
Keynote Speakers " Performance Enhancement in Optical Wireless Communication via Diversity, Advanced Receiver Design, and Mitigation Techniques": Speaker; 17/5/2026
12th EAI International Conference on Industrial Networks and Intelligent Systems: Keynote/plenary speaker; 2/2026
Symposium on Radio and Optical Networks Convergence: Millimeter-wave and THz systems/ Free-space optical communication (FSO): Participant; 8/1/2026
Applications of Lasers for Sensing and Free Space Communications: Invited speaker; 10/2025

More professional activities

Projects

UDLA 2527 University of Strathclyde | Joba, Csongor: Herrnsdorf, Johannes (Principal Investigator) Rajbhandari, Sujan (Co-investigator) Joba, Csongor (Research Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2026 - 01-Jan-2030
Fraunhofer UK Research Limited: Studentship Agreement | Vijayakumar, Akhil Dutt: Rajbhandari, Sujan (Principal Investigator) Herrnsdorf, Johannes (Co-investigator) Vijayakumar, Akhil Dutt (Research Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2026 - 01-Jan-2029
Advanced Network Connectivity using Harmonious Optical and Radio technologies (ANCHOR) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN-01: Rajbhandari, Sujan (Principal Investigator) Herrnsdorf, Johannes (Co-investigator) Li, David (Co-investigator) McKendry, Jonathan (Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2026 - 31-Jan-2029
Integrated Sensing, Localisation, and Communication for 6G based on AI-Assisted Optical Camera Communication: Rajbhandari, Sujan (Principal Investigator); 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2025