Dr Nithiyanandam is an interdisciplinary researcher. Primarily a physicist, he is currently working in the field of applied Geo-informatics. 

He is an alumnus of prestigious Department of Land Surveying and Geo-informatics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His doctoral research, under the Hong Kong PhD fellowship scheme, resulted in his PhD thesis titled "Anthropogenic heat flux estimation over Hong Kong - A multi-modelling approach". The work undertaken was a multi-disciplinary research study comprising diverse fields such as environmental sciences, remote sensing, GIS, thermodynamics, climatology, urban studies, and computer programming. This collaborative research effort between two European universities, one local university, and multiple government agencies from Hong Kong attempted to quantify anthropogenic heat emission of Hong Kong.

He was also a site manager for the NASA's AERONET station and a manager of massive Urban Heat Island (UHI) fieldwork conducted in Hong Kong during 2013. The fieldwork involved helicopter thermography, satellite imagery, vehicle traversing and other surface measurements.

He joined the Department of Natural resources, Teri School of Advanced Studies in 2014, and has since been teaching advanced courses in remote sensing and GIS to Masters Students pursuing Geoinformatics and Urban Development programme. His current research projects are focused on various aspects of urban heat including urban heat island and its impact, thermal comfort, anthropogenic heat emission, and the heat wave and its impact. His primary research interests include, inter alia, satellite-based thermography for studying urban micro-climate, algorithm development for remote sensing applications, LIDAR application, application of remote sensing in ocean and urban areas, GIS applications for water and land resources management, numerical modelling of heat, water quality monitoring, wastewater management, and UAV mapping.

His work has been acknowledged through publication and presentations at national and international scientific gatherings. He is a member of reputed professional societies including the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), Indian Society for remote sensing (ISRS) and Asian Society for Geo-Informatics (ASG).