Munirathna Anandakrishnan

Anandakrishnan was an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India and the Institution of Engineers (India). He was also a Fellow of the Indian Society of Technical Education. Kanpur University honoured Anandakrishnan with the title of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in 2005. The University Grants Commission (India) awarded him the UGC National Swami Pranavananda Saraswati Award in 2006.

The Government of Brazil conferred on him the Commander of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) in 1996 and the same year, he received the Ugadi Puraskar from the Madras Telugu Academy. The International Institute of Tamil Studies honoured him in 1999 and the Centenarian Trust, Chennai selected him as the Man of the Year 1999. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2002 and the University of Minnesota awarded him the Distinguished Leader Award in 2003. The year 2004 brought him two awards, the Platinum Jubilee Award of the Indian Ceramics Society and the ICCES Outstanding Achievement Award from the International Conference on Computational and Experimental Engineering and Sciences.

In 1990, Anandakrishnan returned to India to take up the position as the vice chancellor of Anna University, Tamil Nadu and served the institution for two consecutive terms till 1996. During this period, he was also a member of an International Expert Committee for the development of Science and Technology in Brazil and was involved in its activities till 1997. After his second tenure as the vice chancellor, he was appointed the vice chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) and also held the post of the Advisor to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on matters related to Information Technology and E-Governance. In his advisory role, he was responsible for replacing the Common Entrance Test system with the Single Window Admission System for admission to engineering courses across Tamil Nadu. Anandakrishnan retired from active service in 2001 and lived with his family at Kasturibai Nagar, in Adyar, Chennai.

In 1974, Anandakrishnan moved to USA, on deputation from the Department of Science and Technology to work as the Science Counsellor at The Indian Embassy in Washington DC. In 1978, he joined the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) as the Chief of New Technologies at the Office of Science and Technology (OST), where he worked till his retirement from UN service in 1989. At the United Nations, he also held the posts of the Deputy Director at the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) and the secretary of the UN Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development (UNACAST).

Anandakrishnan returned to India in 1962 and started his Indian career as a Grade I Senior Scientific Officer at the Central Road Research Institute, Delhi and worked there for a year. His next posting was as a member of the faculty of civil engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) where he worked till 1974, holding various positions such as Assistant Professor, Professor, Senior Professor, Chairman of Civil Engineering Department, Dean and Acting Director. He also served IIT Kanpur as the chairman of the central staff recruiting committee and as the advisor on campus development.

Munirathna Anandakrishan won the Order of the Ski-Uh-Mah from the University of Minnesota in 1958 for his activities during his studies at the institution. In 1972, he received the Indian Invention Promotion Award for developing the design of a radial permeability measuring device. The Institution of Engineers (India) selected him for the Engineering Personality Award in 1992 for his contribution in liaising with UN agencies. The next year, he received two awards, the TNF Excellence Award from the Tamil Nadu Foundation and the M. K. Nambiar Memorial Award from the Madras Institute of Magnetobiology. A year later, Rotary International, Meenambakkam awarded him the Rotary Vocational Service Award. Rotary Club of Madras followed it with the For the Sake of Honour Award the next year. He received one more award, the National Science and Technology Award for Excellence in 1995.

Munirathna Anandakrishnan (12 July 1928 – 29 May 2021) was an Indian civil engineer, educationist, a chairman of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and a Vice-Chancellor of Anna University. He was also an Advisor to the Government of Tamil Nadu on Information Technology and e-Governance. A winner of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil), he was honored by the Government of India, in 2002, with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Munirathna Anandakrishnan was born on 12 July 1928 in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. After graduating in civil engineering (BE) from the College of Engineering, Guindy, Madras University in 1952, he pursued his studies at the University of Minnesota from where he secured a Master's degree (MS) in 1957 and a PhD in civil engineering in 1960. During his doctoral studies, he was a teaching assistant at the university and was the president of the Indian Students Association and Foreign Students Council at the university. He also worked part-time at Twin City Testing and Engineering Laboratories, a private firm, as a materials engineer