page_title: Munirathna Anandakrishnan
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Munirathna Anandakrishnan / Biography
caption_attribution_description: IIT Kanpur
context_page_description: Munirathna Anandakrishnan is an Indian civil engineer, educationist, a former chairman of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and a former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University. He is also a former Advisor to the Government of Tamil Nadu on Information Technology and e-Governance. A winner of the National Order of Scientific Merit, he was honored by the Government of India, in 2002, with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
context_section_description: 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
  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 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.
  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 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).
  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 as 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 Tamil Nadu doing away with the Common Entrance Test system and adopting the Single Window Admission System for admission to engineering courses across the state. Anandakrishnan retired from active service in 2001 and lives with his family at Kasturibai Nagar, in Adyar, Chennai.
caption: A building at IIT Kanpur
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