C. Anandharamakrishnan

Anandharamakrishnan Chinnaswamy, commonly referred as Anandharamakrishnan is an Indian scientist and academician, having expertise in Chemical Engineering and Food processing. He is working as director of National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, (NIIST) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He also served as the Director of CSIR- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR- NEERI), Nagpur, Maharashtra (31 December 2024 to 30 January 2025). Earlier, he served as director of National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, Thanjavur (NIFTEM-T) (Formerly known as Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu during the period April 2022 – November 2022 and as chief scientist at the CSIR - Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru, Karnataka.

In the first edition of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, Dr. Anandharamakrishnan was honoured with the Vigyan Shri Award, one of four prestigious categories, in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of food and agricultural processing.

"The award would inspire me and my team in NIIST to make more meaningful contributions for the further advancement of science in India, and also for the benefit of society at large. We will strive to ensure that our research efforts have industrial relevance and are relevant for farmers and entrepreneurs as well," he said.

Education and professional career Anandharamakrishnan completed his bachelor's degree (BTech) in chemical engineering (1990–94) and master's degree (MTech) 1994-1996 batch from Alagappa College of Technology, Anna University, India. He got scholarship under Commonwealth Scholarship programme of United Kingdom for pursuing PhD in chemical engineering at Loughborough University, United Kingdom, for his work on 'Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics Studies on Spray freeze-drying and Spray-drying of Proteins'. He started his career as scientist at Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru from the year 1999 and became principal scientist in the year 2010. He then joined as director, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology, Thanjavur in the year 2016. During his tenure as director, IIFPT has attained Institute of National Importance status by The National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) Act 2021 and subsequently IIFPT is renamed as National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM)Thanjavur. From November 2022, he is serving as director of National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Trivandrum. His research endeavors are well documented in peer reviewed reputed international scientific journals. He has 3 International patents, 7 Indian patents, authored 7 books, and edited 15 books. He is ranked among the top 2 percentile of the scientist working in food science and technology as per the career long data updated to end-of-2020 published by Elsevier BV and Stanford University

Legacy Dr. Anandharamakrishnan is known for his pioneering research works in the field of Food processing with special focus on Food Engineering, Food nanotechnology, Engineered human digestive systems and Food 3D printing. His works also spanned across inter-disciplinary fields such as food industry waste utilization, food processing equipment design, novel food matrix development for drug delivery and functional foods.

Engineered Human Stomach and Small Intestinal System Dr. Anandharamakrishnan has developed engineered human stomach and small intestine dynamic digestive system called ARK® to study the digestion and absorption behaviour of the foods in human stomach. This ARK® system is designed to study the particle breakdown and digestive pattern of the cooked white rice in our alimentary canal. This ARK® system simulates the physiological conditions of small intestine and records the level of absorption of micronutrients and nano-formulated bioactive compounds present in foods. This information is useful in the development of functional food and supplements. Recently, this ARK® system has been used to predict the glycemic response curve similar to that of in-vivo human blood glucose level.

CSIR Designer Rice Dr. Anandharamakrishnan has developed a diabetic-friendly, nutrient-enriched designer rice through extrusion technology. Dr. Anandharamakrishnan has received the Tata Transformation Prize 2024, instituted by the Tata Sons and The New York Academy of Sciences, for developing the designer rice. He mentioned "CSIR–NIIST is pleased to collaborate with Tata Consumer Products in advancing the societal impact of indigenous technologies. This partnership underscores the Institute’s mandate to translate laboratory output into solutions that contribute to national priorities in nutrition, wellness, and industrial competitiveness." The developed rice kernels contain over 20% protein and have a low glycemic index (GI < 55), along with enhanced dietary fiber content compared to normal rice, which supports digestive health and prolonged satiety. In addition, the rice is fortified with essential micronutrients including iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 to improve its nutritional quality and address micronutrient deficiencies. The technology has been successfully transferred to Tata Consumer Products Limited and SS Soul Foods of Tamil Nadu. The initiative focuses on achieving a net-zero future through advanced, integrated innovations that leverage the collective strengths of partnering CSIR labs and industry partners. The mission also aims to establish a state-of-the-art biodegradability testing and monitoring center. Apart from these focus areas, the mission also explores innovative solutions to address issues related to microplastics, the utilization of packaging waste, and blockchain-based traceability solutions for the packaging industry.

Awards and honors Dr. C. Anandharamakrishnan receiving Vigyan Shri Award from President Droupadi Murmu in August 2024

Awards and honors

Vigyan Shri Award under Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar scheme (2024) TATA Transformation Prize, Instituted by New York Academy of Sciences and TATA Sons (2024), under the theme Food Security ICAR-Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award for Outstanding Research in Agricultural Sciences- 2019 Tata Innovation Fellowship (DBT, Govt. of India) 2019-20 NASI Reliance Industries Platinum Jubilee Award (2018) National Design Award in Environmental Engineering (2019) All India Food Processors Association (AIFPA) Special Platinum Jubilee Award (2018) Alkyl Amines Padma Bhushan Prof. B.D. Tilak CHEMCON Distinguished Speaker Award (2016)

Election to prestigious international academies Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) (2016) Fellow of Royal Society of Biology (RSB)

Election to prestigious national academies

Fellow of National Academy of Sciences (NASc) (2019) Fellow of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) (2019) Fellow of Indian Chemical Society (FICS) Fellow of Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India) AFST(I) (2017) Fellow of Kerala Academy of Science (2023)

Other notable recognitions Listed among the top 5% of scientists globally in the Global Scientist Index by Scirank Global. Listed on the 2025 Asian Scientist 100 by Asian Scientist. Ranked as Top 2 percentile of the scientist working in Food Science by Elsevier BV and Stanford University.

Books

Authored Books

Edited Books