Ananthakrishnan Narayanan

Auburn University

College of Engineering

ISA @ Auburn

Ananthakrishnan (Anan) Narayanan was born in Palakkad, Kerala, India. He fluently speaks four languages and is in the process of learning a fifth one. He attended high school at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ashok Nagar, Chennai, a reputed educational institution governed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. Since his school days, he developed a keen interest in linguistics, theater and other extra-curricular activities. His Sanskrit plays were aired in All-India Radio when he attended high school. In his Senior year at school, he served as the Cultural Secretary and won the 'The Best Outgoing Student Award' for his all round performance in his school career.

Anan earned a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Shanmugha College of Engineering (now SASTRA), Tanjore, India, majoring in Electronics and Instrumentation with a First Class and Distinction. He won a Merit Scholarship for his academic accomplishments in the year 2001. He also won several awards representing his institution. He was a part of Shanmugha's Literary and Cultural team. He won the South Zone Inter University Youth Festival Debate Contest twice in a row and was nominated to represent South India at the National Inter University Youth Festival. He also was invited to represent India in the SAARC Cultural Exchange Program.

Anan is currently a Doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University. He started his graduate studies in Fall 2004. Since January 2005 he has been working for Dr. Mrinal Thakur who was nominated for Nobel Prize for his correct theory of conducting polymers. Anan draws great inspiration from his mentor and working with Dr. Thakur has influenced his professional and personal life in a positive way. Under his supervisor's tutelage he has earned some Journal and conference publications to his name. Anan's research interests include photonic materials, nonlinear optics, organic photovoltaics, and organic FETs. More about his research can be found here. Anan enjoys teaching, he has taught two courses as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. More about his teaching can be found here.

Apart from research and teaching, Anan also nurses a keen interest in web design. He works as a webmaster at The Office of Dean of Students. He has also helped in developing and maintaining the web pages of two other organizations at Auburn.

During his stay at Auburn, Anan has been a part of many organizations, boards and events to hone his leadership and team skills, some of which are listed below:

1. President International Student Organization 2007-2008
2. Voting Member - International Education Advisory Council 2007-2008
3. Voting Member- Student Communication Board 2008- present
4. Head, Advisory Committee- Indian Student Association 2007-2008
5. President - Indian Student Association 2006-2007
6. Executive Board - India Cultural Association of East Alabama 2006-2007
7. Staff Writer - Plainsman (University's official weekly newspaper)- as and when time permits

His academic and leadership accomplishments won him a place in Who's Who Among College Students in the year 2008.

Anan is a great fan of Bollywood, admires Amitabh, Kishore Da, R.D., Lata, Gulzar and Jagjit. His interests include music, poetry/fiction writing, cooking, reading and crosswords. He is also a die-hard Auburn football fan and thinks IT IS GREAT TO BE AN AUBURN TIGER.

His long term goal is to pursue a research oriented job in the field of nonlinear optics and make a positive contribution in the society he lives.