SV Ananthakrishnan obtained his PhD degree (1934) from the University of London, UK. His specialization was in organic chemistry. He was Professor and Head, Department of Chemistry, Madras Christian College, Chennai; Head, Department of Chemistry, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar (1937-42); and Principal Investigator, PL-480 Project on Castor Oil (1968-73).

Academic and Research Achievements: Ananthakrishnan's distinguishing work was in the application of the principles of physical chemistry to organic chemistry. His researches helped clarify the nature of several reactions, for example, bromine addition and ester hydrolysis. He identified the first and the second stages in the saponification of esters of dibasic acids. His work on chromic acid oxidations shed light on the mechanism and indicated new avenues of research.

Other Contributions: Ananthakrishnan's interests spanned over science education and science policy. He was associated with the academic councils of many universities and served on the Editorial Boards of Indian Journal of Chemistry and Journal of Indian Chemical Society. He was a Member of INSA Council (1970-72).

Awards and Honours: Ananthakrishnan was a Fellow of Chemical Society (London); Indian Chemical Society; American Chemical Society; Societie Chimie Physique (France); and Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore.