Dr. Ananth graduated from the AC College of Technology with a gold medal in Chemical Engineering. He obtained his Ph. D degree in Chemical Engineering in the area of Molecular Thermodynamics from the University of Florida, USA in 1972

He joined IIT Madras as a faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1972. He has held various senior positions such as Head of the Department, Dean of Academic Courses and Dean of Academic Research. In December 2001 he took over as Director. During the last few years, he has been closely associated with the formulation of policy matters in IITM, most recently with the preparation of The Strategic Plan of IITM – Vision 2010.

Dr. Ananth was a Visiting Professor in Princeton University (1982-83) and in the University of Colorado (1990-91). He was a Visiting Scientist in the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado (1990-91), in RWTH, Aachen, Germany (Summer 1983 and Summer 1999) and a Visiting Thermodynamics Expert in Aspen Tech, Massachusetts,USA (Summer 1991).

He has taught a whole range of Chemical Engineering courses and has been consistently rated as a good teacher. He is well known for his deep concern for his students. He was responsible for extensive curricular revisions in the B.Tech. programme of IITM with the introduction of many innovative features. He is deeply concerned about the quality and reach of engineering education in India. He is the National Coordinator for a mega project funded by the MHRD, on Technology Enhanced Learning involving many technical institutions in the country.

His research interests are in Molecular Thermodynamics and Mathematical Modelling. He has several publications in international journals and is a referee for many journals in Chemical Engineering. He has been awarded the Herdillia prize for excellence in basic research in Chemical Engineering by the IIChE and the R.W. Fahien Alumni Award for "Distinguished Professional Contributions" for the year 2003 by the Chemical Engineering Department of University of Florida, USA. He is a Fellow of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He is a consultant for many chemical industries in South India.