Back close
Admissions

Dr. Krishna Nandanan

Assistant Professor, School for Sustainable Futures, Amritapuri

Qualification: B. Tech, MBA, PhD
krishnanandanan@am.amrita.edu
Orcid Profile
Google Scholar Profile
Research Gate Profile
Scopus Author ID

Bio Publications Education Work Experience Patents Awards
Bio

Dr. Krishna Nandanan currently serves as Assistant Professor at Amrita School for Sustainable Futures and as Program Manager – Industry Relations & Sustainability Initiatives at the Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. He also leads the “Education: Innovations in Teaching Methods & Technology” research group. His doctoral research focuses on the development of an integrated data-driven platform for multi-level, multi-stakeholder-based sustainability and resilience assessments and recommendations for community empowerment, with a strong emphasis on translating grassroots data into actionable insights and policy-relevant outcomes.

He is a sustainability researcher with extensive experience in indicator development and composite index formulation, particularly for assessing sustainability and resilience at the community level. Through his leadership in the Live-in-Labs® academic program, he has guided multidisciplinary student teams across numerous Indian states in conducting grassroots, multi-stakeholder-based data collection in rural communities, designed and implemented participatory assessment frameworks, and contributed to the development of context-specific indicators that inform decision-making at local and institutional levels.

Dr. Nandanan has led national and international field projects, coordinated industry collaborations, and developed community-centric sustainable development interventions. He has also collaborated with global partners through the UNESCO Chair on Experiential Learning for Sustainable Innovation and Development. His contributions span academic planning, curriculum development, faculty training, and large-scale institutional initiatives, including award-winning efforts such as the 2024 International Green Gown Award. His research portfolio includes multiple Q1 journal publications, conference papers, and patent filings focused on sustainability assessment frameworks, participatory methodologies, and rural development technologies, along with reviewer roles for leading international journals.

Publications

Journal Article

Year : 2026

Unravelling water sustainability: a decentralised, data-driven model for water governance

Cite this Research Publication : A. S. Reshma, Krishna Nandanan, Hari Chandana Ekkirala, Vineeth Ajith, Amritanand Sudheer, Ramesh Guntha, Maneesha Vinodini Ramesh, Unravelling water sustainability: a decentralised, data-driven model for water governance, Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-39927-0

Publisher : Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Year : 2025

Towards grassroots sustainable development using human centered design and participatory rural appraisal: A study in two rural Indian villages

Cite this Research Publication : Krishnendu S, Hitarth Anand Rohra, Kanakasabapathy P, Krishna Nandanan, Vinod V.T Padil, Towards grassroots sustainable development using human centered design and participatory rural appraisal: A study in two rural Indian villages, Sustainable Futures, Elsevier BV, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100604

Publisher : Elsevier BV

Year : 2025

Multi-stakeholder-centric micro-level sustainability assessments and policy recommendations

Cite this Research Publication : Krishna Nandanan, Hari Chandana Ekkirala, A.S. Reshma, Vineeth Ajith, Ramesh Guntha, Amrita Jayakumar, Maneesha Vinodini Ramesh, Multi-stakeholder-centric micro-level sustainability assessments and policy recommendations, Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, Elsevier BV, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2025.100710

Publisher : Elsevier BV

Year : 2022

HCI curricula for sustainable innovation: the humanitarian focus at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

Cite this Research Publication : Ramesh, Maneesha Vinodini, Alexander Muir, Krishna Nandanan, Rao R. Bhavani, and Renjith Mohan. "HCI curricula for sustainable innovation: the humanitarian focus at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham." Interactions 29, no. 1 (2022): 54-57.

Publisher : ACM

Year : 2021

Participatory design approach to address water crisis in the village of Karkatta, Jharkhand, India

Cite this Research Publication : Deepak Suresh Varma, Krishna Nandanan, Vishakh Raja P. C., Soundharajan B., Mireia López Pérez, Sidharth K. A., and Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh, “Participatory design approach to address water crisis in the village of Karkatta, Jharkhand, India”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 172, p. 121002, 2021. (IF=10.884)

Publisher : Elsevier

Year :

Case Study of Solid Waste Management at a College Campus

Cite this Research Publication : Krishna, Abhilash, Krishna Nandanan, SS Pradeep Kumar, and K. S. Srihari. "Case Study of Solid Waste Management at a College Campus." In International Journal of Applied Engineering Research ISSN 09734562, vol. 8, no. 16, pp. 1871-1878. Research India Publications, 2013.

Publisher : Research India Publications

Conference Proceedings

Year : 2024

Generative AI for Community Empowerment: Transforming Livelihood Opportunities in a Rural Indian Village

Cite this Research Publication : K. B. Bharath Suhas, A. P. Sri Krishna, Karishram B., Maddina Sai Roopesh, Sachithanantha Jothi S., Kondepati Teja, Anu G. Kumar, Krishna Nandanan, Generative AI for Community Empowerment: Transforming Livelihood Opportunities in a Rural Indian Village, 2024 Fourth International Conference on Advances in Electrical, Computing, Communication and Sustainable Technologies (ICAECT), IEEE, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1109/icaect60202.2024.10468754

Publisher : IEEE

Year : 2024

From Open Defecation to Digital Empowerment: A Participatory IoT Solution for a Rural South Indian Village

Cite this Research Publication : Kulkarni, P.P. et al. (2024). From Open Defecation to Digital Empowerment: A Participatory IoT Solution for a Rural South Indian Village. In: Senjyu, T., So–In, C., Joshi, A. (eds) Smart Trends in Computing and Communications. SmartCom 2024 2024. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 947. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-1326-4_26

Publisher : Springer

Year : 2020

Technology enabled pathways for a waste free village

Cite this Research Publication : S. Kumar P, Pranay, N., G, I. Bharathi, Suchit, Y., Saravanan R., Nandanan, K., and Renjith Mohan, “Technology enabled pathways for a waste free village”, in ICDSMLA 2019 International Conference on Data Sciences, Machine Learning and Applications, Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 2019.

Publisher : SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

Year : 2020

Waste Management for sustainable rural futures in the village of Muljipura, Madhya Pradesh

Cite this Research Publication : P. R. Jonnala, Panigrahy, P. Prasad, P. Kanth, U., A. Sagar, S. Chandra, Gangrade, N., Basavaraju, S., and Nandanan, K., “Waste Management for sustainable rural futures in the village of Muljipura, Madhya Pradesh”, in ICDSMLA 2019 [International Conference on Data Sciences, Machine Learning and Applications], 2020 SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, 2019.

Publisher : SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

Year : 2020

Role of Technology in Utilizing Water as a Resource for Sustainable Development

Cite this Research Publication : Akshaya, S., Nivedika Padmashree, Ajai Simmon, P. Geetha, and Krishna Nandanan. "Role of technology in utilizing water as a resource for sustainable development." In ICDSMLA 2019: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Data Science, Machine Learning and Applications, pp. 1295-1319. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020.

Publisher : SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

Year : 2020

Augmenting Technology to Address Rural Sanitation

Cite this Research Publication : V. Rengaraj, Saravanan, V., Periyakaruppan, S., P, D. Geetha, Ashok Kumar Mohan, and Nandanan, K., “Augmenting Technology to Address the Rural Sanitation”, in ICDSMLA 2019 [International Conference on Data Sciences, Machine Learning and Applications], 2020 SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, 2019.

Publisher : SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

Year : 2019

Thinking Beyond Agriculture Through Technological Interventions in the Village of Moti Borvai, Gujarat

Cite this Research Publication : G. K. S, G, K., V, V., Krishnan, A. R., Deepthi, B., and Renjith Mohan, “Thinking Beyond Agriculture Through Technological Interventions in the Village of Moti Borvai, Gujarat”, in ICDSMLA 2019 [International Conference on Data Sciences, Machine Learning and Applications], 2020 SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology , 2019.

Publisher : SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

Year : 2014

Design and fabrication of a hexapod robot

Cite this Research Publication : A. Krishna, Krishna Nandanan, Kumar, S. S. Pradeep, Srihari, K. S., and Sivraj, P., “Design and fabrication of a hexapod robot”, Embedded Systems (ICES), 2014 International Conference on. IEEE, 2014.

Publisher : Embedded Systems (ICES), 2014 International Conference on

Book Chapter

Year : 2022

Role of Co-design in Developing an Enhanced Moringa-Based Intervention for Rural Livelihood Opportunities

Cite this Research Publication : Rithan Mandesh, P., Rajesh, R., Monika Sri, A., Surendran, S., Vidhya, S., Krithik, A., ... & Nandanan, K. (2022). Role of Co-design in Developing an Enhanced Moringa-Based Intervention for Rural Livelihood Opportunities. In ICT Infrastructure and Computing: Proceedings of ICT4SD 2022 (pp. 575-586). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

Publisher : Springer Nature Singapore

Year : 2022

Sustainable Technologies for Improved Income Generation: A Case Study of Women Villagers in Himachal Pradesh

Cite this Research Publication : Prasad, A. et al. (2022). Sustainable Technologies for Improved Income Generation: A Case Study of Women Villagers in Himachal Pradesh. In: Senjyu, T., Mahalle, P.N., Perumal, T., Joshi, A. (eds) ICT with Intelligent Applications. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 248. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4177-0_65

Publisher : Springer

Year : 2020

Can Software based Integrated Platform be a Solution for Holistic Medical Care in Developing Communities?

Cite this Research Publication : M. K, S., K., S.S., S., B, S., Dhivvya, B., and Nandanan, K., “Can Software based Integrated Platform be a Solution for Holistic Medical Care in Developing Communities?”, in ICDSMLA 2019 [International Conference on Data Sciences, Machine Learning and Applications], 2020 SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology , 2019.

Publisher : SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

Year : 2020

Technology Powered Resource Utilization for Income Generation Opportunities in the Rural Villages of Chhattisgarh

Cite this Research Publication : S. P, R, Emoorthy P., Sreenivasan, S., M, A., Dhivvya, B., and Nandanan, K., “Technology Powered Resource Utilization for Income Generation Opportunities in the Rural Villages of Chhattisgarh”, in ICDSMLA 2019 [International Conference on Data Sciences, Machine Learning and Applications], 2020 SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, 2019.

Publisher : SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

Conference Paper

Year : 2021

Need Assessment and Design of an IoT based Healthcare Solution through Participatory Approaches for a Rural Village in Bihar, India

Cite this Research Publication : Hooda, M., Ramesh, M., Gupta, A., Nair, J., & Nandanan, K. (2021, September). Need assessment and design of an IoT based healthcare solution through participatory approaches for a rural village in Bihar, India. In 2021 IEEE 9th Region 10 Humanitarian Technology Conference (R10-HTC) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Publisher : IEEEXplore

Year : 2020

Agricultural Problems and Technology-Based Sustainable Solutions for an Impoverished Village of Bihar, India

Cite this Research Publication : A. Vachaspati Vempat, Radhakrishnan, S., G.I, A., Rajan, R. Arumuga, NIKHIL K. KOTHURKAR, and Frey, L. M., “Agricultural Problems and Technology-Based Sustainable Solutions for an Impoverished Village of Bihar, India”, in Technological innovations in ICT for agriculture and Rural Development (TIAR 2018), 2018.

Publisher : IEEEXplore

Year : 2020

Assessment of Waste Management Practices and its Impact on the Village Ecosystem in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Cite this Research Publication : S. Balu, S, S. Kumar, L, H., R.B, R., N.K, A., S, A. M., and Frey, L. M., “Assessment of Waste Management Practices and Its Impact on the Village Ecosystem in Himachal Pradesh, India”, in Technological Innovations in ICT for Agriculture and Rural Development (TIAR 2018), 2018.

Publisher : IEEEXplore

Year : 2020

Using Human Centered Design to Improve Socio-economic Livelihoods with Modernized Irrigation Systems

Cite this Research Publication : Guleria, Manoj, T. Rajesh, Aneena John Panicker, SR Rayappa Raja, B. Soundharajan, L. M. Frey, and Krishna Nandanan. "Using human centered design to improve socio-economic livelihoods with modernized irrigation systems." In 2020 IEEE 8th R10 Humanitarian Technology Conference (R10-HTC), pp. 1-6. IEEE, 2020.

Publisher : IEEEXplore

Year : 2019

Case Study on Co-design Methodology for Improved Cook stove Solutions for Rural Community in India

Cite this Research Publication : H. T. Mohan, Nandanan, K., Renjith Mohan, Sadipe, O., Williams, I., and Potocnik, T., “Case Study on Co-design Methodology for Improved Cook stove Solutions for Rural Community in India”, in Humanitarian Technology Conference (R10-HTC), 2019 IEEE Region 10, IEEE, 2019, 2019.

Publisher : IEEEXplore

Year : 2019

Water Management Through Integrated Technologies, a Sustainable Approach for Village Pandori, India

Cite this Research Publication : H. Kadiveti, Eleshwaram, S., Renjith Mohan, S, A., Nandanan, K., G, D. Sharma S., and B, S., “Water Management Through Integrated Technologies, a Sustainable Approach for Village Pandori, India”, in Humanitarian Technology Conference (R10-HTC), 2019 IEEE Region 10, IEEE, 2019, 2019.

Publisher : IEEEXplore

Education
COURSE SPECIALISATION INSTITUTION YEAR
PhD Sustainable Development Amrita School for Sustainable Futures 2020-25
MBA Marketing Amrita School of Business, Coimbatore 2014-16
B. Tech Electrical and Electronics Engineering Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore 2010-14
Work Experience
  1. Organization : Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
    Location : Amritapuri, Kerala
    Time period : Feb 2026 – Present
    Designation : Assistant Professor – School for Sustainable Futures, Program Manager – Industry Relations & Sustainability Initiatives, Office of Pro-Vice Chancellor
  2. Organization : Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
    Location : Amritapuri, Kerala
    Time period : March 2018 – Jan 2026
    Designation : Program Manager – Academic Programs: Live-in-Labs®, Amrita School for Sustainable Futures
Patents
  1. Ramesh, Maneesha Vinodini; Nandanan, Krishna; Ekkirala, Sai Hari Chandana; AS, Reshma; Ajith, Vineeth; Guntha, Ramesh; Jayakumar, Amrita. System and Method for Implementing Sustainability Interventions in a Social Ecosystem. Indian Patent 202541040498 filed April 26, 2025, (Patent Pending).
  2. Ramesh, Maneesha Vinodini; Nandanan, Krishna; Ekkirala, Sai Hari Chandana; AS, Reshma; Ajith, Vineeth; Guntha, Ramesh; Jayakumar, Amrita. System and Method for Implementing Sustainability Interventions in a Social Ecosystem. US Patent 19/286,043 filed July 30, 2025, (Patent Pending).
Awards
  • AIRA Innovation Award 2024 recipient
  • Served as a reviewer for the following Q1 Scopus-indexed journals –
    • Journal of Cleaner Production (IF 10, 2025)
    • Energy Research & Social Science (IF 6, 2024)
    • Cell Reports Sustainability (2025)
  • Participated in the twelfth cohort of the I-NCUBATE Program offered by the Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Indian Institute of Technology Madras.
Admissions Apply Now