V. Balakrishnan (physicist)

V. Balakrishnan (born 1943 as Venkataraman Balakrishnan) is an Indian theoretical physicist, who has worked in a number of fields and areas, including particle physics, many-body theory, the mechanical behavior of solids, dynamical systems, stochastic processes, and quantum dynamics. He is an accomplished researcher who has made important contributions to the theory of anelasticity, continuous-time random walks, and recurrences in dynamical systems. He received his undergraduate degree from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and PhD from Brandeis University in 1970. After a decade at TIFR and IGCAR Kalpakkam, he joined IIT Madras as a Professor of Physics in 1980. He was elected a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1985. In addition to his research, Balakrishnan is a teacher of physics, known for his engaging teaching style. He has taught a wide range of courses over the past 30 years from introductory physics to quantum field theory to dynamical systems. Two of his courses (38 lectures in Classical Physics and 31 in Quantum Physics) taught at IIT Madras through National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning are available on NPTEL's channel on YouTube, and have received more than 6 million views in all (as of May 2025). Apart from his teaching, Balakrishnan has contributed a number of book reviews and general science articles to the Resonance Journal of Science Education. Balakrishnan has authored the book Mathematical Physics with Applications, Problems and Solutions (Ane Books 2017, Springer 2020).