Prof. S. A. Sannasiraj is a Chair Professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, specializing in coastal and ocean engineering. He earned his Ph.D. from IIT Madras in 1997 and joined the faculty in 2000, rising to full Professor by 2006.
His research focuses on wave hydrodynamics, nonlinear free-surface wave simulation, wave–structure interaction, coastal protection, and climate resilience. With over 300 publications and more than 1,700 citations, he is widely recognized for his contributions to breaking wave impact studies, tsunami modeling, and numerical simulation techniques such as FEM and SPH.
He has led 18 sponsored research projects and over 300 consultancy projects, supporting ports, harbors, and coastal infrastructure. He has received prestigious fellowships including DAAD, Fulbright-Nehru, and Endeavour Awards, and actively contributes to climate adaptation initiatives, including the Global Water and Climate Adaptation Centre (ABCD) at IIT Madras.
He has successfully supervised numerous Ph.D. scholars and organized several training programs.