Narendran completed his PhD with a dissertation on fire regimes and ecological effects in seasonally dry tropical ecosystems in the Western Ghats, India , from Michigan State University in 2006. Since graduating from MSU, he took up several teaching positions. Between January 2007 and August 2009 he was the GIS Coordinator/ Instructor at the Grays Harbor College in the Pacific NW. He taught several courses in GIS and Natural Resources Management to undergraduate students. Besides teaching he also managed a web mapping information system to improve Salmon conservation in the Pacific NW. Between October 2009 and May 2011 he took up a research position at the French Institute of Pondicherry in India . He is currently a Senior Scientist at ANCF where he devotes his time and energy to directing the GIS programme of ANCF and developing proposals to continue research on different aspects of forest fires in the Western Ghats.