After her early work in condensed matter physics on quantum crystals, she switched fields to nonlinear dynamics and has published research papers on a variety of topics.
During the 1980s, when Balakrishnan returned to India, she worked at the department of theoretical physics, University of Madras as a research associate.
Balakrishnan has spoken at occasions in her first person account, as well as at conclaves on gender barriers for women in STEM, and the challenges she had to overcome.
In 1995-96, Balakrishnan was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship[7] to pursue research on 'Non-linear dynamics in Low-Dimensional Magnetic Systems,' as a visiting scholar hosted by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories.
[8] She also received INSA’s Professor Darshan Ranganathan Memorial Lecture Award (2005) for original and pioneering contributions in nonlinear dynamics.