Balasubramanian's research critically examines technology practices and technological communities, using technology as a lens to explore its complex relationships with society and the environment. He coordinates the Biodiversity Informatics Programme, which focuses on building open-access, collaborative information systems for biodiversity. He is also a member of an interdisciplinary research initiative studying coastal transformations along the Coromandel Coast in southeast India. He has worked at the French Institute of Pondicherry.