Chennai, 26^th April 2018: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) celebrated its’ 59th Institute Day today, 26th April 2018. The celebrations were even more special this year as IIT Madras became the top-ranked Engineering Institution in the Country for the Third Consecutive Year. It was also adjudged as the second best Institute in the Overall category for the second year in a row by National Institutional Rankings Framework (NIRF) 2018, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, next only to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.).

The Institute Day is an occasion to recognize the achievements of students, faculty and staff who excelled in their endeavors and are at the core of the accolades earned by the Institute. The day is crowned by the recognition bestowed on a select few of the illustrious alumni. These Distinguished Alumni, again numbering twelve this year, have carved out a name for themselves in Academia and Industry with their research contributions, made their mark as entrepreneurs, or have developed key technologies for the welfare of the country.

The Chief Guest of the Institute Day, Mr. B. Santhanam, President and Managing Director, Saint Gobain India Pvt. Ltd., is himself a ‘Distinguished Alumnus Awardee. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Santhanam said. “In the last decade IIT Madras has become more global, agile, raised its standard and output in research, deepened industry connect, leveraged the alumni network and enhanced its reputation. The two decades of transformation have resulted in IITM being ranked as # 1 Engineering Institution in the last three consecutive years by NIRF.” Addressing the graduands, he further added, “I have put certain principles together into what I call the STAY framework. It offers 4 simple verbs to guide you to: STAY Immersed – Let the power of compounding and deliberate practice work in your favour • STAY Organized – Eliminate distraction, perform deep work as you build your expertise • STAY Relevant – Be curious and seek width and breadth simultaneously. Connect the dots through a broad understanding of adjacencies and coupled with depth of expertise in specific areas. Essentially become a T – shaped individual and • STAY Connected – Systematically build your network and leverage the IIT Alumni community.”

He also bestowed the Institute R&D Awards, Award for Excellence in Teaching and Non-Academic Staff Recognition Awards to the selected ones.

Delivering the Presidential address, Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “With this year’s Institute Day, the 59th, we enter the sixtieth year of our Institute’s life. Sixty is young as universities go, but we have already carved out a name for ourselves nationally and globally. We have also made our mark as a key contributor in building our nation.”

Commenting on various aspects that make IIT Madras unique, he said, “We are probably the first Institute to have set up a full-fledged Development Office three years ago to raise resources. Alumni hold several key positions in this Office, and working together with the IITM Foundation the funds raised has been growing at a CAGR of more than 30%. We are very grateful to the donors who came forward to contribute generously in large numbers, and assure them that the funds will be put to very good use.”

Further, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi said that the Centre for Innovation continued to be a beehive of creative activity for students. Seven teams made it past the nationals to compete at various international challenges, and often ranked among the top 20 teams globally.

The Director presented the Distinguished Alumnus Awards and the Institute Research Award (Academic Awards) to 21 research scholars in appreciation of the quality and quantity of their research work. The award consists of a merit certificate and a cash award of Rs. 20000. Around 62 Institute Day prizes, presented on this occasion are funded by the alumni of IITM.

‘Extra Mural Lecture’ (EML) Yearbook, a book containing activities of previous year along with the personalized messages of distinguished speakers who were invited as part of EML (a student managed group organizing lectures on various topics) was also released by the dignitaries. The money collected through Saarang 2018, IIT Madras’ cultural fest was donated to two different causes this year – Deepam Trust – Rs.50,000 and Chudar Foundation – Rs. 80,000.

The Institute Day function was attended by students, staff and faculty members of IIT Madras as well as a large number of alumni both from India and abroad. The event moreover, included presentation on students’ activities and accomplishments, introduction of new Executive Wing, presentation of credentials to the outgoing wing, presentation of Institute Blues, and giving away of mementos to the outgoing Institute officials, among other activities. The entire event was live webcast, this year. The function was followed by a Graduands Dinner to bid farewell to the outgoing students and scholars of the Institute.

Distinguished Alumnus Awards

1. Dr. Kanianthra Mani Chandy, Simon Ramo Professor of Computer Science, Emeritus, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA [1965/B.Tech./Electrical Engg.]
2. Shri V.M. Thomas, Joint Managing Director, Johnson Lifts Private Limited, Chennai [1973/B.Tech./Mechanical Engg].
3. Dr. D.V. Satyanarayana Gupta, Technology Fellow, Baker Hughes, a GE company, Texas, USA [1974/B.Tech/Chemical Engg.]
4. Dr. M. A. Subramanian, Milton Harris Professor in Materials Science, Oregon State University, Oregon, USA [1982/PhD/Chemistry]
5. Shri Lazar T. Chitillapilly, Project Director, Air Breathing Propulsion Project, VSSC, ISRO, Thiruvananthapuram [1983/B.Tech./Aerospace Engg.]
6. Dr. Noshir S. Contractor, Jane S. & William J. White Professor of Behavioral Sciences (McCormick, SoC, Kellogg), Director of SONIC Research Group, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA [1983/B.Tech./Electrical Engg.]
7. Dr. Sridhar R. Tayur Ford Distinguished Research Chair Professor of Operations Management, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, [USA1986/B.Tech./Mechanical Engg.]
8. Shri Rajesh Jha Executive Vice President, Office Product Group, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, USA [1988/B.Tech./Computer Sci & Engg.]
9. Dr. Seeram Ramakrishna Director, Center for Nanofibers & Nanotechnology, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore [1989/M.Tech./Mechanical Engg.]
10. Dr. Nagabhushana Sindhushayana, Vice President, Technology, Qualcomm Inc, San Diego, California, USA [1989/B.Tech./Electrical Engg.]

11.Dr. Giridhar Madras Professor of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India [1990/M.Tech./Chemical Engg.]

12. Dr. Sudhir Kumar Mishra CEO & MD, BrahMos Aerospace [1996/M.Tech./Mech. Engg.]

Institute Non Academic Staff Recognition Award

1. Smt. J Tamilarasi, Senior Assistant, Department of Management Studies

2. Smt. S T Sarasavalli, Senior Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering

3. Smt. Hemalatha Hariharan, Senior Assistant, IC & SR

4. Sri Sasikumar N T, Junior Technical Superintendent, Central Workshop

5. Sri Sagaya Rajesh A, Junior Technician, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Institute Research and Development Awards

A Life-time Achievement Award:

   Prof. Krishnan Balasubramanian, Department of Mechanical Engineering

1. Mid-Career Research & Development Award:
2. Prof. V. Srinivasa Chakravarthy, Department of Biotechnology
3. Prof. K. Srinivas Reddy, Department of Mechanical Engineering

1. Early Career Research & Development Award:

1. Dr. Shaikh Faruque Ali, Department of Applied Mechanics

2. Dr. R Vinu, Department of Chemical Engineering

3. Dr. Md. Mohiuddin Baidya, Department of Chemistry

4. Dr. Dillip Kumar Satapathy, Department of Physics

 Srimathi Marti Annapurna Gurunath Award for Excellence in Teaching – instituted by one of our distinguished alumni Dr. Marti Subrahmanyam [1967/BT/ME].

Dr. M N Jayalal Sarma, Department of Computer Science Engineering