CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) celebrated its 63^rd Institute Day on 26^th April 2022.

IIT Madras has achieved many milestones in the past six decades and has contributed immensely to the technological, economical, and societal development of the nation.

Most remarkably, IIT Madras once again swept the top honours in National Institutional Rankings Framework (NIRF), Ministry of Education, Govt. of India. It is the Number 1 institute in both ‘Overall’ category for three consecutive years and Number 1 in ‘Engineering’ Category for six consecutive years from 2016 to 2021 in the said Rankings. In the recently-added category of ‘Research Institutions’ in 2021, IIT Madras was ranked Number 2 in the country.

Moreover, the Institute was adjudged the ‘Top Innovative Institution ‘ in the country in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovative Achievements (ARIIA) in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Mr. N. Lakshmi Narayanan, Former Vice Chairman, Cognizant Technologies, was the Chief Guest for the Institute Day.

Addressing the Institute Day Celebrations, Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan, Former Vice Chairman, Cognizant Technologies said, “IIT Madras has created innovative platforms like NPTEL that are benefiting the community. The Institute has also pioneered upskilling of virtual education and has introduced a virtual B Sc degree programme on Programming and Data Science. The IIT Madras Research Park is also doing exceptional work in fostering an innovative ecosystem. So, it is a great pride to be part of the Institution Day Celebrations of IIT Madras.”

Further, Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan, said, “Collaborative Research between industry and academia which can result in phenomenal outcomes is the need of the hour.”

He also bestowed ‘Institute Research and Development Awards’ to junior-level and mid-career faculty members. He presented the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ to Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, former Director, and Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras.

During Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi’s tenure as the Director of IIT Madras, the institution topped in several national-level rankings. Under his leadership, IIT Madras was also selected as an ‘Institution of Eminence’ in 2019.

Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi oversaw a rapid expansion of Campus infrastructure including the launching of a Rs. 1,000-crore satellite campus called ‘Discovery Campus’ to accommodate the increase in research requirements. Furthermore, he has been instrumental in the development of indigenous 5G standards for India.

Delivering the Presidential address, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “I am very happy to announce that the pandemic did not stop IIT  Madras from its growth – be it the number of research, consultancy  and Corporate Social Responsibility projects that were executed; the placements and internships, as well as the number of patents that have been filed. The IIT Madras Alumni have supported the Institute tremendously-including the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Research Centre funded by Kris Gopalakrishnan and Sudha Gopalakrishnan; Prof. Sastri Vedula chair setup by Shri Yashpal Sodhi; Rohini and Nandan Nilekani Centre for Indian Languages; MPhasis Centre for Quantum Computing; Kotak-IITM Save Energy Mission; Aquamap Centre for Water Management; and socially relevant project funded by CapGemini, and Powergrid Corporation of India who are providing sponsorship for students from economically weaker sections, among others. I thank everyone who has been responsible for this growth.”

During the occasion, the Institution recognized the achievements of students and faculty members who have excelled in their endeavors. The Institute Day is also an occasion when illustrious alumni who have carved out a name for themselves in Academia and Industry with their research contributions, made their marks as entrepreneurs, or have developed key technologies for the country, are honoured for their achievements with Distinguished Alumnus Awards (DAA).

During the Institute Day, the names of 22 alumni, who were selected for DAAs for 2020 and 2021, were announced. Among them, five alumni attended the Institute Day in person and received their awards during the event, including Dr. Mridula Nair, Research Fellow, Distinguished Inventor and Product Leader, Eastman Kodak Company, USA; Shri Mahesh Wagle, Founder and Director, Cybernetik Technologies Private Limited, India; Dr. Girija Vaidyanathan, Chief Secretary (Retd.), Government of Tamil Nadu, India; Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CTO, Energy and Mobility, Microsoft R&D India and Azure Global, India (1993/B. Tech/CS]; and Prof. Vijay B. Shenoy, Associate Professor, Center for Condensed Matter, Indian Institute of Science, India [1992/B. Tech/ME].

‘Extra Mural Lecture (EML)’ Yearbook, a book containing activities of the previous year along with the personalised messages of distinguished speakers, was also released by the dignitaries.

Presentations on students’ activities and accomplishments, presenting mementos to the outgoing Institute officials, also happened during the event. The entire event was live streamed through Institute’s website.

Distinguished Alumnus Awardees 2020

1. Shri. Chandran Ratnaswami, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Fairfax India Holdings, Canada [1970/ B. Tech/ CE]
2. Shri. Paresh Chari, Chairman of the Board and CEO (Retd), Duraline Corporation, USA [1973/ M. Tech/ MT]
3. Dr. Mridula Nair, Research Fellow, Distinguished Inventor and Product Leader, Eastman Kodak Company, USA [1975/ M. Sc/CY]
4. Shri Mahesh Wagle, Founder and Director, Cybernetik Technologies Private Limited, India [1976/ B. Tech/ ME]
5. Dr. Girija Vaidyanathan, Chief Secretary (Retd.), Government of Tamil Nadu, India [1985/ M. Sc/ PH] & [2011/ Ph. D./ HSS]
6. Shri Rajkumar Duraiswamy, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, India [1982/ B Tech/EE]
7. Prof. Sivaramakrishnan Balachandar, William. F. Powers Professor, University of Florida, USA
8. Prof. Viswanathan Kumaran, Professor, Indian Institute of Science, India [1987/B. Tech/CH]
9. Dr. Ramakrishnan Srikant, Google Fellow, Google, USA [1990/ B. Tech/CS]
10. Prof. Vijay B. Shenoy, Associate Professor, Center for Condensed Matter, Indian Institute of Science, India [1992/B. Tech/ME]
11. Shri Arvind Nithrakashyap, Co-Founder and CTO, Rubrik Inc., USA, [1995/B. Tech/CS]

 Distinguished Alumnus Awardees 2021

1. Prof. Jayaraman Chandrasekhar, Principal Research Scientist, Gilead Sciences Inc., USA [1977/Ph.D./CY]
2. Dr. Ram Duvvuru Sriram, Chief, Software and Systems Division, IT Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA [1980/B Tech/CE]
3. Prof. B. S. Sathyaprakash, Elsbach Professor of Physics, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Eberly College of Science, Pennsylvania State University and Cardiff University, USA [1981/M. Sc/PH]
4. Shri Yogesh Gupta, President & CEO, Progress Software, USA [1981/ B.Tech/EE]
5. Prof. Ravi Subrahmanyan, Research Scientist, CSIRO, Australia, Emeritus Professor, Raman Research Institute, India (1983/B.Tech/EE]
6. Dr. Srinivasan “KG” Ganapathi, Founder and CEO, Vimaan Robotics Inc, USA [1985/B. Tech/MT]
7. Shri R. Madhavan, Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, India (1987/M. Tech/AE]
8. Dr. Suresh Kumar, Executive Vice President, Walmart, USA [1987/ B.Tech/AE]
9. Shri Ajay Kaushal, Co-Founder and Director, India Ideas Ltd. (BillDesk), India (1990/B.Tech/EE]
10. Shri Prasanna Ramaswamy, Guitarist, Composer, Educator, USA (1992/ B.Tech/OE]
11. Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CTO, Energy and Mobility, Microsoft R&D India and Azure Global, India (1993/B. Tech/CS]

Institute Research and Development Awards

      Life-time Achievement Award- Dr. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Department of Electrical Engineering

    Mid-Career Research & Development Award: Dr. Srinivasa Rao Bakshi, Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering

      Early Career Research & Development Award:

1. Dr. Ethayaraja Mani, Department of Chemical Engineering
2. Dr. Arnab Rit, Department of Chemistry
3. Dr. Pallab Sinha Mahapatra, Department of Mechanical Engineering

    Award for Excellence in Teaching:

1. Dr. Anubhab Roy, Department of Applied Mechanics
2. Dr. Mitesh Khapra, Department of Computer Science and Engineering