Dr. G S Bhuvaneshwar has made outstanding contributions in the development of implantable and disposable Medical Devices. He is currently the acting Head of the Biomedical Technology Wing of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) at Trivandrum. He has played an important role in the growth of Bio-medical Engineering and Medical Industry in India.
Dr. Bhuvaneshwar received his degree of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics from IIT Madras in the year 1972. He also obtained his M.S. (Biomedical Engineering) degree, by Research from IIT Madras in 1976. In 1994 he took his Ph.D. from SCTIMST for his studies in the area of Biomedical Technology.
He has been with SCTIMST for the past 24 years, working on various research projects. Now, as the acting Head of the Wing, he has the overall responsibility for all Research and Development activities, Technology Transfer and IPR activities of the Wing. He is also the Technical Manager, Quality System Implementation for the Biomedical Technology Wing – aimed at international accreditation of the test laboratories by early 2001.
Dr. Bhuvaneshwar has made remarkable contributions in medical device development; covering areas of design, development, fabrication, evaluation, pilot production and technology transfer. His single outstanding contribution was the development of “Tilting disc heart valve prosthesis”. This indigenous development, comparable with imported valve, is in clinical use for nearly a decade, and over 2500 valves have been implanted so far. For this achievement, Dr. Bhuvaneshwar has received the SCTIMST Institute Award in 1991, NRDC Republic Day 1994 Award for Meritorious Invention in 1994, and the FIE Foundation 1994 Award. He has also made major contributions in the development of other medical devices – Hydrocephalus Shunt system, Low cost humidifier, Hollow Fibre Membrane Oxygenator, and a Woven Arterial prosthesis.
He has published over 25 Research Papers and has 4 Indian patents, 2 US patents and 1 European patent.
Dr. Gangan Prathap is the Scientist-in-charge of the CSIR Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation, Bangalore. He has an exceptional academic record including the first rank in JEE 1969, and the President of India prize for the first rank in the B.Tech. degree programme of IIT Madras. In 1990, he was awarded the S S Bhatnagar Prize in Science and Technology. He has also won many other awards and honours in his career.
He has over 90 publications in international journals to his credit with many among them receiving numerous citations. In particular, he has contributed significantly to the areas of non-linear structural mechanics, and finite element modeling. He has also authored books and numerous technical reports.
He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, and the Indian National Science Academy. He has been a Member in many professional societies and expert committees. He is also on the Editorial Boards of reputed international journals.
In recognition of the efforts, achievements and excellence in research of Dr. Gangan Pratap, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him with this award.
Mr. Sunil Wadhwani, CEO and Co-founder of iGATE Capital Corporation, obtained the B.Tech. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1974 and the degree of Master of Science in Industrial Administration from Carnegie-Mellon University at Pittsburgh in 1976.
Prior to iGATE, Mr. Wadhwani served as CEO and Co-founder of Mastech Corporation, a global provider of high value information technology services and solutions. Since inception in 1986, the company has managed to meet the challenges of rapid growth and by 1996 had attained $100 million in revenues. During this period, Mastech was named four times in Inc. Magazine’s list of “Fastest-growing Companies in America”. Under his leadership, Mastech grew to $500 million in revenues and over $1 billion in market capitalization.
In 1981 Mr. Wadhwani co-founded and was CEO of UroTec, a company that developed medical devices to significantly reduce the risk of post-operative infection following certain kinds of surgery. As CEO, Mr. Wadhwani oversaw the development and patenting of these devices, obtained Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, set up a manufacturing process that conformed to rigorous FDA standards and set up a national sales network. He raised both equity and debt capital to fund this venture. He set up a joint venture with a European firm to extend UroTec’s product line and for distribution of UroTec’s products in Europe.
Mr. Wadhwani has also served as a management consultant and between 1976 and 1981 was associated with the A.F. Ferguson Company, one of the largest management and strategy consulting firms in India.
Over a thirty year period, Mr. Sunil Wadhwani has achieved a long and successful track record as an entrepreneur, culmination in the creation of iGate Capital. He has led the launch of 15 new IT services businesses, all developed around strategies that served emerging technology market needs. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras is proud to honor this engineering entrepreneur with the Distinguished Alumnus award.
Mr.V.Prem Watsa has distinguished himself in the field of Insurance and Finance in the competitive environment of Canada. He is among the elite group of IITians who have become the Chief Executive of Multibillion dollar Corporations in North America.
After graduating from the Institute in 1971 with a First Class degree in Chemical Engineering, Mr.Prem Watsa joined the University of Western Ontario and obtained his Master Degree in Business Administration.
Mr.Prem Watsa’s professional career began in 1974 when he joined Confederation Life Insurance Company where he did investment research and managed stock portfolios for pension clients. Having gained insight into the working of this industry, he founded the company Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. (now owned by Fairfax) with an associate. He now manages $18 billion in pensions, individual and corporate funds through this company. In terms of results of long-term investments of funds of clients, his company ranked in the top 10% across Canada.
In 1985 Mr.Prem Watsa took control of the financial service holding company, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He manages a company with a total asset of $31 billion earning an average annual return of about 20% on shareholders equity. This company is listed in the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Mr.Prem Watsa is a Chartered Financial Analyst. His membership includes Fairfax Financial Holding Limited and Lindsey Modern Group. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Hospital for Children and is the Chairman of the Investment Committee of St. Paul’s Anglican Church.
IIT-Madras is happy to bestow the Distinguished Alumnus Award on Mr.Prem Watsa.