Prof.Krishnaiyan Thulasiraman:
Prof. Krishnaiyan Thulasiraman currently holds the endowed Hitachi Chair in Computer Science at the University of Oklahoma, USA. He has had a distinguished academic career for more than four decades having served on the faculty at IIT Madras (1965-81), Technical University of Nova Scotia,Canada (1981-82), Concordia University, Canada (1982-94) and the University of Oklahoma (1994-present). He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in electrical engineering from Madras University in 1963 and 1965, respectively, and Ph.D. degree from IIT Madras in 1968.
Dr. Thulasiraman is an acknowledged leader recognized worldwide for his outstanding scholarly contributions to graph theoretic applications in various facets of electrical and computer science & engineering. He has shown an unusual ability to adapt this research to fast evolving technological trends. He enjoys wide visibility and reputation in different communities viz., circuits and systems, computers, communications, computer science and mathematics as a result of his vast span of research.
Dr. Thulasiraman has published extensively in a number of prestigious journals. He has authored two monumental advanced level books: “Graphs, Networks and Algorithms” (1981) and “Graphs: Theory and Algorithms” (1992). He has received several awards and honors including the Fellow of the IEEE,and Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS). He received the highly coveted IEEE Circuits and Systems Society Technical Achievement Award (2006) which honours one individual each year for lifetime contributions to Circuits and Systems. In 2005, he was holder of the Gopalakrishnan Chair Professorship in Computer Science at IIT Madras.
Besides his outstanding scholarly activities, Dr.Thulasiraman has made significant contributions to the electrical engineering education and profession through his various activities in the IEEE and other technical societies.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the fields of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer on him this award.
Prof. Atul Chokshi is currently Professor of Materials Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Prior to joining IISc in 1994, he was on the faculty of University of California, San Diego for five years. He has held visiting faculty positions in more than six Universities in USA, Europe and Japan. He received his B.Tech degree in Metallurgy from IIT Madras in 1980 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southern California, USA.
Dr. Chokshi is one of the pioneers of the new branch of materials science, viz., mechanical behaviour of nanomaterials. He has made significant contributions in the area of superplasticity and has contributed significantly to the understanding of deformation mechanisms that bring about this phenomenon. He has made in-depth studies on the effect of temperature, grain size and microstructure on the superplastic deformation, creep, and diffusion in ceramics, ceramic composites and magnesium alloys.
Dr. Chokshi has published over 130 papers in highly cited international journals. He is ranked among the top 100 most cited materials scientists in the world.
Dr. Chokshi has received many honours and awards. He is a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Academy of Engineering, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India. He is the recipient of J D Birla Award (2006) and Metallurgist of the Year Award (2001) from the Indian Institute of Metals, S. S. BhatnagarAward (2003), MRSI Medal (2000) and Swarnajayanthi Presidential Young Scientist Award (1998).
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of materials engineering, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer on him this award.
Prof.Venkatachalam Anantharam:
Dr. Venkatachalam Anantharam is currently a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also presently an Adjunct Professor at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Prior to joining UC Berkeley in 1994, he was on the faculty of Cornell University for eight years. He has been a visiting faculty member / researcher at a number of universities and research institutions in USA, Europe, and India.
Dr. Anantharam is a highly regarded scholar in the areas of communications, communication networks, stochastic control, distributed control, queueing networks, information theory, game theory, and applied probability. He has published extensively in the premier journals in his areas. He has served as an Associate Editor and Guest co-editor for a number of prestigious journals. Some of his work has found early applications too, as is evident by the consultancy he offers to premier technology development agencies.
Dr. Anantharam has received numerous awards in recognition of this work. Two of his papers won him Best Paper awards – one in the IEEE Communications Society publications, and other in the IEEE Information Theory Society. He has been a distinguished invited speaker at a number of prestigious conferences. He was elected fellow of the IEEE in 1998. He was awarded the President of India Gold Medal for best academic record at IIT Madras in 1980.
Dr. Anantharam received his B.Tech (Electrical Engineering) degree from IIT Madras in 1980, and M.S. (Electrical Engg.), M.A. (Mathematics), C.Phil (Mathematics) and PhD (Electrical Engg.) degrees from University of California, Berkeley.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer on him this award.
Dr. J. Narayana Das is currently the Director of Naval Materials Research Laboratory, Ambarnath (DRDO). He received his B.Tech (1971), M.S. (1987) and Ph.D (1993) degrees in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras.
During his nearly 36 years of R&D career in DRDO, in various capacities, Dr. Narayana Das has made outstanding contributions in Materials Science and Technology, adding great value to strategic self reliance and industrial progress. At the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory, in the early 1980s, he initiated R & D in the specialized area of passive acoustic materials and studied acoustic wave propagation through fiber composites. He has been instrumental in development of patented special rubber compounds for application in SONAR sensor technologies. In recognition of his significant contributions, DRDO conferred on him the “Scientist of the Year” Award in 1998. His work in the field of Magneto-rheological fluids and Magneto-resistive fluids have earned two US patents.
As Director, NMRL, he has been playing the lead role in conceptualization, development and productionisation of materials of crucial importance to Naval technology. Example of the many self reliance initiatives he has led are Welding technology for Ship Building Steels and Industrialisation of “Fuel Cell” technology in the Country. NMRL is poised to launch 33 KW Fuel Cell based Power Plant in 2008. DRDO has promoted him to the select grade of “Outstanding Scientist” in 2007. Under his stewardship, the NMRL has won the Titanium Trophy of DRDO in 2005.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of Materials Science & Technology and his search for self reliance in strategic defence technologies, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer on him this award.
Mr. Bhaskar Bhat is currently the Managing Director of Titan Industries Limited. He received his B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1976 and PGDBM from IIM Ahmedabad in 1978.
Mr. Bhat started his career as a management trainee at Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co. (P) Ltd. in 1978. After spending five years at Godrej, he joined the Tata Watch Project initiated by Tata Press Limited. Since 1983 he has been associated with the Tata Watch project which later became Titan Watches Limited and is now Titan Industries Limited. At Titan, he has handled Sales and Marketing, Human Resources, International Business and general managerial assignments.
Mr. Bhat has played a key role in transforming the watch and jewellery industry in India. He has built two successful “most admired” Indian brands – Titan in watches and Tanishq in jewellery. He pioneered the concept of franchising and retailing in this Industry and achieved a turnaround performance of the Company during 2003-04. Titan Industries Limited has grown to become the largest watch manufacturer in India and the sixth largest in the world. Under his leadership, the Company has enlarged its portfolio. The Company now has four main business units: watches, jewellery, eyewear and precision engineered components.
Ever since his days as a student at IIT Madras, Mr. Bhat has been a people’s person and good communicator of ideas. He received the Trade Post Man of the Year in 2003 from Trade Post, a Watch Industry Journal.
In recognition of Mr. Bhaskar Bhat’s outstanding professional accomplishments and contributions to the Indian industry, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.
Mr. Vijay Kumar Magapu is presently whole-time Director & Member of the Board of Larsen & Toubro Limited since 2004. He is also the Chief Executive of Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited, in addition to leading the Engineering Services Business and heading the function of the CIO of L&T. He received his B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering) degree from IIT Madras in 1966 and MSc (Mechanical Sciences) degree from University of Calgary, Canada in 1972.
Mr. Magapu joined L&T as a Graduate Engineer Trainee in 1966 and moved on to assume various positions of responsibility. In 1985, he set up Hazira Works and oversaw the development and expansion of this heavy engineering complex, which today is considered as the jewel in the crown of Larsen & Toubro Limited. He was later designated the Executive Vice President responsible for the Company’s Power Project Business before being appointed Chief Executive of the IT subsidiary of the L&T in 2000.
Under Mr. Magapu’s leadership, L&T Infotech adopted an aggressive business development drive that resulted in key strategic alliances and establishment of multiple Offshore Development Centers for global clients. The Engineering Services Business that he leads has introduced various pioneering services to global manufacturing industry for remote product design, production facilities design and plant sustenance services, and other unique technical BPO services.
In his capacity as L&T’s Chief Information Officer since 2000, Mr. Magapu oversees implementation of IT strategies across the Company for continuously improving business results through alignment of IT to business.
In recognition of Mr. Magapu’s outstanding professional accomplishments and leadership roles played in Indian manufacturing and IT industry, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.
Mr. Girish Reddy is a founder and Managing Partner of Prisma Capital Partners, a US$ 4 billion asset management company providing fund of hedge fund services to institutional investors. Driven by superior performance, the firm has grown rapidly and is already ranked 37th among hedge fund of funds globally by assets.
Mr. Reddy obtained his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1977 and Masters in Engineering and MBA from Cornell University in 1980.
Prior to starting up Prisma Capital Partners, Mr. Reddy joined Goldman Sachs in Europe in 1990 and worked with the firm for 12 years, becoming a Partner and co-head of Equity Derivatives. Starting with a single-product business, he successfully built six business units within equity derivatives, making it one of the most profitable products within the company. In recognition of this success, the firm made him a Partner – regarded by many as the most coveted position on Wall Street. He played an important role in the development of the derivatives market in Europe, serving on various committees advising the exchanges on the design and launch of electronically traded contracts.
Before joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Reddy was instrumental in developing and promoting commercial applications of cutting-edge derivatives strategies as Chief Investment Officer for LOR Associates and as Senior Vice-President for Travelers Investment Management Company for a period of 10 years. Mr. Reddy has published various research papers and is a frequent speaker at industry forums on the use of derivatives in traditional asset management.
Outside the world of finance, Mr. Reddy has actively promoted education and academic excellence through his foundation. He was an early sponsor and currently executive board member of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. In addition he serves on the boards of Cornell University Council and IIT Madras Research Park. He is actively involved in sponsoring a secondary school for underprivileged children and supports various women’s educational institutions.
In recognition of his outstanding professional accomplishments and contributions to the field of finance, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.