IITM has a new Chairman, Board of Governors! Pawan Goenka, Executive Director and President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, has been named to the post by President Pranab Mukherjee in his capacity as Visitor of the Institute. Dr. Goenka is the 12th Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Institute and will hold the post for three years. He takes over from Padma Vibhushan M M Sharma, who brought a sharp focus on research at IIT-M during his tenure. The news release quoted Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras as saying, “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Pawan Goenka as the Chairman of the Board. An alumnus of IIT-Kanpur, Dr Goenka is an internationally acknowledged scientist with several citations to his credit. A stalwart of the automobile industry, he has spearheaded various prestigious industry bodies, and I am certain he will add tremendous value to this role as well.” Goenka said, “It is an honour and I am humbled to have been appointed Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Madras. I am looking forward to working with the Director of the institute, Prof Ramamurthi, and the Board to contribute towards the Institute’s goals of building scientific and engineering excellence, incubating innovation and encouraging entrepreneurship. Going forward, I am banking on the support from the Board and active participation from the student and alumni fraternity for adding sheen to an institute with an already outstanding pedigree and reputation.”
On Sunday, June 8th, 1,500 delegates from across the world and India converged on the campus for a week-long program. Spic Macay (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth) is conducting its 2nd International Convention at IIT-Madras from June 8 to 14.
For 37 years, Spic Macay has been has been working to create awareness and instill a sense of pride in India’s heritage among school and college students by conducting programs on arts and culture, yoga, classic cinema screenings, and talks by eminent citizens. The aim of these conventions is to bring students from different parts of India and abroad and expose them to the gurukul way of life. They have to be up by 4 am for yoga – nada yoga and hatha yoga -sessions. After breakfast, it will be time for shramdaan, where students engage in activities such as cleaning the campus. Delegates then attend intensive workshops from 9 am to noon. Workshops are held on 17 craft forms and about 40 art forms, including Carnatic music, Hindustani vocals, dhrupad, veena, bharatanatyam, mohiniyattam, and koodiyattam. Post-lunch, all delegates get the opportunity to attend performances such as ottamthullal, Bhagavatamela, Chancel Choir from Nagaland as well as movie screenings, and talks by eminent people such as director Adoor Gopalakrishnan and artist Anjolie Ela Menon. Every evening, two big artists will also give performances, which are open to the public. The line-up includes T N Krishnan, Dr Padma Subrahmanyam, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Alarmel Valli.
On June 13, Classical Overnite concerts will be held. “It will start at 8 pm and get over by 6 am the next day,” says Raja. The concerts will feature stalwarts such as Pandit Birju Maharaj (kathak), Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor), Dr L Subramanian (violin), Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar (Dhrupad) and TM Krishna (Carnatic vocal). Campus residents are geared-up for the week and its promise of cultural riches.
In alumnae news, Hamsa Balakrishnan (BT/AE/2000), Associate Professor, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been awarded the prestigious 2014 Donald P. Eckman Award of the American Automatic Control Council on 5 June 1014. The citation reads “For excellence in the control design, analysis, implementation, and evaluation of practical algorithms to improve the efficiency and environmental performance of air transport systems”. The MIT-IITM nexus continues to produce trailblazers….