Dear Alumnus/ Alumna,
Chair Professorships provide a mechanism for IITs to bring in exceptional research and talent that we are not able to recruit on a full-time basis. They can provide that infusion, that disruption that can enable institutions on the cusp of greatness to get there so much sooner. While IIT Madras has a program in place for Visiting Chairs, we have recently also introduced a provision for outstanding IITM faculty to be elevated to Chairs as well. So, we now have four categories of Chairs identified under this scheme:
I. (Named) Distinguished Chair: (e.g., the recently-launched Prof. Mahabala Chair, funded by Kris Gopalakrishnan; to be occupied by Dr. Partha Mitra, CSHL, NY).
- a. Intended to host world’s leading researchers in specific fields, visits of 3-5 years
- b. Salary & benefits provided on globally-competitive basis
- c. Campus housing to be provided
- d. May be endowed with an initial corpus of Rs. 10 crores ($ 1,600,000)
II. (Named) Visiting Chair: (e.g., Chair in Biotechnology sponsored the Mehta Family Foundation, Houston; occupied by Prof. Ashok Venkitaraman, Cambridge Univ.)
- a. Intended for visits of 1-3 years by leaders in academia, industry and research
- b. Salary & benefits on par with IITM faculty
- c. Campus housing to be provided
- d. May be endowed with an initial corpus of Rs. 300 lakhs ($ 600,000).
III. (Named) Adjunct Chair: (e.g., the Chevron Chair in Chemical Engineering, facilitated by our Distinguished Alum, Dr. Ashok Krishna).
- a. Intended for short-term visits (less than one year) by leaders in academia, industry and research
- b. Honorarium (covering travel & living expenses) to be provided based on services offered
- c. Campus accommodations to be provided
- d. May be endowed with an initial corpus of Rs. 50-250 lakhs ($ 100,000-500,000)
IV. (Named) Institute Chair: (the first one was sponsored in Biomedical Engineering by our alum, Dr. Prakash Keshaviah)
- a. Intended for senior IIT Madras Professors to reward exceptional performance
- b. Selected faculty will be identified as “(Named) Institute Chair” until retirement, but financial benefits will be provided for an initial period
- c. May be endowed with an initial corpus of Rs. 1 Crore ($ 150,000)
If you’re looking to make a year-end gift, these may be good options for you to consider. These Chairs will play a significant role in positioning your alma mater as a global leader in research.