The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur will confer the Distinguished Alumnus Award on the occasion of its 62 Convocation of the Institute on July 30 and 31 this year. Seven eminent alumni have been selected for the award for their ``exceptional professional achievements in the industry, in the academia or as entrepreneur.’’ The awardees include Dr Anurag Acharya (IIT KGP B.Tech /Computer Science and Engineering/1987), an engineer with Google USA. Dr Acharya is key founder of Google Scholar which since its inception has become an indispensable service for the global academic and research community. Read: Top Engineering Colleges in East India Ajit Jain (IIT KGP B.Tech./Mechanical Engineering/1972), president of Reinsurance Division, Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group, USA. Jain works in the investment sector and is a well known philanthropist and funds the Jain Foundation with the mission to cure muscular dystrophies. Dr Asoke Deysarkar (IIT KGP B Tech/Chemical Engineering/1971), CEO and Chairman, PfP Industries, USA. Dr Deysarkar has blended his research with entrepreneurship in Chemical Engineering forming a billion dollar conglomerate of companies. The Deysarkar Family has helped establish the Trans-disciplinary Program in Petroleum Engineering at IIT KGP. Prof. Gautam Biswas (IIT KGP Ph D /Mechanical Engineering / 1985), Director, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. Prof Biswas has an illustrious academic career of 25 years having taught at IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur and in various international universities. His fundamental research on heat transfer phenomena is well-recognised in the international academic community. He was the founder director of Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi. Prof Indranil Manna (IIT KGP Ph.D./Metallurgical and Materials Engineering/ 1990), Director, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. Read: Khadi to make entry at IIT Bombay convocation He has been an exceptional academician and researcher having a long-standing association with IIT Kharagpur as faculty and thereafter leading the Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata and IIT Kanpur. His significant contributions in advanced material science and engineering have been well recognised by national and international bodies. Prof Supriyo Bandopadhyay (IIT KGP B Tech /Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering/1980), Commonwealth Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA. Read: IISc, IITs among top 50 in QS Asia university rankings 2016 Recently, he was named Virginia's Outstanding Scientist and is known globally for his interdisciplinary research. He directs the Quantum Device Laboratory in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering which has been frequently featured in national and international media for exemplary research in nanotechnology. Prof Venkatesan Thirumalai (B.Sc./Physics /1969), Director, NUSNNI-NanoCore, National University of Singapore. He is known for his pioneering research in laser technology. Prof Venkatesan was founder of the PhD/MBA programme in NUS and the Surface Center at Rutgers University. For more news on education, click here
