US-based scientist gets $100,000 for the city college that made him

I have the fondest memories of Pune, says a nostalgic Prof Thomas Kailath who has been awarded Padmabhushan this year for his contribution to science.

Padmabhushan Thomas Kailath pledges $100,000 to the College of Engineering,Pune,ensures other alumni in US do the same

I have the fondest memories of Pune, says a nostalgic Prof Thomas Kailath who has been awarded Padmabhushan this year for his contribution to science. For the US-based scientist,Pune holds a special place in the heart. An alumnus of both St Vincents School and the College of Engineering,Pune (COEP),Kailath feels it is his social responsibility to pledge a grant of $100,000 to his alma mater and encourage budding engineers to apply technological solutions to socially relevant issues.

Kailath,a Keralite who studied in Pune,is Hitachi America Professor of Engineering,Emeritus,at Stanford University and has supervised around 80 PhD theses. I received an excellent education from these institutions in Pune, Kailath told The Indian Express when contacted in California,US.

Kailath had challenged the COEP alumni based in US to match his grant of $100,000 (about Rs 47 lakh). They did that by aggregating around $108,000 and COEP is now set to receive a corpus of Rs 1 crore for encouraging students to take up technological solutions for social issues.

We have an ambitious master plan for the development of the COEP and have been contacting our alumni in the US and other places, says Dr Anil Sahasrabuddhe,director of the COEP.

Sahasrabuddhe,who met Kailath in the US,said the COEP will get $100,000 from the scientist and it will be specifically earmarked to encourage students to take up socially relevant projects. It could be finding solutions for the problem of pollution or any social issue,he said.

Recalling his days in Pune in the 1950s and 1960s,Kailath said though the classes were much shorter,the students were exposed to good training in mathematics and English by the Italian priests at St Vincents School. He recalled particularly the contribution of Fr Alphons Oesch and mathematics teacher G M Joshi. Mr Joshi told me once that I was a serious student and encouraged me to join Fergusson College, Kaliath said.

Story continues below this ad

A stint at the COEP and enrolment in one of the then newly-introduced programmes in telecom engineering fetched him offers from Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Kailath got his Masters degree in 1959 and his doctorate in 1961,both from the MIT. He was the first Indian-born student to receive a doctorate in electrical engineering from the MIT.

A well-known electrical engineer,information theorist and entrepreneur,Kailath has authored several books,including Linear Systems that ranks as one of the most referred books in the field.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories

Tags:
awards
people
pune

US-based scientist gets $100,000 for the city college that made him

I have the fondest memories of Pune, says a nostalgic Prof Thomas Kailath who has been awarded Padmabhushan this year for his contribution to science.

I have the fondest memories of Pune, says a nostalgic Prof Thomas Kailath who has been awarded Padmabhushan this year for his contribution to science.