Alumnus Awards

Dr. Murali Sastry is currently Chief Scientist, Tata Chemicals Ltd., Mumbai. He had earlier served as a Senior Scientist at National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.

Dr. Murali Sastry received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from IIT Madras in 1982 and 1987 respectively. He was a Post-Doctoral fellow at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (1988-89) and at Sincrotrone Trieste, Italy (1989-91). He was a Visiting Faculty at University of Maryland (1998-99) and Visiting Scientist at CNRS, Orsay, France (2001-03).

Dr. Murali Sastry is the author of over 300 peer reviewed international publications and eight chapters in books. He is the Editor (Nanomaterials) of Materials Research Bulletin and is the member of editorial board of a number of journals. He has been granted five patents and has filed for another 13 patents.

Dr. Murali Sastry is the recipient of a number of awards including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Chemical Sciences (2002), Materials Research Society of India Medal (2003), Chemical Research Society of India medal (2001), and CSIR Young Scientist award in Physical Sciences (1993). He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Maharastra Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Murali Sastry is an internationally recognized nanotechnologist with a rich background in different aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology. His work on interfacing nanomaterials with biologicals, development of new strategies for nanomaterials synthesis and assembly as well as fresh approach to bio-mineralization have won international acclaim.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer on him this award.

Dr. T. V. RajanBabu is currently a Professor of Chemistry at The Ohio State University. Earlier he was a member of the Research Staff and a Research Fellow at DuPont Central Research and Development Laboratory.

Dr. RajanBabu received his M.Sc. degree in Chemistry from IIT Madras in 1971. Subsequently he received his Ph.D degree from The Ohio State University and then spent two years at Harvard University as post-doctoral Fellow with the Nobel Laureate Professor R. B. Woodward.

During his years at Dupont, Dr. RajanBabu was involved with a variety of projects dealing with applications of free-radical chemistry and of main-group and organometallic reagents in organic synthesis. Here, he co-discovered Group Transfer Polymerization, a technique that is used in the multimillion dollar desk-jet printer ink manufacturing industry. This concept also has found its way into textbooks on polymer science as one of the fundamental methodologies of polymerization. The work has received over 1000 citations, truly reflecting its high impact in this field of research.

For the past ten years, Dr. RajanBabu’s major research interests have been in area of asymmetric catalysis. Some of his seminal contributions in the area of C-C and C-H bond-forming reactions using simple feed-stocks like HCN, CO and/or simple olefins, have set the standard for catalytic synthesis of fine chemicals. Dr. RajanBabu has also developed a series of carbohydrate-based ligands for use in asymmetric catalysis, a simple but hitherto largely unrecognized possibility to exploit readily available sugar-coated metals for catalysis in organic and aqueous media. His other major interest is in the discovery of new protocols for the synthesis of densely functionalized carbocyclic and heterocyclic compounds from simple precursors.

He has over 80 original peer reviewed publications and 13 patents to his credit. He is a member of the editorial board of the Organic Reactions. He has delivered over 100 plenary and invited lectures.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of Chemistry, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer on him this award.

Mr. Sunil Kumar is the President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors of International Specialty Products Inc. (ISP), a manufacturer of speciality chemicals. Prior to coming to ISP, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of GAF Materials Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of roofing products for buildings. Earlier he was Executive Vice-President and a Member of the Board of Bridgestone/Firestone.

Mr. Sunil Kumar received B.Tech. degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1971 and followed it up with a MBA from University of Louisiana.

Under the leadership of Mr. Sunil Kumar, ISP achieved sales of US .2 Billion in 2004 and highest profit margins in the industry. He was selected to be the 2005 Specialty Chemicals CEO of the Year by Frost & Sullivan, a distinguished international industry and market research firm.

Mr. Sunil Kumar is a Board Member of American Chemistry Council, an Executive Member of the Society of Chemical Industry and a Board Member of Societe de Chimie Industrielle. He is a Member of the Foreign Direct Investment Task Force formed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

In recognition of Mr. Sunil Kumar’s professional accomplishments and managerial excellence, IIT Madras and its Alumni are proud to confer on him this award.

Dr. A. Parasuraman is a Professor and Holder of the James W. McLamore Chair in Marketing at the University of Miami. He obtained his B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1970, MBA degree from IIM Ahmedabad in 1972 and Doctor of Business Administration degree from Indiana University in 1975.

Dr. Parasuraman teaches and does research in the areas of service marketing, service quality measurement and improvement, and the role of technology in marketing to and serving customers. In 1988 he was selected as one of the “Ten Most Influential Figures in Quality” by the editorial board of The Quality Review. He received many distinguished teaching and research awards, including the Best Professor Award given by the Executive MBA Classes in 1996, 1998 and 2000, and the Provost’s Award for Scholarly Research in 1998. He also received the American Marketing Association’s “Career Contributions to the Services Discipline Award” in 1998 and the Academy of Marketing Science’s “Outstanding Marketing Educator Award” in 2001.

Dr. Parasuraman has written numerous articles in leading journals such as the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Retailing, and Sloan Management Review. He has served as editor of Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (1997-2000) and is the editor for Journal of Service Research (2005-2008). He also serves on the editorial review boards of ten journals. He is the author of four books. He is an active consultant and has conducted dozens of executive seminars on service quality, customer satisfaction and the role of technology in service delivery in many countries.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of Management, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer on him this award.

Dr. Jayakrishnan is the Head of Polymer Chemistry Division at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum. He is an internationally renowned scientist in the area of polymeric bio-materials.

Dr. Jayakrishnan received the Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Calicut in 1975, and followed it up with a Ph.D. from IIT Madras in 1980. He has been Visiting Scientist/Fellow at the University of Paris-Sud, Toyo University, Japan, University of Florida and the University of Liverpool in England. He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the recipient of a number of awards, including the Materials Society of India Medal in 1997.

Dr. Jayakrishnan is on the Editorial Board of the reputed international journal, ‘Biomaterials’. He has over 75 publications in international journals and nine patents to his credit. His postdoctoral work at the University of Florida led to the development of Ultraviolet Light Absorbing Intraocular Lenses which has been commercialized world-wide and millions of patients have been recipients of this implant. His pioneering work relating to the migration of plasticizer from flexible PVC based devices has been reported in the prestigious international journal ‘Nature’.

Dr. Jayakrishan’s current research is focused on anti-bacterial polymer surfaces, surgical adhesives and in situ forming wound dressing materials, areas that have immediate relevance in health care.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of fundamental and applied bio-medical research, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.

Dr. Parimal R Desai is the Vice President, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Development at Wyeth Research, New York, USA. In an illustrious career, he has been the prime mover of several drug discovery and development initiatives in his com        pany. He has provided technical and strategic leadership in successful development, registration and launch of several new pharmaceutical products, including well known anti-cancer drugs and therapies.

He received the M.Sc. (Chemistry) degree from IIT Madras in 1983 and PhD in Biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University in 1987.

In recognition of his technical and strategic leadership in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry he has been bestowed several prestigious awards, including the “Heroes of Chemistry” award of the American Chemical Society in 2004 and the “Exceptional Achievement Award” of Wyeth in 1999.

Dr. Desai has championed the cause of mutlicultural teams and workforce through the organization of a company wide diversity forum. He is a member of the Research and Development Diversity Council, implementing diversity strategies with other R&D executives.

In recognition of his significant contributions to the field of biochemistry and pharmaceuticals, and his technical and strategic leadership, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.

Dr. Kris Venkat is currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sundari Enterprises Inc., USA. He is the Chairman of the Board of several companies in USA, Germany and India, and a member of the Board of many others. He is an experienced entrepreneur, manager and teacher.

Dr. Kris Venkat graduated with a B.Tech. degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1968 and followed it up with a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, USA. He has more than one hundred scientific publications and several patents to his credit. He has served on the editorial boards of many technical journals. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose award.

In his illustrious career, Dr. Kris Venkat has held various senior management positions with multinational corporations including Merck & Co. and H.J. Heinz Company, USA, as well as start-up entrepreneurial organizations. As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Phyton, Inc., (USA) and it’s subsidiary Phyton GmbH (Germany), he was instrumental in building up a successful bio-technology company, whose formulations include the leading anti-cancer drug Taxol.

Dr. Kris Venkat is a Visiting Professor of Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers University and has also held visiting faculty positions at Yale University, Dartmouth College, University College, Galway, Ireland, IIT Delhi and Anna University. He has served as an advisor on Biotechnology to the Government of India as well as a number of other Governmental institutions. He also serves as the Senior Investment Advisor to Techno Venture Management, Munich, one of Europe’s largest biotechnology venture capital funds.

In recognition of his managerial excellence and significant contributions to the fields of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.

Mr. Krishna “Kittu” Kolluri is a General Partner focusing on information technology investments at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), USA. NEA is a leading venture capital firm that is focused on helping entrepreneurs create and build major new technology based enterprises. He also serves on the boards of Ring Three Technologies, Port Authority Technologies, SnapTell, and Determina.

Mr. Kolluri has a distinguished career of more than 18 years at the leading edge of the technology industry, in various technical and managerial positions. He started his career taking on engineering and management roles in the early days of Silicon Graphics. He then co-founded Healtheon to introduce healthcare online. Healtheon merged with WebMD in November 1999, in a deal valued at around USD 5.5 billion. He was the Senior Vice-President and General Manager in-charge of Provider Services at Healtheon/WebMD. He then took over as President and CEO of Neoteris in 2001, where he directed the creation of the Instant Virtual Extranet Technology market category, raised venture funding and built a stellar executive team. Neoteris was acquired by Netscreen and subsequently by Juniper Networks, USA. He served as the Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the Security Products Group at Juniper Networks.

Mr. Kolluri graduated with a B.Tech. degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1986. He received an MS degree in Operational Research from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1988.

In recognition of his outstanding professional accomplishments and entrepreneurial excellence, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.

Mrs. Meena Mutyala started her career with the Westinghouse Electric Company, USA, and is now the Vice-President of the Nuclear Fuel Engineering Division. She leads an organization of 450 employees in four locations in USA and Europe.

In an illustrious career spanning over 27 years, she has held various technical and managerial positions in diverse functional areas of the company. Her meteoric rise in the world of business and technology, and her professional achievements have few parallels, and she is one of the very few women technologists from India to have reached these heights in a traditionally male dominated business.

Meena Mutyala earned her Bachelor’s degree from Nagpur University in 1974, and followed it up with a Master’s in Physics from IIT Madras. She received another Master’s degree in Engineering Sciences from the Northwestern University in 1977. She received the MBA degree in 1990 from the University of Pittsburgh.

She has struck a fine balance, and a not so easy one, between home and work. She is the proud mother of two brilliant children who are in college. Her concern for all who have interacted with her at home and at work, has made her a role model for many.

In recognition of her outstanding professional accomplishments and managerial excellence, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer on her this Award.