Alumnus Awards

Padmasri M Natarajan is presently a Distinguished Scientist and Chief Controller Research & Development (Combat Vehicles & Engineering) in the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) of India. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineers. In a distinguished career spanning over three decades he has directed a wide variety of projects in technology design and development for our country. He was one of the key members of the prestigious main battle tank, ‘Arjun’, project. He has also significantly contributed to the indigenization and commercialization of several technologies. He has played a very important role in building lasting relationships among our defence, industrial and academic organizations. He is one of the most respected leaders in the field of defence engineering and technology in our country.

In recognition of the efforts, achievements and professional excellence of M. Natarajan in engineering and technological innovation, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.

Prof. George C Verghese, is presently a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. He became one of the youngest tenure Professors at MIT. He is among the leading researchers in modeling, analysis and control of dynamical systems and stochastic networks. He has also significantly contributed to research and teaching in the areas of estimation theory and algorithms, and applications to power systems, power electronics and biomedicine. He has taught at leading universities in Europe and Asia besides North America, and everywhere he has received the highest acclaim from his students and peers. He has earned a number of prestigious awards including Chairs and Fellowships. He serves on the Editorial Committees of internationally reputed journals, and has organized and chaired several seminars and conferences. He is regarded as an excellent role model for young and aspiring scholars in his field.

In recognition of the efforts, achievements and academic excellence of George Verghese in the world of technology education and research, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.

Prof. Meera Chandrasekhar (nee Chandrapal) obtained the M.Sc. degree in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1970. She subsequently obtained another Masters and the Ph.D. degree from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. She spent about two years as a Research Associate at the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart, Germany before joining the University of Missouri at Columbia as a faculty member of the Physics Department.

Awards and prizes have come at regular intervals to Prof. Chandrasekhar, for excellence in both teaching and research. In 1992, she was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society. Prof. Chandrasekhar’s most significant contributions have been in the area of optical properties of semi-conductors and superconductors.

In 1983, Prof. Chandrasekhar established a research laboratory at the University of Missouri for optical studies at high pressures (upto two hundred thousand atmospheres) and low temperatures (down to liquid helium at 4.2 K). At the time there were only five other laboratories in the US with similar capabilities, among them the facilities at IBM, Xerox, Harvard and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Two decades later, her techniques are still considered to be among the best.

The focus of Prof. Chandrasekhar’s work has been in the pressure behaviour of multiple quantum well structures (superlattices). These structures are increasingly important due to their unique properties and device application, including solid state lasers. Using the tools of high pressure coupled with a variety of optical techniques such as absorption, photoluminescence, Raman scattering and photo-modulated reflectivity, Prof. Chandrasekhar’s group has elucidated the optical and electronic properties of semiconductor heterostructures. Her recent interests include the exciting new area of organic semiconductors.

Interested in outreach and mentoring, Prof. Chandrasekhar has developed programs in the physical sciences for schools and teacher training. The program was particularly targeted at female students because of the well known phenomenon of their dropping physical science courses from their curriculum in the later years of high school.

Prof. Chandrasekhar’s achievements in teaching, research and service to the community make her a unique member of the academic fraternity. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras is proud to confer the Distinguished Alumnus Award to Prof. Meera Chandrasekhar.

Shri B. S. Sudhir Chandra received his B.Tech. degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1964.

Shri Sudhir Chandra joined the Railways in November 1965 after successful completion of the Combined Engineering Services Examination of 1964. From 1967 onwards, Shri Sudhir Chandra has worked in various capacities in Central Railway, North East Frontier Railway, South Eastern Railway and Southern Railway. From a probationer in 1965, he rose to the position of General Manager of Central Railway in 2001 and finally became a member of the Railway Board in 2002.

In a span of 36 years, Shri Sudhir Chandra has held with Distinction many positions in the Indian Railways: Assistant Engineer, Executive Engineer, Deputy Chief Engineer, Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), Chief Track Engineer, Divisional Railway Manager, General Manager and finally Member of the Railway Board. He has also served for five years with the Zambian Railways (on deputation) where he oversaw the construction of a railway line from Malawi to Zambia.

As Chief Administrative Officer, Shri Sudhir Chandra completed the guage conversion of the 311 km Tambaram – Trichy section, in addition to completing guage conversions and construction of double line to an extent of 440 km. He executed the construction of a number of bridges with Pile foundations on the Diva – Bassein Rail Link project using innovative techniques in treacherous soil conditions. For the very first time in Indian Railways, he completed the construction of a bridge using the Diaphram Wall Technique. He was responsible for the construction of a number of tunnels and viaducts on South East and North East Ghats in Central Railway for laying a third track. He started the construction of a Cable Stayed Bridge with a central pylon and unbalanced spans of 45 m and 135 m in Bangalore, again a first for Indian Railways.

Shri Sudhir Chandra’s career combines engineering excellence and administrative ability of a very high order. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras is proud to confer the Distinguished Alumnus Award on Shri B. S. Sudhir Chandra.

Shri K V Rangaswami received his B.Tech. degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1965. He is also an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

KVR, as he is affectionately known, has worked with the well known Larsen and Toubro Limited since graduation, having joined the Engineering Construction Corporation (ECC), a wholly owned subsidiary of L&T as a Junior Engineer in 1965. Today he is the Executive Vice-President – Buildings and Infrastructure Cluster – ECC Division of Larsen and Toubro Limited.

Since 1965, Shri Rangaswami has held many important positions in the L&T organisation: Head, Pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete structures; Planning Manager and later Business Development Manager, Chennai Regional Office; Regional Manager, Chennai Region during which period he completed the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Puttaparthy Super Speciality Hospital. In 1992 he assumed charge as Joint General Manager (Civil) at ECC headquarters and in 1994 General Manager (Civil). In 1998 he became Vice-President (Building and Infrastructure Projects). Since December 2001 he has been Executive Vice President (Building & Infrastructure Cluster). This cluster contributed approximately Rs.2,200 Crores of business to the ECC Division which had a total turnover of 3600 Crores in 2001-2002.

Shri Rangaswami serves as a Director in a number of L&T associated companies and in other prestigious companies such as Hyderabad International Trade Expositions Limited, Bangalore International Airports Limited and L&T Holdings Limited among others.

Shri Rangaswami was responsible for the success of such projects as the International Technology Park Limited in Bangalore, the Ready Mixed Concrete business of L&T, and the HITEC City at Hyderabad.

Shri K. V. Rangaswami’s career provides an excellent role model for young engineers beginning their careers. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras is proud to confer the Distinguished Alumnus Award on Shri Rangaswami.

Covered in awards and honours for his distinguished work over the last 35 years, Prof. V. Srinivasan has blazed a glorious trail to his present position of Professor in Marketing and Management Science at Stanford University.

On graduating in 1966 from IIT Madras, Prof. Srinivasan gave evidence of achievements to come after receiving a distinction in Mechanical Engineering and being honoured with the President of India Gold Medal. He was subsequently at the top of his class, when he received his M.S. and Ph. D. from the Carnegie Mellon University during which period he was also awarded the GSIA (Graduate School of Industrial Administration) Fellowship.

No stranger to awards, Prof. Srinivasan’s prowess in the classroom was reinforced when he received the Best teacher award twice in 1972 and 1973. In fact six doctoral advisees of his have won best dissertation-based paper awards.

A respected authority in his field, Prof. Srinivasan has published over 85 papers in various technical journals and has received commendations for these articles year after year by his peers in the US, including the American Marketing Association Churchill Award for Lifetime Achievement in Marketing Research in 1998.

It is with great honour that IIT Madras adds its commendation to Prof. Srinivasan’s for his excellent work in his field and his ongoing effort to share his knowledge with future aspirants.

Sri B. Suresh Kamath can be considered as a path breaker in establishing a new order of socially responsible business.

Currently Chairman and Managing Director of Laser Soft Infosystems Ltd. Chennai, Shri Kamath received his B.Tech. from the National Institute of Engineering Mysore with a Gold Medal in 1980, and completed his M.Tech. in 1982 from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. After a brief stint with TCS, he founded Laser Soft Inc. with a capital of Rs. 200/-. The company provided software solutions to Apollo Hospitals and the State Bank of India at a time when software was not familiar to the healthcare and banking industries.

Sri Kamath has positioned Laser Soft as a leading software solutions provider to the banking industry with a market share of 25% of the Indian market. Laser Soft has 23 banking software products and counts amongst its clients ABN Amro Bank, American Express Bank and HSBC for their foreign exchange and trading operations. These banks, along with Corporation and Andhra Bank route more than Rs. 6000 crores worth of transactions per day using software developed by Laser Soft. His vision and dedication as a guiding force within the organisation is reflected in the attrition rate of the company being below 2% as against industry standards of 20%.

Sri Kamath has introduced a revolutionary change in business practices in that 60% of the vacancies in his company are reserved for the challenged sections of society such as physically disabled persons, destitute women and widows. He has established a free programming training institute in West Mambalam to train physically handicapped and poor youngsters. Sri Kamath is a rare individual who has succeeded in a technologically competitive business while continuing to remain steadfast to a high standard of social responsibility and commitment.

IIT-Madras is happy to bestow the Distinguished Alumnus Award on Shri. B. Suresh Kamath.

Shri Pradeep Mallick received his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1965. He then went on to receive his diploma in Business Management in the UK and later became a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in London.

A man whose people skills are legendary, Shri Mallick (aptly known as Shri Right during his IIT days) strongly believes in core values for individuals and for corporations.

His vision, rich experience, dynamic leadership and desire to scale greater heights in everything he does are qualities which have taken him straight to the top, earning him the Chairmanship of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Western Region in the year 2000-01 and the Presidentship of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce Industry (BCCI).

Through the years, Shri Mallick has held various challenging positions giving him a vast experience in dealing with delegates from cultural backgrounds, the world over. He is equally at home with industry leaders, demanding customers and even little children, reinforcing his basic belief that quality leadership always puts the people first.

A firm believer in the innate strengths and capabilities of people, Shri Mallick has been champion in nurturing people-centric policies in Wartsila India Ltd., of which he is currently the Managing Director. Openness, transparency and teamwork are the key elements of the work culture fostered by him. As a true facilitator, Shri Mallick believes in providing space and independence to his colleagues, and is constantly encouraging them to take up new challenges.

Shri Pradeep Mallick’s career is an excellent model showcasing what expert leadership and single-minded dedication to an ideal can accomplish in today’s world.