Alumnus Awards

Mr. Ram V. Tyagarajan has made considerable contributions to the growth of Indian Industries and in particular to the Sugar Industry. He is the current Chairman and Managing Director of Thiru Arooran Sugars Limited, Madras, India.

He graduated from this Institute in 1972 in Chemical Engineering and obtained a Master’s degree from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US in 1974. He has managerial experience of over twenty years, including a long stint (1974-82) with Strategic Planning Associates, a reputed management consulting firm in the US, where he was a Senior Vice President before returning to India.

Mr. Tyagarajan has served as President of the Indian Sugar Mills Association for two consecutive terms, from 1987 to 1989. He has also been the President of the Sugar Technologists’ Association of India from 1991 to 1993. Currently, he is on the Board of Directors of a number of reputed companies and is actively involved in various industrial associations.

Mr. Tyagarajan was a member of the High Power Committee on Sales Tax Reforms set up recently by the Government of Tamilnadu. He is also chairing the working group of the Sugar Industry constituted by the Govt. of Tamilnadu to formulate development plans for the Ninth Plan period. Recently he has been nominated to the Board of Governors of the School of Energy, Bharathidasan University.

Dr. Krishnadas Nair has led our Country’s path-breaking efforts in Aviation Metallurgy, showing the way to self-reliance in this field.

Dr.Nair graduated from this Institute in 1964, with a Bachelor of Technology in Metallurgical Engineering, and followed it up with M.Sc and Ph.D. from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. After a brief stint as Assistant Professor at Karnataka Regional Engineering College, Surathkal, he went to the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom for Post Doctoral studies in Industrial Metallurgy. He joined the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore in 1971, and worked in various capacities in its Research & Development, Design and Production Departments. In 1988, he was appointed Managing Director of the Bangalore Complex of HAL.

Winner of several awards, Visiting Member of the Faculty of Universities in many countries, Fellow and Member of many professional bodies, and Founder Member of the Materials Research Society of India, Dr.Nair has contributed significantly to the indigenization of materials and technologies for the aircraft industry. High-strength aluminium alloys and special-quality steels were developed to international specifications and their production technology was standardized under his leadership. He has also made significant contributions to the development of light-weight magnesium alloys, titanium alloys and composite materials used in the castings for Jaguar Aircraft, Chetak and Cheetah Helicopters, and most recently in advanced light helicopters.

Dr. Nair has published more than 150 papers on Metallurgical Engineering and Management, focusing on the forging and creation of alloys not available to aviation industry so far. His contributions are particularly valuable in a field which has one of the highest growth potential world-wide in the coming years.

Shri Dave has employed an independent professional approach to improve the quality of the physically challenged.

He acquired his degree of Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering at this Institute. After work for two years in other companies, he started his own construction and consultancy firm. During the decades that have gone by, he built many residential, commercial and industrial buildings and restored many old and monumental buildings to their original glory. He is a Class-l surveyor of the Corporation of Madras, an approved Engineer for certifying the soundness of public buildings, Wealth-Tax valuer, member to the Concrete Association of India Valuers Association and Vastu Sastra Circle. He has also acquitted himself honorably as a past District Governor of Lions Club International and Under-Sheriff of Madras. He is a life member of the Institution of Engineers and has written papers on social aspects of Civil Engineering, Cracks, Repairs and Maintenance of buildings.

Recipient of many awards for social work, Shri Dave combines the creativity of an Engineering Scientist with the compassion of a Social Worker. He is the founder and Managing Trustee of Lions Hearing Aid Bank, Lions Bank Trust, and Kanya Sharan, a home for destitute girls. He is also the founder of Lions Edifice for Service Trust, Lions Model Eye Bank, Heart Foundation and Lions Foundation for the Blind. In short, Shri Dave represents the social conscience of the community of Engineers.

Shri Jagannathan has played a pivotal role in bringing simple and useful technologies within the reach of Indian families.

He graduated from this Institute in 1970 with a Bachelor’s degree with distinction in Mechanical Engineering. He was awarded the Governor’s Prize and the Banco Foundation Prize for the best academic record in Mechanical Engineering. His keen interest in techno-managerial and manufacturing systems led him to study operations research and business management in which he obtained the degree of Master of Science at Cornell University in 1972.

After his academic success abroad, he chose to return to India in 1973 and Tamilnadu Printers & Traders Pvt. Ltd., as the General Manager and in less than a year turned the company around into a profitable venture. It is now one of the leading producers of Maps & Travel guides. Gifted with the right combination of knowledge and leadership, Mr. Jagannathan, only 26 then, was appointed as the Managing Director of TTK Group of companies in 1974. Under him, the TTK group of companies has become one of the leading manufacturers of pressure cooker and contraceptives.

Shri Jagannathan represents a generation of Indian business leaders who are making India globally competitive.

Padmashri Vasagam’s career has been symbiotic with India’s progress and self-reliance in Space Technology.

He graduated in 1963 from the University of Madras with honours in Electrical Engineering. In 1965 he obtained the degree of Master of Technology in Electrical Engineering at IIT Madras. The same year he joined the Indian Space Research Organisation, moving through positions of responsibility in the launch team, planning and evaluation group control systems, satellite centre, and advanced technology and planning. In 1994 he became the Director of the Advanced Technology and Planning at the ISRO Headquarters. In June 1996 he was appointed the Vice Chancellor of Anna University.

Padmashri Vasagam has led space missions like Axis Stabilized Geostationary Experimental Satellites and INSAT and IRS satellites for Communications Remote Sensing and Meteorological data. He has also contributed to the creation of inertial navigation guidance and control system, electro-optical sensors, electro-mechanical actuators and programmable fault-tolerant controllers for launch vehicles and satellites, all with state-of-the-art technology developed and harnessed indigenously.

Fellow of many Professional Societies, winner of many awards including Padmashri in 1982, United Nations expert on Space System, member of the Review Committees of several Ministries of the Government of India and member of the Board of Studies of several Universities India and Abroad. He has also been a close associate of the luminaries of India’s Space Technology. He is a Visionary who firmly believes in India’s emergence as a Technological Superpower in the years to come.