Photographs

Dr. h. c. Heinrich Luebke taking a look at the equipment in a laboratory

Academic Facilities

Dr. h. c. Heinrich Luebke (President of the Federal Republic of Germany) was the chief guest for the foundation stone laying ceremony of IIT Madras.

This photograph captures the Computer Centre where the IBM 370‑155 mainframe was installed. At the centre of the image is Prof. C. R. Muthukrishnan, seen examining the console printer. On the right, towards the rear, is the card reader, an essential component of computing operations at the time.

Prof. R. Krishnamurthi, in his article titled ‘3rd December 1962 – A Red-Letter Day’ in the Fourth Annual Number, describes the ceremony: “Temporary gates and arches had been erected all along the roads to welcome the distinguished visitor. Even half-complete buildings put on fresh look. The open-air theatre, which had been got ready within a few weeks, was having the final touches given to it. The central stage as well as the arena displayed the national flags of both West Germany and India side by side. The Madras Police Band was in attendance. Paper and floral decorations and festoons were waving in the air in their multi-colours.”

 

The identification of Prof. Muthukrishnan in this image, as well as the details about the devices (console printer and card reader), were provided by Prof. Kumaraswamy S., retired faculty member from the Mechanical Engineering Department.