Change of guard at IIT Delhi, Madras, Indore, Mandi

While Prof Rangan Banerjee and Prof V Kamakoti have been appointed as directors of IIT Delhi and IIT Madras, respectively, Prof Laxmidhar Behera and Prof Suhas Joshi became new directors of IIT Mandi and IIT Indore, respectively. 

Four Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Mandi, and IIT Indore, have got new directors. While Rangan Banerjee, energy sciences and engineering prof at IIT Bombay, has been appointed as new director of IIT Delhi, Prof V Kamakoti who designed India’s first indigenously developed microprocessor ‘SHAKTI’,has been appointed as IIT Madras director.  

Laxmidhar Behera, electrical engineering professor at IIT Kanpur, has been appointed the director of IIT Mandi and IIT Bombay’s mechanical engineering professor Suhas Joshi has been appointed the new director of IIT Indore. 

The outgoing directors of IIT Delhi and IIT Madras, Prof Ramgopal Rao and Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, were on extension, with their five-year tenure having completed in April 2021. IIT Mandi and IIT Indore were being looked after by acting directors Prof Ajit Kumar and Prof Neelesh Kumar Jain, respectively.  

Former director of IIT Delhi Prof V Ramgopal Rao congratulated the new director. He took to Twitter to congratulate Prof Rangan Banerjee. He tweeted, “I am happy to inform you that Prof Rangan Banerjee from the Department of Energy Sciences & Engineering, IIT Bombay, has been appointed as the next Director of IIT Delhi. Hearty congratulations and best wishes to Prof Banerjee.”  

IIT Madras’ new director Prof V Kamakoti is an alumnus of IIT Madras and he will succeed Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi. Prof Kamakoti is currently the associate dean for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (ICSR), IIT Madras. Congratulating Prof V Kamakoti, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, “With Prof Kamakoti at the helm, IIT Madras is poised to scale new heights in the coming years. He is an excellent teacher and researcher and an able administrator. He has played key roles in many national projects, bringing to bear his deep expertise in computing and cybersecurity. The Institute and the country will benefit tremendously from his services.” Prof Kamakoti, who is also a member of the National Security Advisory Board, recently proposed a solution for tracing the origins of WhatsApp messages.  

IIT Mandi’s new director, Laxmidhar Behera is an electrical engineering professor at IIT Kanpur and Prof Suhas Joshi who is the new director of IIT Indore is currently a mechanical engineering professor and the dean of alumni and corporate relations at IIT Bombay. 

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