BENGALURU: The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will confer the prestigious Distinguished Alumnus Awards on five alumni who have made a mark in their respective fields on Sunday.
The awardees are A S Kiran Kumar, Prof Sunil Kumar, K S R Charan Reddy, Dr Subhash C Singhal and Prof Mitter Vedu.
IISc director Prof Anurag Kumar said, “This award recognises the achievements of our alumni in many walks of life, and by doing so, also achieves the objective of re-establishing their connections with us.”
Kiran Kumar is chairman of the Space Commission; secretary, Department of Space, and chairman, ISRO. He received MTech in Physical Engineering with distinction from IISc in 1975.
Known for his immense contributions to India’s space programme, he was responsible for the design and development of at least 50 electro-optical imaging sensors flown in space-borne platforms. He has been instrumental in evolving the earth observation strategy of ISRO encompassing land, ocean and atmosphere. Kumar also played crucial roles for the success of Chandrayaan-1 and Mars Orbiter Mission.
Sunil Kumar is Dean and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Operations Management at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. He was an outstanding Master of Engineering student in the Department of Computer Science and Automation at IISc during 1990-92, where he was awarded the N R Khambati Medal.
Prof Kumar studies the performance and control of manufacturing systems and service operations through mathematical models. He says, “My years at IISc proved transformative for me. I owe much of what I have achieved to the Institute. To be recognized by such an alma mater is a humbling honour. I will cherish the award and strive to live up to it.”
Charan Reddy has distinguished himself in the Indian Police Service where he is Inspector General of Police, Special Investigation Team of the Karnataka Lokayukta. After completing MTech in Management Studies from IISc in 1990, he joined the service in 1993. In field assignments, Reddy has shown finesse in handling tough and demanding law and order situations.
Subhash Singhal is Battelle Fellow Emeritus at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. He got BE in Metallurgy from the IISc in 1965, and has authored 100 scientific publications with 13 patents to his name. Dr Singhal is internationally recognised for his research on solid oxide fuel cell technology. “It was my education at IISc, particularly in materials thermodynamics, that helped me develop solid oxide fuel cells for power generation,” he said.
Prof Mitter Vedu is another alumnus from the ‘60s, having completed BE and ME in Electrical Communication Engineering in 1966. A retired professor of management, PES University, and principal consultant at Changeman, Prof Vedu was part of a joint development team on making the world’s first quartz watch -based on sophisticated printed circuits.
He also pioneered the manufacture of professional grade printed circuits and electronic watches with chip-on-board technology in India.