Monday, Apr 19, 2010
Chennai: It was a heady mix of smiles and nostalgia as a group of IIT-Madras alumni made their way back to the campus to attend the first-ever Distinguished Alumni (DA) day to be held at the institution here on Saturday. Seven alumni were honoured with an award and a citation on the occasion. The awardees were Suresh Garimella, P.Anandan, V.Ramamurthy, Lalit Chordia, S.Pasupathy, P.Chellapandi and Sri Kumar. “I once studied here, but now collaborate with students and faculty at IIT on 60 research projects,” said P.Chellapandi, scientist at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR). “The quantum of research required in cutting edge areas is very high. Academic partnership is very essential.”

Explaining that he thought the award was like any other he had got, he says the number of congratulatory messages and emails that he received overwhelmed him. “I feel proud to be part of a select few.”

P.Anandan, Managing Director, Microsoft Research India, said “I am also part of the University of Massachusetts distinguished alumni club where I did my doctoral thesis. But this city is my hometown and IIT-M was the first institution that I ever studied in. This award will always feel more special.”

All the seven DA's presented a lecture on a topic related to their field of expertise. The lectures were followed by a panel discussion on ‘Opportunities for IITians in the new flat world'.