IIT Madras launches ‘Venkataraman and Sita Srinivasan Chair’ on Innovation

CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras has launched ‘Venkataraman and Sita Srinivasan Chair’ on Innovation and New Product Development.

A sum of US$ 1,60,000 is being endowed for this Chair Professorship by Prof. V. ‘Seenu’ Srinivasan, Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus, Stanford University, U.S.A. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in the year 1966. He was the gold medalist in his graduating class.

Prof. V. ‘Seenu’ Srinivasan was formerly the Director of Stanford Business School’s Doctoral Program, Chair of the marketing area, and Faculty Director of its Strategic Marketing Management executive program. He has received innumerable prestigious awards for his significant research contributions in the field of marketing and market research.

Addressing the Chair Launch Program event virtually, Prof. V. ‘Seenu’ Srinivasan, Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus, Stanford University, U.S.A, said, “IIT Madras has played a major role in my life. I am enormously grateful for the excellent education I received at IIT Madras. Being a Chaired Professor myself at Stanford University, the USA, for the past 40 years, I strongly believe that high-quality education is instrumental to the progress of India and I hope that this donation will help further enhance quality education, which IIT Madras is already providing very well.”

Further, Prof. V. ‘Seenu’ Srinivasan said, “My teaching in India for the past dozen years at the Indian School of Business and at Great Lakes of Institute of Management, together with this endowment for IITM Chaired Professorship, are my means of giving back to Mother India. The chair is dedicated to my father, Venkataraman who has made me who I am today. It is also a tribute to my wife Sita, for her unwavering support to me all these years.”

Announcing Prof. G. Venkatarathnam, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, as the first occupant of ‘Venkataraman and Sita Srinivasan Chair’ on Innovation, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “Prof. V. ‘Seenu’ Srinivasan, you have inspired a lot of people through your stellar achievements. Thank you very much for considering IIT Madras to bestow this Chair. IIT Madras, in the last 20 years, has been placing a lot of emphasis on innovation. We are moving towards translational research and are able to scale the expectations of National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Translational research is enabling the Institute to solve societal problems. My best wishes to Prof. G. Venkatarathnam, who is a dedicated researcher and has contributed enormously to the Institute.”

Prof. G. Venkatarathnam, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, leads a research group with a mission to develop innovative refrigeration systems, heat exchangers and design thermodynamic tools with the goal of creating new world-class products.

Delivering the acceptance speech, Prof. G. Venkatarathnam, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “Endowments such as these go a long way in inspiring faculty, students and the next generation of faculty to strive for excellence. I have been fortunate to have taught at IIT Madras and it has been a fulfilling career. The accomplishments in my life have been due to the Institute’s environment and the students who have worked with me over the years.”

Thanking Prof. V. ‘Seenu’ Srinivasan for endowing this Chair at IIT Madras, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, said, “Chairs such as this are the Institute’s ways to recognize faculty who have made seminal contributions in their field.”

Prof. Babu Viswanathan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, Mr. Girish Muckai, President, IITM Foundation, USA; Mr. Kaviraj Nair, Chief Executive Officer, Office of Institutional Advancement, IIT Madras, also addressed the audience

Prof. G. Venkatarathnam’s Research Interests include:

Ø Development of new innovative refrigeration systems

Ø Development of Low GWP Refrigerant mixtures

Ø Improvement of efficiency of Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Systems

Ø New refrigeration and liquefaction processes operating with mixtures

Ø Heat exchangers – Modelling, additive manufacturing, testing

Ø Thermodynamics of mixtures

Ø Cooling of Microscopes to cryogenic temperatures (Centre for Correlative Microscopy, IIT Madras)