He said Indian entrepreneurs and enterprises are beginning to support science
BENGALURU: Indian Institute of Science (IISc) should scale new heights by reaping the benefits of higher funding, opening of new laboratories for research in frontier areas, and the addition of new faculty and research scholars, says the new Director Dr. Anurag Kumar.
Dr. Kumar, an expert in communication networks, is the first engineer to take over as Director after a gap of more than three decades. The last Director with engineering background was the late Prof. Satish Dhawan. He, however, maintained that the institute was known for its mix of scientists and engineers and such distinction was inconsequential.
He values experience gained at AT&T Bell Labs, the Cornell University, and IISc, and plans to strike a balance between administration and research during his five-year tenure at the top but contemplates cutting down the number of students guided by him at department of electrical communication engineering (ECE), where he serves as a professor.
He said Indian entrepreneurs and enterprises are beginning to support science in a big way at IISc. For instance, Infosys Technologies Ltd has just set up two high-profile chairs, one each in Physics and Mathematics departments, a move which helps renowned physicists and mathematicians from across the world to visit these departments for long duration. Besides, several small companies too are stepping forward to collaborate with researchers at the institute.
“It is true that the IT industry has been services-based for many years, but they have become famous like TCS. I hope that they move up the value chain or move sideways and invest in science,” he added.
He said he would like to witness the coming together of the large number of people trained in high quality instrumentation, those with doctorate degrees and venture capitalists of Bengaluru though such a unification would be a challenge.
Dr. Kumar said he was surprised to receive a call from the outgoing Director Prof. P. Balaram and to be invited to head the institute. “I took a day to think about the responsibilities and whether my personal, research and family plans will be impacted. I guess I will have to spend more time on administration, but will continue to teach and work even on weekends,” he added.
Born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Dr Anurag Kumar secured his B.Tech degree from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, and his doctorate from the Cornell University. He worked at AT&T Bell Labs, for six years and joined IISc in 1988. From 1989 to 2003, he was the coordinator at IISc of the nationwide Education and Research Network (ERNET) project, which established the first country-wide packet communication network in the country, and supported more than 1,300 R & D laboratories across India.
( Source : dc )
Next Story
