Rising
above barriers:
Archna Bhandari (Chem), presently the Principal
Engineer, Mitretek Systems, Inc. is one of the Special
Recognition Winners of 2004 National Women of Color
Technology Awards. In the words of the awards committee
“In many cases, they have broken through barriers of
culture, class, and even language. In others, they have
surpassed racial and social expectations. But they have
risen above these barriers to demonstrate the importance
of perseverance and the power of a dream.”
Breaking new ground:
Dr H P Vyas (’71 ME), Director, Solid State
Physics Laboratory (SSPL), Delhi, has been promoted to
the rank of Sci H and Outstanding Scientist w.e.f. 19
August 2004. He obtained his ME from BITS, Pilani in
1971. In recognition of SSPL team's outstanding research
contribution under his leadership, he has been honored
with prestigious Path-Breaking Research Award for
developing and establishing 12 GHz MMIC Technology in
DRDO.
Ride across the river:
Dilip D’Souza's (’76 EEE) Ride across the River
was adjudged the winner of the fourth Outlook/Picador
India Non-Fiction Competition on Feb 25, 2005.
Faculty of eminence:
Dr. Yogendra Gupta (Phy) has been recently
honored with the prestigious Eminent Faculty Award from
the Washington State University.
President’s Award:
Padmanabhan Seshaiyer, Asst. Prof. Texas Tech
University has been awarded the prestigious 2005
President's Excellence in Teaching Award, Texas Tech
University.
The new biz mantra:
Perhaps anyone who has ever worked in an industry has
had trouble with the four letter word. Well, we don't
know what you thought but we meant the dreaded species
called BOSS. Rashmi Datt (’MMS) managed to
survive for 19 years in an HRD environment with 5 bosses
(Gosh!). And now, she has come up with a new book on
“Managing Your Boss”. This 174 page book has been
received well and is a treat to read.
New
kid on the block:
Harish Lakshman ('89) has been featured in The
Week Cover Story. "By the third generation a family
business usually goes kaput. But there are ways and
means to buck the trend," says Gita Piramal. "Harish is
a hands-on scion" says the writer about the 31 year old
Director of Rane TRW Steering Systems of Chennai.
Keeping the lights on in TN:
Congratulations to Hans Raj Verma (’82 MMS), IAS,
on his appointment to the post of Chairman of Tamil Nadu
Electricity Board. This prestigious post carries with
it, as you’d expect, a far from light amount of
responsibility.
Captured in time:
BITS alumnus, Agendra Kumar, country manager,
Veritas Software, never forgot his two passions---IT and
photography. His recent photography exhibition, Symphony
of Silence, organized at the India Habitat Centre last
year, demonstrated that the BITSian way of life lives on
with us even when we are far away from our alma mater.
Rajendra Khare is Chairman of
India Semiconductor Association:
BangaloreIT.com 2004 conference saw the launch of the
India Semiconductor Association - a forum for better
interaction between members and the government,
academia, VCs and industrial bodies. MD of Broadcom,
Rajendra Khare is the first Chairman of ISA.
Movie 'Swades' inspired by a
story written by Dilip D'Souza – a BITS alumnus:
The director of 'Swades,' Ashutosh Gowariker, got the
idea for the film from a column Dilip D'Souza (’76
EEE) did for rediff.com about the true story of two
young engineers from Kerala who built a dam in rural
Maharashtra and supplied electricity where there was
none. Dilip's contribution was acknowledged in the
titles of the film. Dilip adds, "The articles about
these two guys were used to nominate them for the MIT
Technovators prize last year, which they actually won".
Open-Silicon Announces Hitesh
Bhatnagar, as GM:
Open-Silicon, Inc., a fabless ASIC company that provides
an alternative to traditional chip design and supply
chain models, today announced the appointment of
Hitesh Bhatnagar as general manager of Open-Silicon
India.
2
Indians in CNN/Time’s 25 Global Business Influentials
– Both BITS, Pilani Alumni:
Time Magazine and CNN recently released its list of 2004
Global Business Influentials, 25 leaders in a broad
range of industries recognized for setting standards in
areas like innovation, globalization and effecting
change. This year’s list includes 2 Indians – Vivek
Paul, CEO of Wipro Technologies and Balaji
Krishnamurthy, CEO of Planar Systems, both alumni of
the BITS, Pilani.
BITSian MBA from Harvard
Business School?
BITS, Pilani, may soon have its first MBA from Harvard
Business School. One of our recent applicants has been
admitted and has not yet made the decision. The person
in question has the initials N.S! More on this
next time.
Autar Kaw selected CASE Florida
Professor of the Year:
Autar Kaw (’76 Mech), a professor of mechanical
engineering in the University of South Florida's College
of Engineering has been named the 2004 Florida Professor
of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support
of Education (CASE) and The Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement for Teaching.
BITSians win Columbia B-School
competition:
Rajashekhar, Sriram, Kavikrut, Srikanth and
Amit with guidance from alumnus Anupendra won
the 2005 annual A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan
Competition. The contest is organized by the Eugene M
Lang Center for Entrepreneurship.
