IIT Mandi confers awards to faculty members on 14th foundation day

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology IIT) Mandi celebrated its 14th foundation day today, March 1. Professor TG Sitharam, chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) graced the occasion as chief guest.

On foundation day, Garima Agrawal, School of Chemical Sciences, and Sunny Zafar, School of Mechanical and Material Engineering, received this year's Young Achievers Awards. Hitesh Shrimali, School of Computing and Electrical Engineering; Atul Dhar, School of Engineering; Amit Jaiswal, School of Biosciences and Bioengineering; Nitu Kumari, School of Basic Sciences, and Shyamasree Dasgupta, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, received Young Faculty Fellow 2023.

Agrawal also received NASI-Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award. This annual scientific award has been given in the ‘Chemical Sciences’ category for faculty’s notable contributions in the field. While Baskar Bakthavachalu, School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, has been selected as a new member to join the EMBO Global Investigator Network.

Speaking on the occasion, professor Laxmidhar Behera, director, IIT Mandi, said, “In the past year, IIT Mandi has taken multiple initiatives to remain at the cutting edge of research, education, and skill development. We have recently launched a unique two-year MBA degree program in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to meet the growing demands of the industry in terms of big data analytics.”

The director informed that the institute has established a state-of-the-art Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) to enable the development and translation of research, skill development, and collaborative activities in the broad areas of robotics, drone technology, intelligent systems, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

IIT Mandi has also established the Indian Knowledge System and Mental Health Applications (IKSMHA) Centre to address the sharp increase in mental health problems, especially among the underprivileged and the poor, the director added.