IIT Bombay celebrated its Foundation Day, the 61st anniversary of its inception on March 11, 2020 by honouring the contributions of its faculty members as well as erstwhile students, who as alumni have left their indelible imprint on their chosen fields of profession.
The ceremony commenced with a welcome address by the Director of IIT Bombay Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri, highlighting key milestones achieved by the Institute in 61 years. Welcoming the guests, he said, “IIT Bombay stood 1st in India and 44th in the world in the recently released QS World University Rankings 2020 by Subject. We are proud that IIT Bombay has provided quality education to thousands of students. Over the years, we have also enhanced our presence in research. Today, more than 30 percent of our students are enrolled in PhD programmes. We are proud that IIT is contributing to society with the efforts of its faculty members and students”.
The Chief Guest of the function Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, in his address, said “IIT Bombay has made rapid progress in 61 years. The Institute is showing an upward performance and we should further aim to be one of the top 20 institutions in the next 10 years. More and more bright students are opting for PhD programmes and research. Students should give real contributions to the society which will contribute towards problem-solving. IIT Bombay is going in the right direction and in the right speed“.
The Institute on the occasion honoured its select alumni for their achievements in diverse fields ranging from academics, research and entrepreneurship. The 'Prof. S. C. Bhattacharya Award for Excellence in Research in Pure Sciences' and 'Prof. H.H. Mathur Award for Excellence in Research in Applied Sciences, IIT Bombay Research Awards for the year 2018, the Distinguished Alumnus Awards and Young Alumnus Achiever Awards’ were given away.
The 'Prof. S.C. Bhattacharya Award for Excellence in Research in Pure Sciences' was conferred on Prof. Kanchan Pande, Department of Earth Sciences. The 'Prof. H.H. Mathur Award for Excellence in Research in Applied Sciences’ was conferred on Prof. Sunita Sarawagi, Department of Computer Science & Engineering.
The IIT Bombay Research Awards 2018 were also presented in this function which included:
1) Research Publication Award 2018
2) Impactful Research Award 2018
3) Research Dissemination Award 2018
4) Early Research Achiever Award 2018
5) Prof. Krithi Ramamritham Award for Creative Research 2018
7 alumni received Distinguished Alumnus Awards, 4 were honored with Young Alumnus Achiever Awards, 2 faculty members were awarded for excellence in research work, 12 faculty members were awarded IIT Bombay Research Awards for 2018 and 1 faculty member was awarded Prof. Krithi Ramamritham Award for Creative Research for 2018.
A detailed profile of all the awardees can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SrSRU5hX1Ox_p8v10af0-Drc9zC7dl2r/view?u...
Have a look at a heartfelt and nostalgic poem penned down by our alum and one of DAA 2020 awardee, Kavita Ramanan.
Down IITB Nostalgia Lane:
Playing basketball on bright floodlit courts at night.
Chasing lizards out of rooms of friends in a fright,
Running ‘round the lake with hyenas howling,
Aware there may also be a leopard prowling!
Traveling to Delhi for an Inter-IIT meet,
sitting atop the train instead of in my seat,
riding the lows of a loss, the highs of a win,
attending X’mas mass in church with coach Edwin.
Preparing for PAFs, other inter-hostel affairs,
posing as a soothsayer for the H-10 fair.
Giving concerts with more accomplished accompanists:
a mellow mrdangist and fellow violinist.
Being inspired by UVS’ teaching style,
Not getting much from “Glassblowing” in the meanwhile!
How ahead of its times, not fully appreciating,
Was HS Shankar’s work on vermicomposting.
Nor Mukhopadhyay’s largesse did I recognize
in instituting for women in Chem Eng. a prize,
though enjoying her class, as well as that of Khakhar,
Suresh, Desai, Kelkar, Bhatia and Juvekar.
Though mess food is bad it is often said,
by the kind H-10 mess workers I was well fed.
But I should have inquired more into their lives,
their joys, their aspirations, their travails and strifes.
Last, but not least, building strong bonds with friends,
chatting into the wee hours discussing world trends.
Laughing and creating memories I still relish,
their continued friendships I still deeply cherish.
