Prof. P. Rajalakshmi, Department of Electrical Engineering at IITH, selected as the first Chair professor
Hyderabad, June 21, 2021: Cyient, a global engineering, manufacturing, and digital technology solutions company, today announced that it has established an endowed chair in the field of new-age communications at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH). Prof. P. Rajalakshmi, Department of Electrical Engineering at IITH, was chosen as the first appointee of the Cyient Chair in Future Communications. The Cyient Chair will endow the professorship with an honorarium of Rs. 25,000/pm and a contingency grant of Rs. 1,00,000 per year for three years to further research and development in the field.
A young IIT established in 2008, IITH is a top-ranking institute, and among the Top 20 in the recent Ministry of Education’s ARIIA rankings under “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development.” It has a strong research focus with state-of-the-art labs, research and entrepreneurship centers, and students and faculty at the forefront of innovation.
A selection committee comprising IITH Director Prof. B. S. Murty, Chair Professor Ranjan Mallik, IIT Delhi, and Prabhakar Atla, Senior VP & Business Unit Head – Communications and Utilities, Cyient, picked Prof. P. Rajalakshmi for her significant contributions in the field of new-age communications technology.
Conveying his wishes on the occasion, Krishna Bodanapu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Cyient, said, “We are honored to be associated with IIT-Hyderabad and its initiatives to nurture creative talent. The Cyient Chair is a significant step forward in deepening the relationship between academia and enterprise to accelerate innovation. Helping attract the best minds and providing opportunities to experiment with new ideas and incubate technologies is exciting for Cyient. This is another important step of delivering on our vision of applying technology imaginatively to solve problems that matter.”
Expressing his delight on the endowment, Prof. B. S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, said, “IIT Hyderabad shares a special bond with Cyient Limited and is indebted to them for establishing the first Chair Professor position at IIT Hyderabad—the ‘Cyient Chair in Future Communications.’ I am hopeful that this pioneering Chair established by Cyient will be the nucleation event that leads to many more such Chairs at IITH to help in the growth of the institute and the country at large.”
Prof. P. Rajalakshmi, IITH Chair Professor, Cyient Chair in Future Communications, said, “It is indeed a moment of pride to be recognized and picked for this Chair. I am thankful to the selection committee for appreciating my work in the field of communications. This recognition will surely result in more good research in the future to come.”
