Kanpur: IIT-Kanpur on Monday evening celebrated its 61st Foundation Day on a virtual platform due to Covid-19 pandemic. Over 2,000 alumni from across the world participated in the event.
On the occasion, 22 awards were bestowed upon the selected alumni for their outstanding achievements in their respective fields. Among the awardees were eminent scientists, industry experts, technocrats, and social activists. Principal scientific advisor, Prof K Vijay Raghavan was the chief guest on the occasion while chairman, board of governors, IIT-Kanpur, Dr Koppillil Radhakrishnan presided over the function.
The IIT-Kanpur prestigious Satyendra K Dubey memorial award was presented to Ravi Kumar (IIT-K 2001 batch), district magistrate Patna, in recognition of his exemplary service to humanity. RK Mathur (IIT-K 1975), former bureaucrat from Tripura cadre and the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Laddakh and Prof Meenakshi Narain (IIT-K 1982) of the Brown University, US who led the collaboration board for US institutions participating in the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider were amongst those awarded in the distinguished alumnus category.
Director, IIT-K Prof Abhay Karandikar said, “Foundation Day is a time to reflect on our achievements of the past year and our ambitions and challenges for the future. We celebrate this day with our extended family of alumni and other stakeholders and recognize their contributions and achievements through awards in different categories. The past one year has been a tumultuous one and I am deeply saddened that we have to host this event virtually. During these difficult times, IIT-K family rose up to the occasion to provide solutions and services that are serving the entire nation and also the world”
Other distinguished alumnus awardees included Air Marshal Raj Karan Singh Shera (Retired), Air Marshal, Air Officer Commanding in Chief Maintenance Command (Retired), Neelkanth Mishra, MD, India Strategist and co-head of Equity Strategy, Asia Pacific, for Credit Suisse, Dr Anand Jagannathan, founder, CEO at Engage, Social Founder, CEO at Newz Social Dr Rajeev Gautam, President and CEO, Performance Materials & Technologies at Honeywell, Ved Arya founder at SRIJAN Infratech & Development Services (SIDS).