CMI to establish Dr FC Kohli centre for promoting advanced research

CHENNAI: The Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) is set to establish the “Dr F C Kohli Centre of Excellence for Advanced Research in Mathematical and Computing Sciences” in honour of Faqir Chand Kohli, known popularly as the father of the Information Technology industry in India.

With a committed donation of Rs 10 crore towards the establishment of the centre, the institute will raise funds from cor porates, communi t y groups, colleagues and wellwishers to further augment the corpus. “Using the funds, the institute will establish a Centre of Excellence and Endowed Chairs, as well as provide grants for advanced research in areas such as data science, quantum computing and complexity theory.

The institute strongly believes that these initiatives will make a profound impact on research and teaching both in India and globally- something that Dr Kohli was very passionate about,” the release said. FC Kohli, known as the architect of the Indian IT industry, passed away on November 26 at the age of 96.

The release quoted N Lakshmi Narayanan, managing trustee, CMI as saying, “Dr F C Kohli’s pioneering efforts in working with different stakeholders- government, quasigovernment bodies, technology majors in hardware and software, research labs and professional trade bodiespaved the way for India to emerge as a technology power house that the world today admires.”

“Dr Kohli strongly believed in the power of technology in solving both business and societal challenges, enhancing transparency and improving governance and bridging the rural and urban divide which enabled India to progress at a rapid clip, while silently becoming a global soft power,” she added. The Chennai Mathematical Institute is a deemed-to-be university that combines research and teaching in mathematical sciences. It was founded in 1989.