Bengaluru: Prof Govindan Rangarajan appointed IISc director, will take charge on July 31

The governing council of the 111-year-old Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Friday formally appointed Prof Govindan Rangarajan as its new director.

He will formally take charge after the incumbent director Prof Anurag Kumar superannuates on July 31.

Prof Rangarajan, who received an integrated MSc (Hons) degree from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, obtained a PhD degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to his return to India in 1992, he worked at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in the US.

Previously, he had served as the Chair, Division of Interdisciplinary Research at IISc, comprising 10 departments and centres. He also led the fundraising and alumni outreach efforts of IISc — the country’s premier research institute in the field of science and technology.

This apart, he had also served as the Chair, Department of Mathematics, and Chair, International Relations Cell.

Commenting on his appointment, Prof Rangarajan said: “It is an honour and privilege for me to be appointed as the director of IISc. The institute has a glorious 111-year-old legacy of impactful contributions to science and engineering. I will strive to uphold this tradition and take the institute to even greater heights in the coming years.”

“I congratulate Prof Govindan Rangarajan on being appointed as the next director of IISc, and wish him all success in taking this unique institution to the next level,” said Prof Anurag Kumar, the outgoing
director.

During his tenure, Prof Kumar introduced several initiatives to modernise IISc’s administration and infrastructure, improve faculty recruitment, increase support from non-government sources, enable the careers of women researchers in the institute, and enhance IISc’s visibility abroad.