Dr V Kamakoti will soon take charge as the new Director of IIT Madras, according to sources. Kamakoti, who has been serving as a professor of the institute's Department of Computer Science and Engineering, will take over as Director from Dr Bhaskar Ramamurthi. This was confirmed to faculty members by the institute's Registrar via mail, as well as through independent sources at the varsity.
Congratulating Prof V Kamakoti on his appointment, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, “With Prof Kamakoti at the helm, IIT Madras is poised to scale new heights in the coming years. He is an excellent teacher and researcher, and an able administrator. He has played key roles in many national projects, bringing to bear his deep expertise in computing and cybersecurity. The institute and the country will benefit tremendously from his services.”
Kamakoti currently mentors seven PhD candidates in IITM and has won multiple accolades, including the Abdul Kalam Technology Innovation National Fellowship, 2020 and the DRDO Academy Excellence Award, 2013. He has 44 research publications till date.
He completed his BE in Computer Science and Engineering from University of Madras followed by an MS and PhD at Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras. Prior to joining his alma mater as a faculty member, he completed two post-doctoral assignments at Supercomputer Education and Research Center, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai. He joined IITM as a professor in 2009.
Speaking about his priorities, Prof V Kamakoti, said, “In the last two decades IIT Madras has focussed on interdisciplinary translational research of relevance to our Nation. We have also reached out to a large number of students through NPTEL, Swayam and online degree programs. With these gathered strengths, our immediate priority would be on augmenting the skill-set for indigenous technology development addressing local and global requirements aligning with the objectives of the National Education Policy.”
Prof Kamakoti had recently made it to the news, when he, who is also a member of the National Security Advisory Board, proposed a solution for tracing the origins of WhatsApp messages.
This signals the end of a decade-long tenure by Professor Ramamurthi - one of the few academics who served two five-year-long terms as IITM's director. An accomplished academic and a firm administrator, he steered the institute to its highest rankings ever and established a series of industrial partnerships par none. According to sources, he will still continue to head a project at the IITM research park, until its completion.
