IIT kanpur gets a new Director

Updated on: Thursday, September 13, 2012

Prof Indranil Manna has been appointed as the new director of IIT, Kanpur after approval by the President of India in his capacity as Visitor of the premier institute.

Prof Manna's appointment for the post will be effective for a period of five years or till he attains the age of 70, whichever is earlier, in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down in the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 and the statutes of IIT, Kanpur.

An appointment letter in this regard has already been issued by the chairman, Board of Governors, IIT, Kanpur, which Prof Manna has accepted. He would be joining as the director within this month and succeeding Prof SG Dhande who presently holds the top position with an extended term till September 30.

The director's office at the institute confirmed on Wednesday evening about the confirmation of Manna's name for the top post.

The office, through a press communique, informed that Prof Indranil Manna has been posted as the director of Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) since March 1, 2010. Born on January 22, 1961, Prof Manna obtained his BE degree from Calcutta University in 1983 and and M Tech degree in 1984 from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur.

After a brief stint at Mishra Dhatu Nigam, Hyderabad, he joined IIT, Kharagpur in 1985 as a lecturer and rose to the position of full professor in 2003. He was in this position till he joined CGCRI as director.

Prof Manna is a metallurgical engineer, a renowned educator and a prolific researcher. His significant contribution in the study of amorphous/nanocrystalline Al-alloys, nano-fluid and laser/plasma assisted surface engineering greatly inspired the scientific community. His early contributions in moving boundary phase transformation are still widely cited.

As a teacher, Prof Manna has developed several new courses and taught subjects related to phase transformation, materials engineering, surface engineering, thermodynamics and X-ray diffraction. His research interest spans from structure-property correlation in engineering materials including synthesis/application of nano-materials, surface coating/engineering, phase transition, fuel cells, sensors, bainitic steel and mathematical modeling.

The press communique also informed that Prof Manna worked as guest scientist in several institutions of excellence and universities abroad such as Max Planck Institute at Stuttgart, Technical University of Clausthal, Nanyang Technological University, Liverpool University, and University of Ulm. Prof Manna is a recipient of INSA Medal for Young Scientists, Young Metallurgist and Metallurgist of the Year Awards, MRSI Medal, AICTE career award, DAAD and the prestigious Humboldt Fellowships.

He is also a recipient of the Acta Materialia Best Referee Award for years 1999 and 2003, respectively. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bonn appointed Prof Manna as Honorary DAAD Advisor in India for three years, INAE selected him for Indian National Academy of Engineering-All India Council of Technical Education (INAE-AICTE) Distinguished Industry Professorship for 2007-08 to work with Tata Steel, and the Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) conferred upon him the GD Birla Gold Medal for 2008.

He has published about 225 peer-reviewed papers, supervised 14 PhDs, 35 M Tech and 50 B Tech theses, carried out 32 sponsored projects worth over Rs 16 crore, and also obtained a patent on amorphous AlCuTi alloy.

Prof Manna is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (FNAE), New Delhi, a Fellow of The National Academy of Sciences of India, Allahabad (FNASc), and a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (FASc).

Prof Manna was the President of the Materials Science Section of the 97th Indian Science Congress held in Trivandrum during January 3-7, 2010. The INAE has recently awarded him the prestigious "INAE Chair" for two years. To date, he remains the third recipient of this prestigious chair.

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