Indian American to lead MIT's largest department

WASHINGTON: Indian American Anantha P Chandrakasan has been named the new leader of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) largest academic department

Chandrakasan, the Joseph F and Nancy P Keithley Professor of Electrical Engineering, has been named the next head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Cambridge, Massachusetts-based MIT announced Monday.

He will assume the new role beginning July 1. Chandrakasan will take over the role previously held by Eric Grimson, who was named MIT's chancellor in February.

EECS is the largest academic department at MIT; nearly 30 percent of undergraduates major in the department's programmes.

"As the largest academic department in the School of Engineering, and at MIT, EECS and its faculty are involved in an exceptional range of intellectual, educational, and research activities," School of Engineering Dean Ian Waitz said in an email to the EECS community.

"I welcome the new ideas that Anantha will bring to leading EECS and his dedication as he assumes this role."

Chandrakasan earned his BS (1989), MS (1990) and PhD (1994) in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California at Berkeley; he joined the MIT faculty in 1994.

His research interests include micro-power digital and mixed-signal integrated circuit design, wireless microsensor system design, portable multimedia devices, and energy efficient radios.

As director of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL), Chandrakasan and his colleagues have conducted microsystems research in circuits and systems, microelectromechanical systems, electronic and photonic devices, and molecular and nanotechnology. Chandrakasan will step down as MTL's director, a position he has held since 2006.

Chandrakasan and his students have won a range prizes and awards, and he has been honored with the Semiconductor Industry Association University Researcher Award (2009), and election as a Fellow of the IEEE.

He serves as the Conference Chair of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, a position he has held since 2010.