IIT Kharagpur will be honouring thirteen alumni with the Distinguished Alumnus Award in the 64th Convocation of the Institute scheduled on July 20.
 
The awardees are renowned experts in their respective domains and reached the pinnacle of excellence in addition to associated and community services, which bring them this highest honour from their Alma Mater IIT Kharagpur. The profiles include top academicians and eminent scientists in India and abroad, defence professional, social contributor.
 
Among the awardees from academia are Prof. Ashim Kumar Datta of Cornell University, an expert in the physics of food, Prof. Chaitali Chakrabarti of Arizona State University, expert in VLSI, Prof. Narayan B.T. Mandayam of Rutgers University, an expert in wireless information network, Prof. Ramesh Jain of University of California, Irvine, who is also an entrepreneur driven by his interests in real time data, perception, and social networks, Prof. Sudipta Seal of University of Central Florida, a global champion in ceramics, Prof. Haresh Lalvani of Pratt Institute, an artist-inventor and globally renowned architect and Prof. Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Director, IIT Patna.
 
Among the outstanding contributors from industrial R&D are Dr. V. Narayanan, Director, LPSC at ISRO, an expert in cryogenic rocket propulsion technology, Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Director General, Naval Systems and Materials at DRDO, Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Director, CSIR-CEERI, Pilani and Dr. Parag V. Havaldar, who was awarded Oscar in Technical category last year.
 
The award list includes exemplary achievers who have touched people from every walk of life such as  Lieutenant-General Utpal Bhattacharyya, 1971 and Kargil war hero, retired officer and management expert from Indian Army, and Swami Smaranananda, monk, yoga guru and General Secretary of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India Paramahansa Yogananda Path, Ranchi.
 
“These alumni have made distinctive contributions to the society and world at large through their professional and human excellence. It is what IIT Kharagpur does to its students, inspiring them to perpetuate brilliance no matter which path they take in life” opined Prof. Subrata Chattopadhyay, Dean, Alumni Affairs Kharagpur
 
Shri Ram Nath Kovind, the Honourable President of India and Shri Keshari Nath Tripathi, the Honourable Governor of West Bengal will be the Chief Guest and Guest of Honour respectively for the Convocation ceremony.