CHAIR ESTABLISHED AT IIT BY ANALOG DEVICES

Analog Devices Inc. announced the establishment of a chair for Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology at the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai recently.  IIT has already been collaborating with Analog Devices for the past few years in the areas of novel solutions and products for telecommunication applications.  The relationship has been formalised by the setting up of this chair.

The endowment by Analog Devices for the setting up of the chair and professor position comes in the form of a donation of US $ 1,40,000 to IIT, Chennai.  The endowment goes into the Institute's corpus fund.  It entails the setting up of the chair in the Electrical Engineering Department of the Institute.  This would provide the students and faculty at IIT Chennai with assistance in all phases and with all matters concerning the integration of DSP into the course curriculum and research.  The expenses of the professor's salary, research grants or scholarships, setting up of labs would be met from this fund.  Though, the institute is under no obligation to submit an account of expenses, it does so as a measure of courtesy.

IIT already has a M Tech programme in DSP technology.  The Electrical Engineering department along with Computer Science and Engineering Department initiated this program.  The programme was started recognising the need to graduate 'DSP literate' engineers, as there was an increasing demand for DSP knowledge by employers when hiring.  With the input of expertise in DSP by Analog Devices, the quality of engineering education and DSP classes are bound to improve.

When asked about the professor position, Dr Natarajan, Director, IIT said, "The professor for DSP would be identified from either industry or academic circles.  We would prefer the professor to hold a full time position but in case that is not possible, we are also open to accommodating somebody, who can spend a few weeks in a month or a few months in a year at the Institute.  Being a public institute we would also have to go through certain procedures to receive the money.  Once we have received the money, we will start the process of identifying the professor.  Analog Devices will enjoy the advantage of having engineering graduates with DSP knowledge ready to be absorbed.  I see three partners in this relationship - IIT Chennai, Analog Devices and companies in India set up by the IIT alumni.  It's a win-win-win situation".   

Ray Stata, Chairman of the Board, Analog Devices Inc. said, "Analog Devices is committed to encouraging continued excellence in the area of DSP in India.  The establishment of the chair at IIT, Chennai was done to facilitate the inclusion of leading edge semiconductor technology into product development, engineering research and course curricula.  IIT Chennai has been a very successful training ground for some of the most proficient DSP engineers.  The institute has been instrumental in developing economical telecom solutions for the growing needs of India by nurturing a skilled manpower base in the area of DSP".

While it has been a long tradition for corporations to provide support and commitment by setting up this kind of chairs in universities in the United States, it has been a recent trend in India, stated Ray Stata.  He added that the purpose of this move was to demonstrate the respect that Analog Devices has for IIT.

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