Institute Council

Professor A V Anilkumar

Professor A V Anilkumar is an aerospace engineer on the faculty at Vanderbilt University. He was a NASA investigator of microgravity fluid flow phenomenon and his current interests include novel energy conversion systems for airplane flight.

Ms Asha Jadeja

Ms Asha Jadeja is wife of late Prof Rajeev Motwani and head of the Rajeev Motwani Foundation. Motwani was professor of Computer Science at Stanford University where he did pioneering research in computer science. Ms Jadeja mentors many successful start-ups in the Bay area.

Dr Darshan V. Pandya

Dr Darshan V. Pandya completed his BSc (Eng) (Hons) and PhD in Chemical Engineering and later an MSc in Operational Research and Management Studies from Imperial College, London. An avid traveller, he has visited forty-five countries and lived in five. After working in the British Petroleum in London, he taught Operational Research and Statistics at the National University of Singapore for three years before switching to the IT industry and working in the USA and Canada until his retirement in 2015.

Dr Dinesh O Shah

Dr Dinesh O Shah is a native of Kapadwanj, Gujarat and received his BSc (1959), MSc from University of Bombay (1961) and PhD from Columbia University, New York (1965). He joined University of Florida as a joint faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Anesthesiology in 1970. He has received several awards at University, State, National and International level in teaching, research, and professional service.

Mrs Hamida Banu

Mrs Hamida Banu Chopra has taught Urdu at the University of California at Berkeley and at IIT Gandhinagar. She has published several English translations and lectured extensively on seminal Urdu poets, such as Sahir Ludhanvi, Ghalib, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, etc.

Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan

Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan is co-founder and former CEO of Infosys and chairman of the startup accelerator Axilor Ventures. He was elected president of the Confederation of Indian Industries in 2013-2014 and served as one of the co-chairs of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2014. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honor, in 2011.

Mr Manish Sharma

Mr Manish Sharma is Group Chief Executive of Accenture Operations Services and a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee. A strong advocate for inclusion and diversity, Mr Sharma founded Accenture Rural ‘Impact Sourcing’ programme that extends support to small business services firms and youth in rural areas.

Mr Mukesh Shah

Mr Mukesh Shah is Managing Partner of Shah Bhogilal Jethalal & Bros, one of India’s leading firefighting equipment manufacturers. A commerce graduate with ICWAI, he has been associated with the operation of the firm since his early age, having completed more than three and a half decades in this field. Under his leadership, the firm has grown to become one of the largest firefighting equipment manufacturing companies in India. He is an active member of professional fire and safety associations, taking a leadership role in promoting the cause of fire safety.

Mr N R Narayana Murthy

Shri N R Narayana Murthy is founder of Infosys and served as its first CEO from 1981-2002, as chairman of the Infosys board from 2002-2006 and as chief mentor until his retirement in 2011. He is widely credited for being instrumental in shaping the Indian IT sector and the global outsourcing model.

Mr Parimal Karani

Mr Parimal Karani is an Ahmedabad based businessman. He holds a BTech in Civil Engineering from IIT Bombay (1975 batch).

Mr Samir Desai

Mr Samir Desai is founder of The Desai Foundation, which empowers women, children and students through community programming in over 200 villages in rural India. He is also a founding charter member of TIE- Boston. He built a successful tech solutions company, Systems Resources Corporation. He is recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Philanthropist of the Year Award.

Dr Ushakant Thakkar

Dr Thakkar is a Los Angeles area based Nephrologist and a philanthropist. He is Chairman of Dharma Civilization Foundation, a non-profit public charity based in Los Angeles, California. He also served on the faculty of UCLA, in the department of medicine. Dr Thakkar is a recipient of the “Spirit Award” in 2009, from the National Kidney Foundation, USA.

Dr Vilas Mujumdar *

Dr. Vilas Mujumdar has been an independent consulting engineer since 2009. Previously he was CEO, President and Partner in many large engineering firms and at highest-level in the public sector; Chief of Operations, Division of State Architect, State of California; Director, Engineering Research Centers Program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). His professional experience includes Design, Project Management, Teaching, and Research Management in Asia, Europe, Canada and the US.

* Deceased