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pkd-chair--1-Professor A.S. Davis Chair Awarded to Professor Prasanta Kumar Das

Information provided by Office of Alumni Affairs--KGP and IITKGP Foundation US (October 16, 2019)

Professor Prasanta Kumar Das has been awarded the "Professor A. S. Davis Chair Professorship in Thermodynamics" at IIT-Kharagpur. This endowment will be used to pay a top-up salary to Prof. Das with the Department of Mechanical Engineering to carry out state-of-the-art teaching, research and other developments within the department. In addition to teaching in the department Das is also the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at IIT-KGP. He is the recipient of many awards including an Institute of Engineers Medal (1998), K.N. Seetharamu Medal and Prize (2006), and EPSRC fellowship of the Government of United Kingdom (2000). He is also a fellow with the Indian National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Science.

IIT-KGP alumnus Vin Gupta ('67) set up this professorship to honor his professor, A.S. Davis. Professor A.S. Davis instructed within the Department of Mechanical Engineering as well as being the hall warden of Radhakrishnan Hall (RK Hall) at IIT-KGP. Mr. Gupta got to meet Davis as a resident of RK Hall. Further he took two courses from him, Thermodynamics and one in air conditioning and refrigeration. The influence that Prof. Davis had on Gupta was much more than just his teachings in the classroom, "Prof. Davis emphasized that the process was more important than the results. His teachings have influenced my life in a very significant way. But that was one among the several influencing factors he had on me. Prof. Davis used to spend a lot of time in the Hall, mentoring students through long hours of socialization. What inspired me most about him was that, besides being a brilliant teacher and a great communicator, he was an extremely practical human being with a wit equally matching his brilliance." The first scholarship that Gupta set up was in his department (Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering) just 5 years after his graduation and he continues to be inspired to give back 51 years after his graduation.

This endowed scholarship will continue in perpetuity for generations to come at IIT-KGP!