Narayanaswamy Balakrishnan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1950-06-01)1 June 1950 (age 75) Tamil Nadu, India |
| Other names | 'Balki' |
| Alma mater | Coimbatore Institute of Technology (B.E. Electronics and Communications Engineering ,1972) Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (PhD, 1979) |
| Occupation(s) | Aerospace and computer scientist |
| Known for | Super computing |
| Awards | Padma Shri, 2002 INAE Prof. S. N. Mitra Memorial Award DRDO Academy Excellence Award CIT Outstanding Alumnus Award Homi J. Bhabha Award IISc Alumni Award J. C. Bose Memorial Award ISCA Millennium Medal Institute for the Future Award ASI Excellence Award Sri Hari Om Prerit Dr.Vikram Sarabhai Research Award UNESCO/ROSTSCA Young Scientist Award |
Narayanaswamy Balakrishnan is an Indian aerospace and computer scientist.[1] He is a Professor of the Department of Aerospace Engineering andSupercomputer Education Research Centre ofIndian Institute of Science and a visiting professor ofJawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.[2] Balakrishnan was honored by theGovernment of India, in 2002, with the fourth highestIndian civilian award ofPadma Shri[3][4]
Narayanaswamy Balakrishnan, hailing from the South Indian state ofTamil Nadu, was born on 1 July 1950.[1][5][6] He graduated (BE Hons) in Electronics and Communication in 1972 from theCoimbatore Institute of Technology,[7]University of Madras and obtained his doctoral degree (PhD) from theIndian Institute of Science (IISc),Bengaluru in 1979.[8][9][10][11] He started his career as an assistant professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering of IISc and continues his service there as an associate director and professor.[1][2][5][12] He also works as a visiting professor ofJawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research[2] and the Institute for Software Research International,Carnegie Mellon University[13][14] and is a director of theIndian Institute of Information Technology and Management,Industrial Finance Corporation of India,Bharat Sanchar Nigam and theData Security Council of India.[12][15] Currently he is heading the National Supercomuting Mission of India approved by Government of India as 7-year project with a budget of 4,500 cr.[16] He held theSatish Dhawan chair professorship of the Division of Information Sciences ofIISc from 2003 to 2006[13][14] and is a former member of theNational Security Advisory Board and theTelecom Regulatory Authority of India.[1] He is a former Deputy Managing Director of El Forge Ltd, and has held the posts of a director at C-DOT Alcatel Lucent Research Centre[17] andBharat Electronics.[12] He has also served as a director of theCentral Bank of India from where he retired in January 2015.[12]
Balakrishnan is known to have contributed to the establishment of theNational Centre for Science Information andSupercomputer Education Research Centre, in 1984 and 1994 respectively, at theIndian Institute of Science.[1][13] He is involved with theMillion Books to the Web Project (MBP), an initiative of theDigital Library of India.[1][19] On the scientific front, his contributions are reported in the areas of monopulse array antennas andpolarimetricRadars.[1][13] His scientific achievements and observations have been recorded in over 230 articles published in many peer reviewed national and international journals,[1][13]Google Scholar, an online repository of scientific articles, listing 216 of them.[20]
He was on the Engineering and Computer Science jury for theInfosys Prize from 2016 to 2018.[21]
Balakrishnan received theUNESCO/ROSTSCA Young Scientist Award in 1985 followed by the J. C. Bose Memorial Award of theInstitution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) in 1987.[14] Sri Hari Om Prerit Dr.Vikram Sarabhai Research Award reached him in 1995[1] and two years later, he received the Platinum Jubilee lecture Award from theIndian Science Congress.[14] He received two awards in 1998, theInstitute for the Future Award and theAeronautical Society of India Aerospace Education Excellence Award.[1][14] The Indian National Science Congress awarded him the Millennium Medal in 2000 and he received the J. C. Bose Memorial Award for a second time in 2001 followed by the Alumni Award for Excellence from theIndian Institute of Science.[14]
TheGovernment of India honoured him with the civilian award ofPadma Shri in 2002.[12][13] The Hari Om Ashram Trust awarded him the Homi J. Bhabha Award in 2004[12] andCoimbatore Institute of Technology awarded him the Outstanding Alumnus Medal in 2006.[14] He received the Academy Excellence Award from theDefence Research and Development Organization in 2009 and Prof. S. N. Mitra Memorial Award from theIndian National Academy of Engineering in 2013.[14]
Balakrishnan, a 2007 J. C. Bose National Fellow of theDepartment of Science and Technology,[1][12][14] is an elected Fellow ofThird World Academy of Sciences,Indian National Science Academy,Indian Academy of Sciences,Indian National Academy of Engineering,National Academy of Sciences, India andInstitution of Electronic and Telecommunication Engineers.[1][2][5][13] He is a recipient of the doctoral degree of PhD (Honoris Causa) fromPunjab Technical University and has delivered the CDAC-ACS Foundation Award Lecture, Dr. Neelakantan Memorial Award Lecture and Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Lecture of theIndian National Science Academy.[1][14]
