Family members, friends and admirers of Professor S. Sampath, former Director, IIT Kanpur have taken the initiative to establish the "Professor S. Sampath Chair" at IIT Kanpur.

The idea was to raise at least Rs. 20 lakhs towards the corpus and from the interest pay an honorarium of Rs 10,000 per month to the incumbent of the chair. It was assumed that the chair position would be offered to an outstanding researcher (Professor) in IIT Kanpur so that he/she would receive the honorarium, in addition to the salary. The appointment would normally be for a period of three years. The proposal was approved in principle by the Senate and the Board of Governors, IIT Kanpur.

The response from the friends, relatives and admirers of Professor Sampath and the alumni of IIT Kanpur has been overwhelming. At a formal function in the Institute, Professor S. Ranganathan, IISc Bangalore, the younger brother of Professor Sampath and who has been spearheading the fund raising handed over the list of collections to the Director IIT Kanpur, on April 15, 2005.

Professor Dhande appreciated the gesture in memory of the former Director. He recalled the valuable services rendered by Professor Sampath to the Institute during the troubled days of early 1980's and announced the establishment of the Chair at IIT Kanpur to commemorate the 80th birthday of Professor Sampath, which falls on April 16, 2005.

It is hoped that people will continue to come forward and contribute generously to this cause. All donations from within India are 100% tax deductible under section 80G of Indian Income Tax. Donors in the US can avail 100% tax deduction by routing the donations through IIT Kanpur Foundation in the United States.

Donors not in the United States may send cheque payable to IIT Kanpur Endowment Fund and mail it to: Professor Sudhir K. Jain, Dean, Resource Planning and Generation, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur - 208016 (UP), INDIA.

Donors in the United States may send the check payable to IIT Kanpur Foundation and mail it to Mr. Abhay Bhushan, CFO, IIT Kanpur Foundation, 3838 Mumford Place, Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA, Phone: 650-868-6645

Donors are requested to specify clearly in the covering letter that the amount is for Professor S. Sampath Chair. All contributions, large or small, will be deeply appreciated.

Thank you.

N. Sathyamurthy, Professor of Chemistry, IIT Kanpur
S. Ranganathan, Professor, Department of Metallurgy, IISc Bangalore