Dr. S. Sampath Chair
Family and Friends of Dr. Srinivasa Sampath instituted the Dr. S. Sampath Chair. This chair is open to the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Kanpur. Late Prof. Srinivasa Sampath (1925-1998) served as a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and as Deputy Director at IIT Madras, where he played a key role in the institute's academic development. He specialized in electron tube design, servomechanisms and controls, electronic measurements, pulse techniques, television engineering, and analogue, digital, and hybrid computer techniques.
In 1981, Prof. Sampath became Director of IIT Kanpur, where he introduced significant advancements in computer science. He established the computer centre based on the DEC 1090 system and set up the UNDP-sponsored Centre for Computer-Aided Design in interdisciplinary areas of Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Fluid Flow Systems.
Prof. Sampath was a pioneer in advancing modern technology in post-independent India, contributing across academia, R&D, industry, and government. He was an outstanding teacher, a role model to his students, and a gifted speaker in education, technology, and spirituality.
Current Occupant
Prof. Ashok K. De
(Sep. 2025 - Sep. 2028)
Prof. Ashoke De from the Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kanpur, works in the area of Propulsion and ombustion. His research interests include computational fluid dynamics (CFD), high-speed and hypersonic flows, computational aeroacoustics and flow-acoustics coupling, fluid-structure interaction (FSI), turbulence modeling, multiphase modeling and flows, combustion, and energy harvesting. He received his doctorate from Louisiana State University, USA, in 2009.
He has received several prestigious recognitions, including the DAAD Fellowship, DST Early Career Research Award, and the P. K. Kelkar Young Research Fellowship from IIT Kanpur. He is also an elected Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), and West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology, and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow.
Former Occupant
Prof. Siddhartha Panda
(Apr. 2022 - Apr. 2025)
Dr. Siddhartha Panda is a Professor of Chemical Engineering, and a participating faculty in the Materials Science Programme, and is also a participating faculty and the past Head of the National Centre for Flexible Electronics (NCFlexE) at IIT Kanpur. His research focuses on chemical sensors for healthcare applications and the accompanying transport, reactions, transductions materials processing, and intelligence, utilizing flexible printable platforms. He earned his doctorate from the University of Houston in 1999.