KENT Entrepreneurship & Innovation Chair
Mr. Mahesh Gupta instituted the KENT Entrepreneurship & Innovation Chair. This chair is open to faculty working on new technologies & innovations. Mr. Mahesh Gupta (BT/ME/1975), a well-known name in the water purification industry, is the Founder & Chairman of KENT RO Ltd., India. He is the man behind revolutionizing purified drinking water in India. He patented the technology in 1990 and launched the brand Kent RO. After founding his company in late 90s, Mr. Gupta diversified into other products like, vacuum cleaner, water softener, air purifiers and many others. Before starting his own business venture, Mr. Gupta joined Indian Oil Corporation and worked as an engineer on conservation of fuel. He holds more than half a dozen patented technologies.
Current Occupant
Prof. Jayandharan Giridhara Rao
(May 2026 - May 2029)
Prof. Jayandharan Giridhara Rao, from the Department of Biological Sciences & Bioengineering, IIT Kanpur, leads a research program focused on developing state-of-the-art molecular medicine platforms to address unmet clinical needs in several monogenic human diseases, including haemophilia and retinal degeneration, as well as cancers such as hepatocellular carcinoma and leukaemia. His research interfaces the basic biology of adeno-associated viruses (AAV) with translational science, utilizing a variety of molecular, cellular and preclinical models. Prof. Rao earned his Ph.D. from Christian Medical College, Vellore, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Florida, USA. He is a recipient of the Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance Senior Fellowship, the B.M. Birla Science Prize in Biology, and the Swarnajayanti Fellowship.
Former Occupant
Prof. Amitabha Bandhopadyay
(Jul. 2022 - Jul. 2025)
Prof. Amitabha Bandhopadyay, Department of Biological Sciences & Bioengineering, works in the areas of mechanisms of cartilage and bone differentiation. He also heads the Developmental Biology Lab that primarily works in Articular cartilage development and osteoarthritis and Bone development and osteoporosis. Since 2018, Prof. Bandhopadhyay serves as the Professor-in-charge of Innovation and Incubation and runs the Technology Business Incubator of IIT Kanpur that provides a platform to facilitate bio-entrepreneurship. He earned his doctorate from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, New York in 2002. He also served as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Indian Society of Developmental Biologists (InSDB).