Rahul & Namita Gautam Chair
Mr. Rahul Gautam, along with his wife, Mrs. Namita Gautam, instituted the Rahul & Namita Gautam Chair. Mr. Rahul Gautam (BT/CHE/1975) is the Director of Sheela Foam and Chairman of Joyce Pvt. Ltd. In 1971, he along with his mother, founded one of India's largest foam manufacturing companies, Sheela Foam, branded as Sleepwell mattresses. Under the leadership of Mr. Gautam, his company expanded wings offshores as well setting up manufacturing units in Australia. He has more than 45 years of experience under his belt in manufacturing of home products and PU foam industry. The Sleepwell Foundation, set up by Mr. Gautam, caters to various Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in education and sports. IITK conferred upon him the Distinguished Alumnus Award (2017).
Current Occupant
Prof. Tanmoy Maiti
(Oct. 2024 - Sep. 2027)
Prof. Tanmoy Maiti from the Department of Material Science & Engineering, IIT Kanpur has research interests in the areas of electronic materials, nanophotonics, and next-generation energy and memory devices. He has been recognized with several national and international honors, including the P.K. Kelkar Young Faculty Research Fellowship, IEI Young Engineers Award. Dr. Maiti holds a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Former Occupant
Prof. Vinod Kumar Singh
(Nov. 2022 - Sep. 2024)
Prof. Vinod K. Singh, Department of Chemistry, research interest lies in Synthetic Organic Chemistry - Asymmetric Synthesis. He developed several new chiral ligands/catalysts for enantioselective reactions. One of the chiral catalysts developed in his laboratory, called "Singh's Catalyst", is an efficient chiral organocatalyst for enantioselective aldol reaction in aqueous medium. Prof. Singh served as a senior scientist in Nurogen Corporation, Connecticut before joining IITK as a faculty. He was the Director of IISER Bhopal (2008-2018). Prof. Singh is the recipient of many prestigious awards and honors - Padma Shri, Govt. of India (2014), Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize (2004), Swarnajayanti Fellowship (1998). He earned his doctorate from M.S. University, Baroda in 1986.