Instituted through generous contributions from the IITK alumni, Prof T R Viswanathan Chair in Teaching Excellence Chair honors Prof. T.R. Viswanathan, a founding faculty member of IIT Kanpur. This Chair honors faculty who have demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching and encourages innovation in pedagogy, recognizing those who have made a lasting impact through their dedication to teaching and mentorship. He served as Professor of Electrical Engineering, Head of the Computer Centre, and Dean of R&D, and was known for his work in Analog Integrated Circuit Design and mentoring graduate students in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Dr. T.R. Viswanathan spent 15 years in industry, contributing to R&D, product design, and management, and retired as Director of R&D at Texas Instruments. He later served as a Partner at Artiman Ventures. He earned a B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Madras (1956), receiving the Jagirdar of Arni Gold Medal, and completed his degree in Electrical & Communications Engineering from IISc Bangalore (1959). He went on to earn an M.Sc. (1961) and Ph.D. (1964) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Dr. Viswanathan was a Research Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, where he held the Silicon Laboratories Endowed Chair for thirteen years.