Prof. M. Jaleel Akhtar

(Apr. 2023 - Apr. 2026)

Prof. M. Jaleel Akhtar of the Department of Electrical Engineering has been awarded this Chair with effect from April 2023 for a period of three years. Prof. M. Jaleel Akhtar received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany, in 2003. He was a Scientist with the Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, Pilani, India, from 1994 to 1997, where he was involved in the design and development of high-power microwave devices. He worked as a Project Leader and the Post-Doctoral Research Scientist at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT-FZK), Karlsruhe, Germany during 2003- 2009, where he primarily worked in the areas of microwave material interaction.
In 2009, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, India, where he is currently a Full Professor. He has supervised more than 20 Ph.D. candidates and over 80 Masters' students. He is the author of two books, and over 350 papers in various peer-reviewed international journals and conference proceedings. He holds three patents on RF sensors for testing of solid and liquid samples, and one patent on nanomaterial-integrated RF sensor for detection of harmful gasses in the environment.
He is the recipient of several awards including the 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award from IIT Kanpur, the CST University publication award 2009 from CST AG, Germany. His research group has received several innovation and best paper awards at various forums, including the best student paper awards at the IEEE Microwave, Antennas, and Propagation Conference 2022, IEEE MTT-S International Microwave and RF Conference 2021, Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Award 2016, GYTI Award 2014. His major research interests include metamaterial inspired RF planar sensors, microwave and THz imaging, nano-composites based wideband microwave absorbers for EMI/EMC and stealth applications, and RF energy harvesting. Prof. Akhtar has been the Lead Investigator of about 15 Projects, receiving a total funding of approximately INR. 18 Crore from various Agencies, Companies and Establishments. He has recently received a major grant for establishing a world class EMI/EMC and Electrical Safety Test Facility at IIT Kanpur, primarily to test the EM compliance of modern electronic instruments and gadgets presently used in the medical industry. The proposed facility would be fully accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), and it would be utilized to conduct the electromagnetic interference and electrical safety tests required for various medical and electrical devices as per IEC 60601, CISPR 11, and CISPR 16 and ISO standards. Dr. Akhtar is a Fellow of the IEEE, and a Fellow of the IETE. He was the General Co-Chair of the IEEE MTT-S International Microwave and RF Conference (IMaRC 2021). He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, and an Editor of the IETE Technical Review, and the IETE Journal of Research. He has a unique distinction of being the first ever elected member (at-large) of the IEEE MTT-S Administrative Committee from India.
Gratitude Video