Prof. Sanjay E. Sarma

(BT/ME/1989)

Prof. Sanjay E. Sarma is the Fred Fort Flowers (1941) and Daniel Fort Flowers (1941) Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His work spans RFID, sensors, the Internet of Things, manufacturing, automation, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, digital learning and the future of education. He is widely recognised for pioneering technologies and standards that helped establish RFID as a foundational technology for the modern Internet of Things. He received his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in 1989, followed by a master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 1992 and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1995. Before joining MIT, he worked at Schlumberger Oilfield Services in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, and at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Prof. Sarma joined MIT in 1996 and subsequently became one of the founders of the Auto-ID Center at MIT, which he co-founded in 1999 with Sunny Siu, David Brock and Kevin Ashton. The centre developed the technical concepts and standards underlying the Electronic Product Code (EPC) system and modern commercial RFID. These standards were subsequently adopted through GS1 and EPCglobal and have become widely used across global supply chains. His work helped transform RFID from a specialised identification technology into a scalable platform for tracking and managing objects across the physical world. His entrepreneurial career has been closely connected with his research. Prof. Sarma co-founded OATSystems and served as its Chief Technology Officer; the company developed enterprise software and systems for RFID applications and was acquired by Checkpoint Systems in 2008. He has also served on the boards of technology and industry organisations and advised companies and governments on emerging technologies, innovation and the Internet of Things. Beyond his work in RFID and industrial technologies, Prof. Sarma has played a transformative role in education and digital learning. At MIT, he served as Director and subsequently Dean and Vice President for Open Learning, where he led initiatives including MITx, MIT OpenCourseWare, MicroMasters, MIT xPRO, the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab and the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative. Under his leadership, MIT significantly expanded its global digital-learning ecosystem and developed new models for accessible, technology-enabled education. In 2023, Prof. Sarma took on the role of CEO, President and Dean of the Asia School of Business in Kuala Lumpur, a position he held until May 2025. He subsequently returned to his academic role at MIT and currently serves as an Eminent Visiting Professor at the Asia School of Business. He also continues to serve on the school's Board of Governors. His research interests have evolved alongside emerging technologies and include RFID, sensors, Internet of Things, manufacturing, computer-aided design, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, energy and transportation. He has authored more than 150 publications and is the co-author of The Inversion Factor: How to Thrive in the IoT Economy, which examines how connected objects, intelligent systems and new business models are reshaping industries. He was one of the principal authors of the original numbering system for Aadhaar. Prof. Sarma's contributions have been recognised through numerous academic and industry honours, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Chair, the Den Hartog Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Joseph H. Keenan Award for Innovations in Undergraduate Education and the MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellowship. His technological contributions have also been recognised through the New England Business and Technology Award, the MIT Global Indus Award, recognition among BusinessWeek's e.biz innovators and Fast Company's Fast 50, and the RFID Journal Special Achievement Award. Through his research, entrepreneurship, institution-building and leadership in digital education, Prof. Sarma has consistently bridged engineering innovation with large-scale societal and commercial applications. His contributions to RFID and the Internet of Things helped shape a major technological ecosystem, while his later work in digital learning has expanded access to high-quality education globally.
Honouring his pioneering contributions to RFID, Internet of Things, Technology Innovation and Digital Education, and his distinguished impact as an academic, entrepreneur and institution-builder, IIT Kanpur confers upon Prof. Sanjay E. Sarma the Distinguished Alumni Award 2026 under the category of Entrepreneurship & Management.