Delegation Scheduled To Meet Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, the President of India

Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson is leading a delegation from the Institute to India from March 21 to April 1, 2006. The delegation is scheduled to meet prominent leaders in science-related government agencies, leading universities and research institutes, and companies in the cities of New Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai, and Bangalore in order to raise awareness and understanding of Rensselaer’s educational and research opportunities, as well as to foster future collaborative educational and research efforts. Additionally, the delegation will meet with Rensselaer alumni at events to be held in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore.

The Rensselaer delegation is also scheduled to meet with the President of India, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam. Dr. Kalam specialized in aeronautical engineering at Madras Institute of Technology, and made significant contributions as project director to develop India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III), which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980.

Commenting on the purpose of the trip, President Jackson said, “I have often said that a great university builds meaningful and lasting relationships and alliances all over the world. We at Rensselaer are looking forward to the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with India’s top leaders, as we did last year in China and Singapore, about how best to create technological innovation as we seek to expand Rensselaer’s reach and impact around the globe.” 

Organizations and individuals scheduled to be visited include the President of India, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam; R.A. Mashelkar, director-general, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research; Indian Institute of Technology campuses in New Delhi, Kanpur, and Mumbai; the Ministry of Science and Technology; the Times Group of India; Bhaba Atomic Research Center; Indian Institute of Science; Infosys; QuEST; IBM India Research Lab; and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, the 18th president of Rensselaer, has held senior leadership positions in government, industry, research, and academe. Described recently by Time Magazine as “perhaps the ultimate role model for women in science,” President Jackson is the immediate past chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society, and has advisory roles and involvement in other prestigious national organizations.

President Jackson was appointed chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 1995-1999, by U.S. President William J. Clinton. Prior to that, she was a theoretical physicist at the former AT&T Bell Laboratories. She serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Stock Exchange, is a director of several major corporations, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Rensselaer delegation includes research leaders in biotechnology and cell biology, nanotechnology and nanoelectronics, chemistry, aeronautical engineering, marketing, engineering education, experimental media and the performing arts, and international, corporate, and entrepreneurial finance.

The members of the Rensselaer delegation are: David A. Gautschi, Ph.D., dean of the Lally School of Management and Technology; Dawn (Xia) Chen, director of international advancement; Prabhat Hajela, Ph.D., professor, vice provost, and dean of undergraduate education; Iftekhar Hasan, Ph.D., the Cary L. Wellington Professor, Lally School of Management and Technology; Cynthia McIntyre, Ph.D., chief of staff; Johannes Goebel, director of Rensselaer’s Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center; Omkaram Nalamasu, Ph.D., professor, vice president for research, and director of the Center for Integrated Electronics; and Robert Palazzo, Ph.D., professor, chair of biology, and director of Rensselaer’s Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Contact: Stephen Naru
Phone: (518) 276-2815
E-mail: narus@rpi.edu