Call for Visiting Chair Professor Applications
(Download PDF file)
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai - 600036, INDIA
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman Visiting Chair Program
URL: www.cse.iitm.ac.in and www.iitm.ac.in.
Email: hod@cse.iitm.ac.in; cshead@iitm.ac.in
Applications will be considered until the Chair positions are
filled for AY2018-19.
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering in IIT Madras invites applications for the Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman Visiting Chair Program, to lead research on data-driven approaches to solve important problems. Exceptional candidates from any area of Computer Science are also encouraged to apply. Silicon Valley-based Distinguished Alumni of IIT Madras’ CSE Dept., Dr. Anand Rajaraman and Mr. Venky Harinarayan, donated USD one million in 2016, to establish a corpus fund for this program.
The Chair Professor(s) will have an exceptional research record and demonstrated thought leadership in his/ her chosen field, and will be expected to have significant impact at IIT Madras on research thrusts in allied areas. He/ she will be expected to collaborate extensively with faculty at IIT Madras engaged in aligned fields of research, and also help the Institute build up capability in emerging research areas.
The appointment will be for a one-year term initially, and potentially renewable based on assessment of the collaborations.
The Chair Professor is required to visit IIT Madras campus at least once a year for a total period of 1-2 months, but each stay can be as short as 2-3 weeks. The Visiting Chair will be encouraged to bring his/ her research team (postdoctoral fellows, PhD students) to IIT Madras during campus visits to promote extended interactions.
He/she is also expected to host collaborating IITM faculty members and his/her research team members at the Chair Professor's institutions for visits. The Chair Professor is also expected to be involved in a range of activities including teaching or co-teaching of UG and graduate courses, co-advising IITM students, and assisting in recruitment of post-doctoral fellows from IITM.
The budget per year for the Chair Professorship is approximately USD 30,000. The funds from the Professorship can be used to pay the Chair Professor's compensation (based on salary) during his/ her stay on campus or choose to deploy an equivalent sum towards expenses contingent with the Chair, expenses including but not limited to travel, accommodation and salary expenses for the Chair and his/her research team, travel and accommodation expenses for IITM collaborating faculty, IITM students and postdoctoral Fellows, facilities/ commodities-related expenses, computational needs, etc. A budget will be prepared annually by the Chair Professor and approved by IIT Madras.
HOW TO APPLY
A single ZIP containing the following information (all files in PDF format) should be submitted by email to hod@cse.iitm.ac.in and cshead@iitm.ac.in, by
June 15, 2018.
- A Cover letter addressed to Head, Dept. of CSE, IIT Madras, Chennai – 600036, India.
- A full CV including a detailed publication list, honors and awards.
- Research plan including topics/areas in which collaboration can be accomplished (approx. one page); the Chair Professor applicants are encouraged to identify a potential collaborator in the CSE Dept. of IIT Madras before submitting the application.
- Teaching activities planned, including short-term courses, if any, and/or guest lectures in existing CSE/IITM courses (approx. one page).
- Tentative visit plans for the duration of the Professorship.
- Any other relevant information.
For queries regarding the application process, applicants should contact Head, CSE Dept.
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE AND THE DEPARTMENT
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, established in 1959 by an Act of Parliament, is one among the foremost Institutes of National Importance (INI), in higher technological education, basic and applied research. IIT Madras is a residential institute with nearly 550 faculty and 800 students. The Institute has sixteen academic departments and several advanced research centers in various disciplines of engineering and pure sciences. The campus is located in the city of Chennai (Tamil Nadu state), previously known as Madras.
The Department of CSE started in 1973 as IITM's Computer Centre. Today the Department has a vibrant student body numbering around 700 and faculty numbering nearly 30. About 60% are postgraduate, mostly supported by scholarships. The Department is actively engaged in research activities in several important areas including Algorithms, Cryptography and Information Security Hardware systems including Computer Architecture and VLSI, Human Computer Interaction, Intelligent Systems and Knowledge Engineering, including AI, NLP and ML, Networks and Distributed Systems, Programming Languages, Compilers and Software Engineering, and Theoretical Computer Science. Further, the Center for Computational Brain Research was started in 2014 with an INR 30 Crore (approx. USD 4.5 Million) endowment from Kris Gopalakrishnan, IITM Distinguished Alumnus.
In the 2016 and 2017 National Institute Ranking Framework rankings, IIT Madras ranked FIRST among several other similar Research and Teaching Institutions in Engineering. IIT Madras ranked among the top 50 Asian universities in the QS rankings 2018. According to a
Brown University study reported in May 2014, IIT Madras was the FIFTH largest contributor of faculty members to Computer Science programs in American Universities. The US Universities covered include MIT, Stanford and Yale.
