Youngest of the IITs

Prof Gautam Barua introduces the youngest of the IITs -- IIT Guwahati.

IIT-Guwahati (IIT-G) is the youngest of the IITs. Within a span of a decade, IIT-G has been able to create a space for itself amongst the best academic institutes of India.

IIT-G has the advantage of a young and dedicated faculty prepared to accept challenging assignments.

The institute also has a beautiful and picturesque campus (700 acres), with lakes and hills, and the mighty River Brahmaputra next to it.

The atmosphere in the campus is serene, ideal for learning and research. All buildings are spanking new, all equipment too are new, and so they are state-of-the-art. IIT-G puts great emphasis on research and development.

Besides pushing the frontiers of knowledge, we also emphasise the participation in the development efforts of both the country and the north eastern region, where the Institute is located.

Flood mitigation, earthquake research, local language computer technology, plant biotechnology, petroleum technology, are some of the areas in which research relevant to the region is being carried out.

The Institute is a growing one. Currently, there are about 1,500 students (40 per cent PG), 160 faculty, and 250 staff.

The plan is to reach a student strength of 2,800 by 2008, and 3,800 by 2011, reaching 5000 at steady state, maybe by 2015.

The Institute has Departments of Biotechnology, Chemical Engg, Chemistry, Civil Engg, Computer Science and Engg, Design, Electronics and Communication Engg, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, Mechanical Engg, and Physics.

There are centres in Nanotechnology, the Environment, and Energy. More centres and departments are being planned.

IIT-G is hiring faculty in a big way. Bright, young persons interested in a teaching and research career will find IIT-G an excellent place to work in.

The PhD programme is growing rapidly too. There are many opportunities to do research at IIT-G.

(Professor Gautam Barua is the Director of IIT Guwahati since March 2003. He did his BTech and MTech from IIT Bombay. He completed his PhD from the University of California Santa Barbara, USA.)

(He joined IIT-Kanpur as a faculty in Computer Science and Engineering in 1982 and he served there till 1995. He has been a Professor at IIT Guwahati since 1995. He has held various administrative posts such as Head of Department, Dean, Deputy Director before taking charge as the Director. His areas of interest are Operating Systems, Computer Networks. )