CURTAIN RAISER FAN-DA Meet 2024

Part 1: Welcome to FAN 2024 at Stanford University!

IIT Bombay is delighted to announce the upcoming Faculty Alumni Network (FAN) and Distinguished Alumni Meet (DA Meet) 2024 event, taking place from July 19th to 21st at Stanford University, USA. This year promises to be an enriching experience with a packed agenda designed to foster collaboration and innovation across various fields.

Starting with a networking dinner on the evening of July 19th, participants will have the opportunity to engage with thought leaders and peers in an informal setting. This will be followed by two days of intense discussions, breakout sessions, and keynote addresses.

Event Themes:

–  Quantum Technologies
–  Energy, Climate and Sustainability (Energy, Food, Water & Circular Economy)
–  Smart Cities, Transportation and Advanced Logistics
–  Advanced Computing (AI and HPC)
–  Healthcare
–  Translational Research and Entrepreneurship

The Distinguished Alumni Meeting (DA Meet) meeting is scheduled to take place on July 20th from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., followed by dinner.

If you have not yet registered for this meeting, please click here to register.

Part 2: Keynote Speaker: Steven Chu

Photo Courtesy: Stanford University

IIT Bombay is deeply honoured to have the 1997 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, Prof. Steven Chu, as the keynote speaker in this year’s FAN-DA Meet event.

Prof. Chu is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics, of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He received an A.B. degree in mathematics, a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Berkeley, he joined Bell Labs as a member of the technical staff in 1978 and later became the department head in 1983.

From January 2009 to April 2013, Prof. Chu served as the U.S. Secretary of Energy under President Barack Obama. During his tenure, he initiated several key programs including ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy), the Energy Innovation Hubs, and the Clean Energy Ministerial meetings. As the first scientist to serve as a Cabinet member, Prof. Chu recruited numerous outstanding scientists and engineers to the Department of Energy and played a pivotal role in addressing the BP oil spill crisis.

His research contributions are vast, including the development of laser cooling and optical trapping of atoms, atomic fountain clocks, atom interferometers, optical tweezers for biomolecules, and single-molecule FRET for biomolecules tethered to surfaces. Currently, his research focuses on biophysics, molecular and cellular physiology, medical imaging, nanoparticle synthesis, and battery research.

Prof. Chu has received numerous awards, is a member of several prestigious organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and holds 35 honorary degrees.

Part 3: Panel Discussion

Advancing Future Innovations In Healthcare Through Integrated Medical and Engineering Education: Opportunities and Challenges.

Moderator: Prof. Jayesh Bellare, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Panellists:

    –  Dean Lloyd Minor, Stanford University
    –  Dean King Li, University of Illinois
    –  Balram Bhargava, Directorate General, ICMR

About the Panel Theme: There is a growing consensus in India’s health technology innovation community that the leading engineering institutions must co-locate and closely partner with medical institutions to evolve the next generation of cross-disciplinary health technology innovators. Several institutions in India, informed by similar constructs in the U.S., are in the early stages of trying such models of training.

This panel brings together leading medical and engineering school leaders in the U.S. and India to discuss challenges and opportunities in establishing such an institutional capacity. The discussion will also consider the possibility of creating such a capacity at IIT Bombay. The medical school panellists will share their experiences with healthcare innovation at their institutions and what they have learned from the collaboration with their engineering counterparts. They will also share their recommendations for IIT Bombay in this regard.

Part 4: Special Focus on Sustainability

In addition to FAN and DA Meet 2024, IIT Bombay will host the Stanford-IIT Bombay Workshop on Sustainability from July 22nd to 24th. This workshop will follow the main FAN and DA Meet 2024 event and work towards developing collaborations on sustainability research between Stanford and IIT Bombay. As the third largest producer of greenhouse gases, India’s rapid growth in energy and resource demand makes this collaboration crucial.

The workshop will cover themes including climate, energy, food, health, and water. It will feature talks, posters, and discussions, with a special focus on promoting student and postdoc research. The goal is to build long-term collaborations and create scalable solutions with significant impacts on people and the planet.

IIT Bombay looks forward to our alumni participation in FAN and DA Meet 2024 and the subsequent sustainability workshop. Together, we can make a difference and drive forward the frontiers of knowledge and innovation.

Stay tuned for more updates and detailed agendas in the coming weeks!