BOSTON: As he readies to assume his new role as head of MIT's largest academic department, noted India-born academician Anantha Chandrakasan says he will focus on research at undergraduate level as well as inter-disciplinary education in areas such as energy, healthcare, robotics, IT and social networking.
Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT, Chandrakasan will take over as head of the prestigious institutes Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) on July 1, a responsibility he says he is "excited" about.
"This is an exciting time to think about inter-disciplinary education and research that includes not only blending electrical engineering and computer science but working with other departments in engineering and science to solve some of the pressing societal problems," Chandrakasan told PTI.
He said inter-disciplinary research in areas like next-generation ubiquitous information technology devices and healthcare can have a "big impact on society by being cost effective and help improve the quality of life."
From portable biomedical monitors, a patch that can detect if somebody is going to have a seizure, to what the next-generation smart multimedia devices would look like, there are far-reaching consequences of such research, he said.
"It is truly going to require a much different way of thinking about things that are not along traditional disciplinary boundaries," he said.
Another key area that Chandrakasan speaks passionately about is research at the undergraduate level.
Nearly 30 per cent of undergraduates at the MIT major in EECS.
"We have a very strong undergraduate research programme (UROP) and my goal is to get more students excited about doing publication quality research at the undergraduate level," he said, adding it is important to get students in the undergraduate years thinking about formulating problems, reading papers in fields of relevance and helping them do more open-ended research.
"This is also an excellent opportunity to connect with industry," the professor said.
The department is also keen to have connections with all parts of the world.
"We want our students to get a very rich international experience," Chandrakasan said.
Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT, Chandrakasan will take over as head of the prestigious institutes Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) on July 1, a responsibility he says he is "excited" about.
"This is an exciting time to think about inter-disciplinary education and research that includes not only blending electrical engineering and computer science but working with other departments in engineering and science to solve some of the pressing societal problems," Chandrakasan told PTI.
He said inter-disciplinary research in areas like next-generation ubiquitous information technology devices and healthcare can have a "big impact on society by being cost effective and help improve the quality of life."
From portable biomedical monitors, a patch that can detect if somebody is going to have a seizure, to what the next-generation smart multimedia devices would look like, there are far-reaching consequences of such research, he said.
"It is truly going to require a much different way of thinking about things that are not along traditional disciplinary boundaries," he said.
Another key area that Chandrakasan speaks passionately about is research at the undergraduate level.
Nearly 30 per cent of undergraduates at the MIT major in EECS.
"We have a very strong undergraduate research programme (UROP) and my goal is to get more students excited about doing publication quality research at the undergraduate level," he said, adding it is important to get students in the undergraduate years thinking about formulating problems, reading papers in fields of relevance and helping them do more open-ended research.
"This is also an excellent opportunity to connect with industry," the professor said.
The department is also keen to have connections with all parts of the world.
"We want our students to get a very rich international experience," Chandrakasan said.
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