Ashok Jhunjhunwala Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerAshok Jhunjhunwala

Professor and Chair of Electrical Engineering at IIT-Chennai

Ashok Jhunjhunwala is Professor and Chair of the Electrical Engineering Department at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai, and is most famous for enabling telecommunications across India. He leads the Telecommunications and Computer Networks group (TeNeT) at IIT Madras. This group is closely working with industry in the development of... Read More

Biography

Ashok Jhunjhunwala is Professor and Chair of the Electrical Engineering Department at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai, and is most famous for enabling telecommunications across India.

He leads the Telecommunications and Computer Networks group (TeNeT) at IIT Madras. This group is closely working with industry in the development of a number of Telecommunications and Computer Network Systems. TeNeT group has incubated a number of technology companies which work in partnership with TeNeT group to develop Telecom Access products. The group has also incubated a company which aims to install and operate telephone and internet in every village in India.

He is a Director on the Board of State Bank of India. He is also a board member of several Telecom and IT companies in India, including Polaris, Sasken, Tejas Networks and HTL, NRDC, and IDRBT. He is a former board member of VSNL & BSNL, and is a former member of the Prime Minister’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

A recipient of many awards, Professor Jhunjhunwala was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in the year 2002. He was also awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 1998, the Dr.Vikram Sarabhai Research Award in 1997, the Millennium Medal at Indian Science Congress in 2000 and the H. K. Firodia for “Excellence in Science & Technology” in 2002.

He has written numerous articles both in the India and international press and has authored several books on enabling telecom and internet in India.

Popular Talks by Ashok Jhunjhunwala

  • Technology in India
  • Rural India's role of technology
  • India's scientific environment
  • Scientific Talent and R&D in India