Indian-origin academician Anantha Chandrakasan has been named head of MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), the largest academic department at the prestigious American institute.
Chandrakasan, the Joseph F and Nancy P Keithley Professor of Electrical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will assume his new role beginning July 1.
He will take over from Eric Grimson, who was named MIT's chancellor in February.
EECS is the largest academic department at MIT. Nearly 30 per cent of undergraduates at the institute major in the department's programmes.
"As the largest academic department in the School of Engineering, and at MIT, EECS and its faculty are involved in an exceptional range of intellectual, educational and research activities," School of Engineering Dean Ian Waitz said.
"I welcome the new ideas that Anantha will bring to leading EECS and his dedication as he assumes this role," he said in a statement.
Chandrakasan earned his BS, MS and PhD in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California at Berkeley.
He joined the MIT faculty in 1994.
His research interests include micro-power digital and mixed-signal integrated circuit design, wireless microsensor system design, portable multimedia devices and energy efficient radios.
As director of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) at MIT, a position he has held since 2006, Chandrakasan and his colleagues have conducted microsystems research in circuits and systems, microelectromechanical systems, electronic and photonic devices as well as molecular and nanotechnology.
Chandrakasan has been honoured with the Semiconductor Industry Association University Researcher Award (2009), and has been elected as a Fellow of the IEEE.
The state-owned network had earlier issued an apology, admitting the comments were offensive and discriminatory, but unhappy complainants referred the matter to the BSA.
In a sternly worded rebuke, the BSA found that the comments were "not only derogatory but entirely dissonant with common decency and a clear breach of the discrimination and denigration standard".
It said the words amounted to a "sustained and deliberate attack against the Chief Minister personally".
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