IIT Bombay, in collaboration with the IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation, hosted the second edition of its prestigious Faculty Alumni Network (FAN) and Distinguished Alumni Meet (DA Meet) for 2023 at the renowned Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. The event brought together IIT Bombay’s illustrious faculty and its accomplished alumni from academia and industry globally, to strategize on ways to shape the future of IIT Bombay’s growth, and deliberate on emerging areas of research.

The event was attended by esteemed dignitaries including Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthy; Kathleen Hagerty, Provost of Northwestern University; Prof. Julio Ottino, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, and was coordinated very meticulously by Prof. Neelesh A. Patankar from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University.

Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay addressed the attendees and spoke about the key objective of the FAN-DAM meet – which is to essentially bring together the brightest minds from across the globe and discuss the emerging areas of research that can be leveraged to create ground-level impact and contribute towards nation-building. He also added that the event serves as a powerful platform to address the Institute’s critical needs and deliberate on innovative and strategic initiatives that can be implemented to ensure IIT Bombay’s continued growth.

IIT Bombay and Northwestern University also signed an MoU to further intensify the collaborations between the two eminent institutions, and advance research towards addressing fundamental and complex problems in engineering and technology.

The event hosted a thought-provoking panel discussion on collaborations in India-USA Higher Education. The discussion shed light on the boundless potential that lies within partnerships between these two great nations. The day also saw exciting breakout sessions on Microelectronics, Sustainability and Circular Economy, Engineering Medicine, and Design in Engineering and Education.

Later in the day, IIT Bombay’s distinguished alumni got together for the Distinguished Alumni Meeting (DAM) and shared their perspectives on various strategic facets of the Institute’s growth.

Professor Barbara Snyder, President of the Association of American Universities (AAU) delivered the dinner talk at this prestigious event and shared her perspectives on the huge collaboration opportunities that can be pursued under the recently announced initiative for critical and emerging technologies.

IIT Bombay is grateful to the IITB Heritage Foundation and Northwestern University for the successful second edition of FAN/DAM 2023. The Institute thanks all of the faculty, alumni, and the rest of the dignitaries for making the event memorable and highly insightful, and hopes to see them (and many more) in 2024.

Enjoy these photos from the two-day event!