About the Donor:

The history and growth of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is synonymous with the growth of the Aeronautical industry in India for more than 79 years.

HAL actively contributes to the space programs of the country. HAL provides structures for aerospace launch vehicles and satellites of ISRO. HAL has also set up infrastructure to assemble the strap-on L-40 stage booster.  Structures for GSLV Mk.III, Mars Mission and Human crew module have been supplied by HAL to ISRO. HAL is also setting up a dedicated facility for the manufacture of cryogenic engines. HAL believes that every business entity needs to have a mechanism for giving back to the society in which it operates.

The HAL R&D Chair Professor at IIT Bombay aims to promote academic research and technology developments in the area of aerospace technologies at the Institute.

About the Appointee

Prof. Anil Kottantharayil, Professor, Department of Department of Electrical Engineering

Prof. Anil Kottantharayil (AK) is currently the HAL R&D Chair Professor at IIT Bombay.

AK completed his B. Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Regional Engineering College, Calicut (now NIT Kozhikode) in 1993. After a one-year stint at Bharat Electronics as a test engineer, he pursued his Masters in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in Microelectronics from IIT Bombay. In 1997 he received a Siemens AG Youth and Knowledge fellowship to do his PhD at the Universitaet der Bundeswehr Munich.

During his academic journey, AK’s research focused on the hot-carrier reliability in short channel Field Effect Transistors. His research provided experimental evidence for the role of carrier–carrier interactions and quantum confinement in extending hot–carrier effects to low-voltage operation of Field Effect Transistors. He was awarded the highest grade of summa-cum-laude for his doctoral thesis. Subsequently, he worked at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) as a Research Engineer. At IMEC he worked on the integration of novel materials in advanced field-effect transistors like FinFETs.

AK joined IIT Bombay in 2006 where he continued his work on novel devices like tunnel field effect transistors, junctionless transistors, graphene-based transistors, and memory devices. His extensive research pursuits were published in highly cited publications. As one of the principal investigators of the Indian Nanoelectronics Program (INUP) at IIT Bombay, he was instrumental in opening up sophisticated laboratories for the development of electronic devices and materials for less-endowed academic institutions in the country. He has travelled extensively in the country to educate students and teachers from various engineering colleges and Universities about these facilities. The India Electronics and Semiconductor Association conferred the Techno Mentor Award on AK in 2017 for his outstanding efforts.

In 2010, he started working on solar photovoltaics and developed laboratories for the fabrication and characterization of large-area silicon solar cells which have helped several industries fine-tune their processes for improved device performance. He has been also active in the investigation of the reliability of solar PV modules in the field, and the impact and mitigation of soiling of solar panels. He has contributed to recommendations to the Government on various aspects of photovoltaic technology including recycling of solar panels. He has been mentoring startups in the PV sector, specifically by providing on-field assessment of PV panel performance and failures, and development of anti-soiling coatings.

His other awards and accomplishments include:

–  Best Research Paper by IIT Bombay to his research group in 2014 and 2021.
–  Students who completed their thesis work under AK’s guidance have won the best thesis awards (PhD thesis in 2014, and M. Tech thesis in 2021).
–  He is a distinguished lecturer of the IEEE Electron Devices Society
–  He is a senior member of the IEEE, a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering
–  He was the Head of the Centre for Research in Nanotechnology and Sciences at IIT Bombay during 2018 – 2021 and is currently the Professor-in-Charge of the Photovoltaic Technology        and Innovation Centre at IIT Bombay