BITS Pilani Dubai Campus has announced the appointment of Prof. Souri Banerjee as its new Director. Banerjee began his five-year term last month. He succeeds Prof. Srinivasan Madapusi, who served as Director since 2021.

Welcoming Professor Banerjee to BITS Pilani, Professor V. Ramgopal Rao, Vice Chancellor for BITS Pilani, said, “We are pleased to have Prof. Souri Banerjee on board and wish him all success in his new assignment. I am confident that his leadership and expertise will be instrumental in further enhancing our academic programs and research initiatives.”

Professor Banerjee began his career at BITS Pilani, Pilani campus in 2004. In 2008, he became the founding Department Head of Physics at the Hyderabad campus. Prior to being appointed Dean of Faculty Affairs in 2018, he worked for the institute for five years as the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs in 2013, overseeing faculty affairs at all BITS Pilani locations.

He has served in several postdoctoral positions at the University of Electro-Communications and Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, and was a Visiting Professor at the University of Electro-Communications. He also served as a Research Scientist at the Central Research Laboratory, HITACHI, Tokyo.

Professor Souri Banerjee obtained his Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the Indian Association for Cultivation of Science, Kolkata in 1997. After his Ph.D., he held a small stint at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, and was also awarded the prestigious JSPS Foreign Research Fellow twice (2012 & 2018) in recognition of his contributions. – editor@nrifocus.com