Bengaluru: GITAM (Deemed to be University) has appointed Prof. M V Kartikeyan Machavaram as Pro Vice Chancellor of its Bengaluru campus. He joins GITAM from IIITDM Kancheepuram and brings over two decades of experience spanning academic leadership, research and technology institutions.
Machavaram has held academic and leadership positions at institutions including IIT Roorkee, IIT Tirupati and IIIT Sri City. His research areas include millimetre-wave and terahertz technologies, RF systems, computational electromagnetics, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in engineering design.
His research work has received international recognition, including the Hildegard Maier Research Fellowship and the Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship in Germany. He is a Fellow of IEEE, the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
Welcoming Machavaram to GITAM, Dr M Sribharat, President, GITAM, said his experience would be important as the university continues to develop the Bengaluru campus.
“Prof. Kartikeyan brings together strong academic credentials, research experience and a deep understanding of institution building. As we continue to build GITAM Bengaluru, his experience will be valuable in shaping the campus’s academic direction and creating an environment where education, research and innovation can grow together,” Sribharat said.
In his new role, Machavaram will work with GITAM’s academic and leadership teams on strengthening the Bengaluru campus’s academic and research ecosystem, with a focus on interdisciplinary research and collaborations with industry, academia and research institutions.
“GITAM Bengaluru has built a strong foundation in research and innovation, and I see significant potential to take this further. My focus will be on strengthening the campus’s research ambitions by encouraging interdisciplinary research, supporting high-quality and impactful work, and creating stronger collaborations with industry, academia and research institutions,” Machavaram said.
He added that the campus would also need to create an environment that gives faculty and students the freedom and support to pursue emerging areas of research and translate their work into applications.
The appointment comes as GITAM Bengaluru expands its research infrastructure and activity. Faculty at the campus published 317 research papers over the past year, including 157 papers in Scopus-indexed Q1 and Q2 journals.
The campus also secured six externally funded research projects worth Rs 2.54 crore from agencies including BRNS, ANRF, UGC-DAE CSR, TIH Foundation IIT Bombay and TiHAN IIT Hyderabad. Faculty members have also secured 10 patents.
GITAM Bengaluru has added 14 research laboratories over the past two years, backed by an investment of Rs 5.65 crore. The facilities include a Centre of Excellence in Electric Vehicles, Advanced Extended Reality (AXR) Research Laboratory, Drone Laboratory, Networking Technologies Lab and the Cosmos Lab under the School of Sciences.
The university said the new leadership appointment is aimed at further strengthening the Bengaluru campus’s academic and research priorities as it expands its work across emerging technology areas.
