New Delhi. : The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) conferred the Distinguished Alumnus Award (DAA) on Prof. Mini Shaji Thomas, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) in a glittering ceremony at Chennai. The DAA are presented annually by the Institute to its former students who have excelled in various walks of life. Since the inception of the awards in 1966, 159 alumni have been selected for it from among 53,000+ Alumni of the institution, making a very unique club of achievers from across the globe that have excelled in different fields.
Dr. (Mrs.) Mini Shaji Thomas is the first woman director of NIT Tiruchirappalli starting in 2016, the founder Director of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE),JMI, and professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, JMI. She was the Central Public Information Officer from 2008-2014 and the Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering from 2005- 2008, JMI. She completed her B Tech with Gold Medal from University of Kerala, M Tech with Gold Medal from IIT Madras & Ph. D from IIT Delhi.
At the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, she and her team charted an ambitious growth path for the Institute, by developing a strategic plan to help improve the overall performance, which showed positive results in the last four years, including consistent improvement in the NIRF rankings, moving to 9th in ‘Engineering’ from 12th position and to 23rd from 34th in ‘Overall’ categories. She set up the first of its kind Centre of Excellence in ‘Manufacturing’ at NIT Tiruchirappalli with an investment of Rs. 190 Crores from Industry and bonded many more collaborations.
She has done extensive research work in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Substation & Distribution Automation and Smart Grid. She has set up the first of its kind SCADA laboratory and Substation Automation Laboratory in India at JMI, to train industry ready graduates and Engineers from Electrical utilities, to effectively manage the vast transmission and distribution network of India. Her passion is teaching and started the first full-time, M Tech program in the Faculty of Engineering & Technology, JMI. She authored the textbook ‘Power System SCADA and Smart Grids’ and many book chapters.
She has published over 140 research papers in International Journals/Conferences and supervised 16 Ph.Ds.
She received several awards for her excellent performance, including the ‘Career Award’ for young teachers and the IEEE EAB ‘Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education’, among others. She is among a handful from the Asia Pacific to be on the global boards of IEEE. She has travelled around the globe and delivered lectures in many prestigious universities. She is the President of Shastri-Indo Canadian Institute, and a Director on the Board of the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum.
For her immense contributions in the field of electrical engineering and technical education, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to bestow this award upon Prof. (Mrs.) Mini Shaji Thomas.
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