Plaksha University has appointed Dr S Shankar Sastry as the founding chancellor. He was the dean of engineering for over a decade (2007-2018) at the University of California (UC), Berkeley. Dr Sastry is currently the Thomas Siebel Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley.

Dr Sastry has held several positions during his academic career which includes being the chair of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) department at UC Berkeley and the director of the information technology office at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Arlington. He also served on the faculty of MIT and Harvard

Some of Dr Sastry’s most notable recognitions include the President of India Gold Medal in 1977, the IBM Faculty Development Award in 1983, and the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1985.

His research areas include AI and Machine Learning, resilient cyber-physical systems, mechanism design and incentive theory for the digital transformation system of complex societal scale system networks, cybersecurity, autonomous robotic vehicles and robots, computer vision, nonlinear and adaptive control, and control of hybrid and embedded systems, the varsity said.

Dr Sastry holds a BTech degree from the IIT Bombay. He completed his MA in mathematics and MS, PhD in EECS from UC, Berkeley. He also holds honorary doctoral degrees from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, the University of Waterloo, Canada, and the Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

On his appointment as Chancellor of Plaksha University, Dr Sastry said, “Higher education is at an inflection point. We need to provide students with a pedagogical experience at the nexus of Technology, Entrepreneurship and Design. Further, we need to challenge students to confront the messy societal scale grand challenge problems that confront us today. The opportunity to be a part of Plaksha University that has a unique model of being a modern research university with a new pedagogy and outlook, is a privilege and an exciting challenge for me."

Neeraj Aggarwal, Chairman - Asia Pacific, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Founder, and Chairperson, Board of Trustees, Plaksha University said, “Dr Sastry is a highly respected academic leader and an institution builder globally. We have been very fortunate to have him as the Chair of our Academic Advisory Board for the past 5 years. We are now delighted to have him join as our Chancellor. He epitomizes the idea of reimagining higher education and building a vibrant higher education ecosystem that supports high-impact research. His in-depth professional experience, knowledge, and leadership will guide Plaksha University to craft a unique learning experience for curious tinkerers."