Rao Valipe Ramgopal

Rao is group vice-chancellor for Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani campuses in Pilani, Hyderabad, Goa, Dubai and Mumbai. Prior to joining the BITS Group in 2023, he had served as director of Indian Institute of Technolog (IIT) Delhi (2016–2021) and as a chair professor for nanoelectronics, IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi. Rao, an internationally acclaimed nanoelectronics researcher, has over 480 research papers and 50 patents, including 20 US patents. Among his patents, 15 have been licensed to industries for commercialization. The patent on CMOS-System-on-Chip applications from his group is now used in countless integrated circuits sold all over the world. Rao is a co-founder of two technology startups at IIT Bombay—Nanosniff & Soilsens—which have successful commercial products on the market. He is also well known for establishing major nanoelectronics programmes in India. For his research accomplishments, Rao has been elected a Fellow of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Indian National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, India; and Indian National Science Academy. He is a recipient of over 35 awards and honors in India and abroad.