Champa Devi Gangwal Chair
Mr. Rakesh Gangwal (BT/ME/1975) is an Indian-American businessman and the co-founder of IndiGo. He previously served as Chairman, President, and CEO of Worldspan (2003-2007) and as President and CEO of US Airways (1998-2001).
His long and distinguished association with the airline industry began in 1980 with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked closely with United Airlines. He later joined United Airlines in 1984 and held several senior leadership positions. Earlier in his career, he worked with Ford Motor Company and Philips India Ltd.
After graduating from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, he earned his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. He was honoured as a Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Kanpur in 2000 and was named among the 25 top global executives by Business Week in 1999.
Mr. Gangwal instituted the Champa Devi Gangwal Chair in honour of his mother.
Vacant
Former Occupant
Prof. Arun K Saha
(Jul. 2022 - Jul. 2025)
Prof. Arun K. Saha, Department of Mechanical Engineering, specializes in Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer. His research focuses on jets and wakes, with applications in pollution management and electronic cooling.
He earned his Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 1999 and received the Best Paper Award (Heat Transfer Division) from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers-International Gas Turbine Institute in 2006.