Petro Tel Distinguished Lecture Series
The PetroTel Distinguished Lecture Series in the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Kanpur has been established through a generous endowment by Dr. Anil K. Chopra (BT/CHE/1976). Dr. Chopra earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston, USA, and is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of PetroTel Energy. With over three decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, he has held key leadership and technology roles at BP and has been involved in major energy projects across the Middle East, India, Indonesia, China, Venezuela, and the North Slope of Alaska. A member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and a Distinguished SPE Lecturer, he is also a recipient of ARCO's Highest Technical Achievement Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Kanpur.
Past Speaker
Prof. K. Ganapathy Ayappa
Prof. K. Ganapathy Ayappa delivered a lecture on "Using Molecular Dynamics to Understand Interactions of Molecules with the Bacterial Cell Envelope". He is currently a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. Prof. Ayappa earned his Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Mangalore University in 1984 and completed his MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering, with a minor in Mathematics, from the University of Minnesota in 1992. He has held visiting positions at the University of North Carolina, the James Franck Institute at the University of Chicago, and ETH Zurich. A Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and the National Science Academy, his research focuses on molecular simulations and statistical mechanics to understand nanoscale molecular structure and dynamics, particularly in biological membranes and membrane-protein interactions related to bacterial and viral infections.
Mr. Rahul Gautam
Mr. Rahul Gautam spoke on 'Helping India sleepwell- life story of an IIT Kanpur Chemical Engineer' in 2022. Mr. Rahul Gautam received his B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1975 following which he obtained a master's degree in the same subject from Polytechnic Institute of New York, USA. With over 50 years of experience in the Home Comfort Space and the PU Foam Industry, is the Chairman-Managing Director of Sheela Foam Ltd., India and its subsidiaries Joyce FoaM Pvt. Ltd. Australia and Interplasp S.L. Spain, EU. He holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (1975) from IIT Kanpur and a master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York, USA. He has been awarded with a Professional Doctorate in Global Leadership & Management from the European International University, Paris, France. He has established a chair at IITK in 2019.