IISc gets Pratt and Whitney chair
Wednesday, 15 July 2009, 14:43 IST   |    3 Comments
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Bangalore: The U.S.-based Pratt and Whitney, one of the world's leading aircraft engine manufacturer companies, has funded a chair at the department of aerospace engineering of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here. The chair will bring the company and the institute together to work on fundamental and applied research initiatives to develop efficient and environment-friendly gas turbine engines. "The IISc has outstanding technical capabilities that complement our fundamental research needs," said Paul Adams, senior vice president, Pratt and Whitney, inaugurating the chair at the institute Tuesday. "Through the endowed chair, we're hoping to further strengthen the relationships between our company, IISc and the Indian government," he said. Pratt and Whitney has made a lumpsum donation to the institute to set up the chair. "Yes, we have given a lumpsum donation to the institute, which is like a corpus fund. But we cannot divulge the figures," said Adams. The selection for the person to head the chair is yet to be made by IISc. "We're receiving several nomination letters. It will take us sometime to select the right candidate to head the chair," said B.N. Raghunandan, chairman of the department of aerospace engineering. "By expanding its long term relationship with the IISc, Pratt and Whitney will have increased visibility of future talent in the gas turbine engine field and also will be in a position to recommend future engineers to key Indian business partners, including Infotech and National Aerospacee Laboratories," added Raghunandan. The partnership is mainly targeted to increase commercial activities in the sphere of manufacturing gas turbine engines.
Source: IANS
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