He has done pathbreaking work in signal processing and other areas of electrical engineering. Professor at Stanford for over half a century, Thomas Kailath is no stranger to awards and recognition. But the Padma Bhushan is special. He spoke to our correspondent after receiving the honour
Not many people in India would have heard of Professor Thomas Kailath, a mathematician and electrical engineer, who has been teaching at Stanford University for more than five decades now. However, a quick Google search will tell you he is one of the most highly decorated Indian scientists in recent times. The first India-born student to earn a PhD in electrical engineering from MIT, Kailath has had a glorious scientific career, duly recognised by a string of prestigious awards.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the topmost professional body in the field, presented him with its highest award, the Medal of Honour, in 2007 for his “exceptional development of powerful algorithms in the field of communications, computing, control and signal processing”. And the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) has put him in ‘Nobel Class’ for his contributions in mathematics and engineering.
It was only fitting that the Government of India bestowed on him the Padma Bhushan this year in recognition of his achievements in science and engineering. Kailath was one of the three NRI/PIOs to have been honoured with the award this year.

A gentle and good-natured man, Kailath says the Padma Bhushan came as a surprise. “There can be nothing more satisfying than being honoured by your own country. I owe all my achievements to the education I had in Pune and to my teachers and family. Perhaps I was able to contribute a little bit to the development of science and technology in India,” he says. He was associated with developing indigenous radar technology for defence use in the Himalayan region. He was also instrumental in setting up a government scholarship for students at IITs.

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