Dubai, UAE : BITS Pilani Dubai Campus, a renowned institution known for its commitment to innovation, has announced the appointment of Prof. Souri Banerjee as its new Director. He assumed the role in August 2024 and will serve as Director for the next five years. Prof. Banerjee succeeds Prof. Srinivasan Madapusi, who served as Director of the Dubai Campus since July 2021.

Professor Banerjee began his career at BITS Pilani, Pilani campus in 2004. In 2008, he became the founding Department Head of Physics at the Hyderabad campus. Prior to being appointed Dean of Faculty Affairs in 2018, he worked for the institute for five years as the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs in 2013, overseeing all faculty affairs at all BITS Pilani locations.

He has served in several postdoctoral positions at the University of Electro-Communications and Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, and was a Visiting Professor at the University of Electro-Communications. He also served as a Research Scientist at the Central Research Laboratory, HITACHI, Tokyo.

Welcoming Professor Banerjee to BITS Pilani, Professor V. Ramgopal Rao, Vice Chancellor for BITS Pilani, said, “We are pleased to have Prof. Souri Banerjee on board and wish him all success in his new assignment. I am confident that his leadership and expertise will be instrumental in further enhancing our academic programs and research initiatives.

 He further added, “I also take this opportunity to thank Prof Srinivasan Madapusi who has been extremely successful in his tenure. With his dynamic leadership, the campus has achieved significant milestones and grown manifold, taking the campus and BITS Pilani to greater heights.”

Professor Souri Banerjee obtained his Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the Indian Association for Cultivation of Science, Kolkata in 1997. After completing his PhD, he held a small stint at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai and was also awarded the prestigious JSPS Foreign Research Fellow two times (2012 & 2018) in recognition of his contributions to device physics.