As the founding Director of IIT Hyderabad:

·       Built the institute from scratch

·       Hired 170 faculty members, all with Ph.D.s

·       There are today 2046+ students with 600+ PhD students and 450+ Master’s students – reflecting a strong research culture.

·       Has 14 departments covering all aspects of engineering, sciences, design and liberal arts

·       Started an innovative multidisciplinary virtual department on “Engineering Science”

·       Stated a unique and a novel minor in Entrepreneurship Program for all students

·       Started a very novel and innovative academic program referred to as “Fractal Academics”

·       Started an innovative Creative Arts series of courses for all students

·        Enabled development of 120 plus state of the art laboratories for research and teaching

·       Enabled sponsored research funding of approximately 25 million US dollars by IIT Hyderabad faculty

·       Enabled nearly 2 million US dollars for Industrial Sponsored Research and Consultancy

·       Enabled starting of the Executive M.Tech. in Data Sciences for working professionals

·       Enabled with IIT Alumni funding the Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship

·       Enabled iTIC -- IIT Hyderabad Technology Incubator

·       Enabled active collaborations with universities in US, Japan, Europe, Australia and other countries.

·       Enabled construction of a very innovative campus to house 10,000 students involving architects from Japan, Germany, USA and India

Experience

• Director, IIT Hyderabad, June 2009 to present (position equivalent to that of President of a University)
• Director, Hewlett-Packard - IIT-Madras R and D Lab. July 1, 2002 to June 30 2004
  • Provided a strong exposure to corporate R and D management
• Dean, Student Affairs, IIT-Bombay, August 2000 to June 2002.
  • Started E-Cell (Students’ Entrepreneurship Cell). Today E-cell has an international standing.
  • Started student mentorship program by senior students

·        Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay, July 1987 to Feb 31, 2016

·        Director, Hewlett-Packard - IIT-Madras R and D Lab. July 1, 2002 to June 30 2004

·        Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, U.S.A., August 1984 to June 1987

·        Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, U.S.A., September 1979 to July 1984

·        Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Arizona State University, Aug. 84 to Dec. 84.

·        Visiting Professor with Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oregon State University, Summer of 1989

·        Visiting Professor, EPFL-Lausanne, Switzerland, Summer 2002

·        Held short time Visiting Associate Professor's position with the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Purdue University, Indiana, U.S.A, summer 1986 and Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, U.S.A., during Sept 1986 to Nov 1986

• He started SPANN Lab at IIT Bombay

Honorary Positions

• Member Visitation Panel for University of Ghana. The Visitation Panel prepared a completely new blueprint for the university on three major fronts: Governance, Academic and Infrastructure.
• Board Member Tata Communications Limited
• Member, AICTE Review Committee, appointed by MHRD
• Member Governing Council of IIIT Hyderabad
• Member Governing Council Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technology.
• Past Member BOG of Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing Jabalpur
• Member BoG ABV Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management Gwalior.
• Member Society of IIM Kozhikode
• Member BoG, IIIT Dharwad
• Member, BoG IIM Vishakhapatnam
• Member Governing Council Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune
• Past Member BoG, NIT Warangal
• Chairman, Research Council, ANURAG, DRDO
• Chairman, Research Council, DEAL Dehradun, DRDO
• Member, Research Advisory Committee, Mahindra Ecole Centrale College of Engineering, Hyderabad
• Member, BoG Photonics Valley Corporation, Hyderabad, Telangana
• Member, Governing Council, Center for Excellence in IoT, Bangalore
• Member-Engineering Sciences Research Committee, Council of Scientifc & Industrial Research
• Member, Governing Body Research, Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation (L V Prasad's)
• Past Member, Wireless planning & Co-ordination Wing, MCIT
• Past Member in visitation panel, Univ. of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
• Member, Education Committee, CII India
• Member, CII Telangana
• Past Member, SEST School Board, University of Hyderabad
• Member - Project Advisory Committee of Hyd. Science City, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority
• Past Expert Member, National Disaster Management Authority NDMA
• Past Member Institute of Advanced Radio Spectrum Engineering and Management Studies
• Working Group Chairman, CDAC (DEITY)
• Member, Governing Body, CBIT, Hyderabad
• Advisory council member, Cluster Advisory Council member for Missiles and Strategic Systems Cluster, DRDO
• Past Member, INAE Sectional Committee
• Past Member of Search for the Selection of Vice Chancellor North Maharashtra University
• Past Member of Search for the Selection of Directors of 9 NITs
• Past Member of Search for the Selection of Director, SPA Vijaywada
• Past Member, Board of Advisor, IETE Technology University at Imphal, Manipur
• Past Member, Governing Council, AP Society for knowledge networks (APSFKNW)
• Member Selection Committee for Director IIIT Naya Raipur
• Senate Member, IIIT Naya Raipur
• Member Technology Advisory Committee for NKN (national Knowledge Network)
• One of the Founding Member COMSNETS (Communication Systems and Networks)
• One of the Founding Member Society for Cancer Research and Communication (SCRAC)
• Advisory Board Member for IEEE Wireless Communication 2012 
• Member of DoT Group on Promotion of Indian Telecom R&D, IPR and Manufacturing
• Member DIT Working Group on Information Technology
• Chair, DEITY Working Group on Broadband Communication and Convergence
• Member DST PAC on Electronics and Communication 2007-2009
• Member of AICTE Executive Committee since 2005 – 2008.
• Chair of IEEE Bombay Section (which covers Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa) during 2007-2008.
• Past Convener of INSA Sectional Committee IV on Applied Physics, Chemical Technology, Electronics and Telecommunication, Engineering and Engineering Sciences

Awards and Honors

• Outstanding Alumni Award from University of Buffalo (State University of New York, Buffalo) 2015
• Honoris Causa (Doctor of Science) from K L University, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
• Fellow INSA (Indian National Science Academy)
• Fellow, INAE (Indian National Academy of Engineering)
• J C Bose Fellowship
• Lifetime Achievement Award from  Indian Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics
• Fellow, IETE (Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers)
• IETE – S K Mitra Memorial Award (2012)
• Excellence in Teaching Award, IIT-Bombay, 2007
• Distinguished Lecturer for IEEE Communication Society (ComSoc) for 2008-2009.
• Recipient of Ram Lal Wadhwa Award from Indian Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers 2001
• Felicitation by Society for Cancer Research and Communication, Bombay, India (Jan. 2003)
• General Co-Chair for the Sixth IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision Jan. 1998.
• Microsoft Innovations Award : Faculty Mentor for the Microsoft Innovations Award for use of Bluetooth  Technology in Safe In-flight Wireless Telephony, from IEEE Computer Society International Design Competition, 2001.
• Best paper award at the International Conference on Business and Finance, 2005, Hyderabad for the paper on “Investigating Efficiency of the Indian Equities Market”, paper co-authored by Saket Sathe and R. K. Lagu.
• Delivered an invited lecture at Frontiers of Knowledge in Science. and Technology for Africa, University Leaders’ Forum, Cape Town. Nov 19, 2006;
  www.foundation-partnership.org/pubs/leaders/assets/papers/DesaiSession2.ppt attended by Vice Chancellors of African Universities.