Anantha P Chandrakasan, the Indian-origin head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ), has been named dean of the university's School of Engineering , effective July 1.His predecessor Ian A Waitz is set to take over as the university's vice chancellor.The Chennai-born academic credits his mother, a biochemist and Fulbright scholar, with inspiring him to take up an academic career.Chandrakasan earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California at Berkeley - the latter two, ironically, after being rejected from MIT’s graduate program.Since joining the MIT faculty in 1994, Chandrakasan has produced a significant body of research focused largely on making electronic circuits more energy efficient. His early work on low-power chips for portable computers helped make possible the development of today’s smartphones and other mobile devices.Lately, his research has addressed the challenge of powering even more energy-constrained technologies."Anantha balances his intellectual creativity and infectious energy with a remarkable ability to deeply listen to, learn from, and integrate other people’s views into a compelling vision," MIT President L Rafael Reif says.Provost Martin Schmidt described Chandrakasan as "a people-centered and innovative leader."The academician has proved worthy of such commendation, having spearheaded and launched a number of initiatives on behalf of the department’s students while at the helm of EECS.The EECS' Rising Stars program, an annual event that convenes graduate and postdoc women for the purpose of sharing advice about the early stages of an academic career, was among those initiated by Chandrakasan.In his own words, "One of the key things I plan to do as dean is to connect directly with students."Chandrakasan currently lives in Belmont, Massachusetts, with his wife and three children, the oldest of whom graduated from MIT this year.