BITS alumnus donates US $1 million for semiconductor research centre in Hyderabad campus

With the seed capital from an alumnus the BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus is to establish a centre of excellence in semiconductor research

BITS Pilani-Hyderabad campus is setting up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Semiconductor research with a donation of  US $ 1 million from its alumnus Ranvir Trehan, a technologist and an entrepreneur. The Centre will focus on research and developing human resources capacity for the country’s rapidly growing semiconductor sector.

“Mr. Trehan’s generous donation will enable us to hit the ground running and commence operations immediately. We are actively working towards raising an additional US $2 million to fully unleash the centre’s potential.,” said vice chancellor of BITS Pilani V. Ramgopal Rao on Thursday. 

The Centre will be offering academic programs for undergraduate and postgraduate students, along with doctoral and post-doctoral research opportunities that align with industry requirements. The Centre will foster collaboration among the alumni, corporate entities, esteemed academics, and government labs and departments, said Mr. Rao.

Mr. Trehan and his wife Ms. Adarsh Trehan said BITS Pilani had played a significant role in their professional achievements. “It is with heartfelt affection that we make this humble contribution. Our aim is to make BITS Pilani a leading contributor to the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM),” they said.

Mr. Trehan graduated from BITS Pilani in 1961, and was the founder and CEO of SETA Corporation, a leading consulting firm specializing in network technologies with offices across three continents. 

ISM was launched in December 2022 by the Centre and has envisaged a big role for academia along with industry. “BITS Hyderabad campus envisions becoming the leading institute in the country for semiconductor research and innovation, and offering contemporary and industry aligned academic programmes with state-of-the-art labs,” said dean, Research and Innovation, of BITS Pilani Sanket Goel 

Courses will be launched both in core semiconductor areas such as design, modelling, simulation, processing, testing, validation, and allied areas such  Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, among others.  An undergraduate-level programme and strengthening the current master’s program in microelectronics with emphasis on hands-on chip/ wafer design experience is the priority, said Mr. Goel.