In 2005 our CM had proposed the central takeover/adoption of the Institute of Material Sciences (IMS) in Bhubaneswar (68/1, Laxmi Vihar, Bhubaneswar – 751005 ) to make it a National Institute for advanced materials and applications. In this, ex-IIT Khragpur director Prof. K. L. Chpora, a recent Padma shri award winner, was involved. But besides the following news report from 2005 nothing much has happened.
I came across the IIIT proposal that Orissa had prepared in 1997. Here it is (7MB). Since that proposal, its been 10 years and finally we will have the IIIT. During these 10 years many IIITs were established in other states: Gwalior (1997), Hyderabad (1998), Allahabad (1999), Bangalore (1999), Kolkata (2000), Pune, Kerala, Jabalpur and Amethi (Campus of Allahbad).
I wrote the following in 1996 as a tribute to my teachers in Bhubaneswar who shaped my career. Although at that time, I had lost touch with many of those teachers, since then I have reconnected with some of them and at times will write about them.
In July 1997 during the OSA convention a few people developed a plan to introuduce B.Sc (honors) in Computer Science in Orissa colleges. This plan was written up and in December it was brought up with the Orissa government. That time the additional Chief Secretary Dr. P. K. Mishra liked the idea very much and while we were in the secretariate discussing the plan the BJB College principal and few others were called and the plan was further discussed. It was decided then and there to open this in BJB, Rama Devi, Ravenshaw, Govt. College Rourkela and few other colleges. (My memory fails me.)
The main idea was to train the excellent mathematics and physics lecturers so that