An Eye For Excellence

DETAILS : 

• Author: E.C. Subbarao 
  
• Publisher: ‎ Harpercollins Publishers
  
• Publication date: ‎ 1 January 2008
  
• Language: ‎ English 
  
• ISBN-10: ‎ 8172237693/ B0076ZNP5O
  
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-8172237691
  
• Item Weight: ‎ 700  g

ABOUT THE BOOK

An Eye For Excellence: Fifty Innovative Years of IIT Kanpur, authored by the pioneering educationist and materials scientist Professor E.C. Subbarao, is an inspiring, institutional biography of one of India's premier engineering institutions. Published by HarperCollins Publishers India, this 337-page authoritative chronicle was released to mark the golden jubilee of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK). The core philosophy of this text is to explore the anatomy of academic genius, tracking how a newly established institute, carved out of agricultural land in 1959, bypassed traditional bureaucratic hurdles to achieve world-class academic status in an incredibly short period.

The book is structured into a highly disciplined, ten-chapter retrospective that balances historical documentation with strategic educational insights. Rather than reading like a dry, administrative report, Professor Subbarao’s narrative dives into the radical experiments that defined IITK’s early culture. The text comprehensively analyzes the pivotal Kanpur Indo-American Programme (KIAP), which linked the institute with a consortium of nine elite US universities (including MIT, Caltech, and Princeton) to reshape Indian engineering pedagogy. The chapters outline how IITK led pathfinding breakthroughs in India—such as introducing the country's first computer science education with the IBM-1620 mainframe, establishing pioneering materials science divisions, and implementing a revolutionary undergraduate curriculum centered on continuous evaluation rather than rote final exams. By highlighting iconic student and faculty achievers, the volume provides an invaluable blueprint for institutional building and academic leadership globally.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Professor E.C. Subbarao is an elite Indian materials scientist, institutional leader, and academician who served as a foundational pillar of IIT Kanpur during its most transformative decades. He joined the institute in 1963, eventually rising to become its very first Dean of Faculties (1966–1972) and later serving as the founding director of the Tata Research Development and Design Centre (TRDDC).

Professor Subbarao’s writing style is fiercely objective, precise, and deeply authoritative, drawing directly from his first-hand experience in shaping India's educational landscape. He avoids superficial praise, opting instead for data-driven analysis, detailed footnotes, and strategic reflections on the shifting balance between undergraduate instruction and post-graduate research standards. His extensive academic legacy—which includes foundational textbooks like Solid Electrolytes and Their Applications—establishes him as a leading authority on the history of science and technical education in modern India.