Shree Nayar Elected to Indian National Academy of Engineering
Computer scientist honored for his pioneering research in imaging and vision
Shree Nayar
Shree K. Nayar, the T. C. Chang Professor of computer science, has been elected as a Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, effective November 1, 2022. The Academy confers Fellowship on Indian and foreign nationals who have made outstanding contributions to engineering and emerged as global leaders as a result of their distinguished accomplishments. He is one of five Foreign Fellows elected in 2022.
Nayar is being recognized for his pioneering work which is focused on three areas – the creation of novel cameras that provide new forms of visual information, the design of physics-based models for vision and graphics, and the development of algorithms for understanding scenes from images. He heads the Columbia Vision Laboratory (CAVE), which develops computational imaging and computer vision systems. Much of the technology he has built is currently being used in consumer products such as smartphones as well as industrial vision systems for factory automation.
The Indian National Academy of Engineering, established in 1987, is an exclusive, autonomous society in the field of engineering and technology, supported by the government of India. The Academy covers all contemporary domains of engineering and has the mission of promoting excellence in engineering and technology and the creation of solutions to challenges of national and global importance.
“Having received my first engineering degree in India, this recognition by the Indian National Academy of Engineering has special meaning to me,” said Nayar, who earned his electrical engineering degree from the Birla Institute of Technology in Ranchi, India. “It is a real honor and I believe it will give me the opportunity to forge new collaborations with my colleagues in India.”
In recognition of his pioneering work on imaging and vision, Nayar was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2008, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011, and the National Academy of Inventors in 2015. Nayar joined Columbia Engineering in 1991 and has also been honored for his talents as an educator—he received the Great Teacher Award from Columbia University in 2006 and the Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award from the Columbia Engineering Alumni Association in 2015.