Prof. Prasad Krishna
Prof. Prasad Krishna is the recipient of the prestigious Kirloskar Gold Medal and the Sir M. Visvesvaraya Memorial Prize from the University of Mysore for securing the first rank in the B.Tech. Programme in Mechanical Engineering (1983) at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal (formerly Karnataka Regional Engineering College). He received his Master's degree (M.Tech.) in Manufacturing (1990) from IIT Madras, winning two silver medals and the Prof. Sen Gupto Prize for the best academic performance in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He obtained his doctoral degree in Manufacturing (2001) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, an internationally recognised centre of excellence in manufacturing research.
Prof. Prasad Krishna has more than 43 years of professional experience across various sectors, including additive manufacturing, precision machine tool design and development, metal casting and teaching courses in manufacturing, design, and materials engineering. He has served prestigious organisations such as TVS Sundaram Clayton Pvt. Ltd., Hosur, as a Trainee Engineer; the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (DRDO), Bengaluru, as Scientist-B; the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (ISRO), Thiruvananthapuram, as Scientist-SB; HMT Ltd., Kochi, as a Design Engineer (1984–1991); NIT Calicut as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering (1991-2002); the National University of Singapore as a Research Assistant; the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, as a Visiting Research Investigator and Graduate Student Research Assistant; NIT Calicut as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering (2002-2009); and the All India Council for Technical Education as Advisor-I, Quality Assurance Bureau, and Member Secretary, National Board of Accreditation (NBA), during 2005–2008.
He has delivered several presentations on Indian technical education and quality assurance and accreditation-related issues in collaboration with various national and international organisations and charitable societies, including the British Council, Canadian High Commission, Irish Embassy, EduFrance, New Zealand High Commission, Confederation of Indian Industry, Ministry of Power, ASSOCHAM, FICCI, EPSI, ISTE, DST, FIEO, Institution of Engineers (India), Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. He is also the recipient of several honours and awards in recognition of his academic excellence.
He has published more than 120 articles in journals and conference proceedings in India and abroad, supervised eleven Ph.D. scholars, and is currently guiding three Ph.D. scholars. During 2009-2018, he served as a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, his alma mater. He is a member of several professional organisations, including ISTE, CSI, and the Institution of Engineers. He represented India on the University Quality Assurance International Board (UQAIB) of the Government of Dubai from 2008 to 2015. He also served as the World Bank-funded TEQIP Coordinator at NITK from 2007 to 2014 and as Dean (Alumni Affairs and Institutional Relations) from 2016 to 2018. He has served as a board member of several national institutes, including NIT Kurukshetra, NIT Jalandhar, SVNIT Surat, and SPA, New Delhi. He served as Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 2013 to 2015 at NITK Surathkal. During 2018-2026, he served as a Professor in the HAG scale in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NITK Surathkal. Prof. Prasad Krishna is currently serving as the Director of the National Institute of Technology Calicut, since October 2021 and holding additional charge of Director at Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kottayam since October 2024. He held the additional charge of Director, NITK, Surathkal during 2022-2023. He is also a Heartfulness Meditation Trainer for spiritual practice under the Sahaj Marg system of simplified Raja Yoga.
