The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Engineering has appointed an academic of Indian origin, Anantha Chandrakasan, its dean. He will take charge of the post from July 1.

Chandrakasan has been with the Cambridge-based university since 1994. He is currently the head of MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, a post he has held since 2011.

He is credited with spearheading a number of projects that helped create opportunities for students, postdocs and faculty to conduct research, look into entrepreneurial ideas and engage with the EECS department, which is the institute’s largest academic department, MIT News reported.

“Anantha balances his intellectual creativity and infectious energy with a remarkable ability to deeply listen to, learn from and integrate other people’s views into a compelling vision,” MIT President L Rafael Reif said. “I am confident Anantha will guide the School of Engineering to maintain and enhance its position of leadership. And I believe that in the process, he will help make all of MIT stronger, too.”