From left: Satendra Thakur (IES-2006, 12th rank), Major Raman, Prof. Gautam Vishwas, Prof. R K Thareja, Prof. S G Dhande, Dirctor, IIT Kanpur, me, Rohit Patel and Sandeep Kundu on the occasion of high tea, evening of convocation, 1st June 2007, IIT Kanpur.

Professor Dhande, an eminent educationist of the contemporary age is a luminary in the field of Computer Aided Design (CAD). He has been
regarded as the pioneer of this field in India. He has been sphere-heading the growth of Computer Aided Design for the benefit of Automobile and
Aerospace Engineering as well as Software industry, besides grooming valuable human resource in this area. He is also credited with his pioneering work in the fields of Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Tooling and Reverse Engineering. AUTOLAY, an innovative CAD technology, developed for Aeronautical Development Agency by Professor Dhande is being used actively by the leading aircraft manufacturers of the world. AUOTOLAY is also used for the making of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in India.

As Director of IIT Kanpur, he has undertaken several bold and innovative steps in the field of technical education. With his academic and administrative vision he extended all support to the Govt. of India for incubating a new generation Institute, PDPM IIITDM Jabalpur instilling
the traditional values and order of the IIT system. This Institute is being helped in different areas as part of the protocol signed by the Prime
Ministers of India and Japan. Another new Institute called Indian Institute of Saddlery Technology and Export Management (IISTEM) at Banther near Kanpur under the aegis of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India has been established by Professor Dhande, in order to harness the traditional technology available in the region. New initiatives like Biological Sciences and Bio Engineering, Environment and Earth system Sciences under MP LAD Scheme have been undertaken at IIT Kanpur giving a best model for public-public partnership in a sustainable way.                      

Development of Samtel Centre for Display Technology at IIT Kanpur is a good example of industry-academia interaction to achieve strategic cooperation. A break-through invention of a new algorithm to know if a given number is a prime number, by Prof. Manindra Agarwal and his two students took this Institute to world fame where he shoulders the yoke. Projects of fame like Nano-technology Centre, Frontiers of Engineering, RFID, Computer Security, Homeland Security, Focused Ion Beam (FIB), IDFC Infrastructure scheme hold mirror for his sincere endeavors for transforming the world of technical education. Such a drive of Professor Dhande deserves true appreciation. The Railway Technology Mission, a prestigious mission initiative of the Government of India is propelled under his Chairmanship with a vision plan for development of indigenous technologies for the Railway safety system.

His inclusion in the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India is a true recognition for his yeomen work in the area of Applied Science and Technology, Information and Communication Technologies, Engineering & Science education and research. He has been extending the executive help in preparing the vision documents, charters and background papers for helping the Govt. of India in establishment of Indian Institutes of Science for Education & Research (IISER) at Pune & Kolkota. As a member of the Governing Body of the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, Indo-French Cooperation Program, Indo-Japan Coordination Programs etc., the depth of his contributions are unfathomed. He actively participated in the efforts of Government of India for establishing Indo-French Cyber University. He profusely helped in spelling out Information Technology policy of the Government of Uttar Pradesh as a member of the IT Sub-committee UP Development Council for the balanced development of the slow-paced regions of the state.                                                                     

Dr. Dhande always contemplated on harnessing the technology for the benefit of rural Indian folks by designing different innovative projects projects like Infothella and Digital Mandi for agriculture farmers, technology development for Footwear industry and handicrafts , Telemedicine for healthcare of rural masses, indigenous Saddle Tree designing etc. under the initiative of Media Lab Asia as its Technical Director. A project called Digital Heritage is on anvil under tie up with a team of archaeologists in Allahabad University, for  preservation of traditional Indian heritage using the modern technologies. Professor Dhande’s achievements as an academician, researcher, administrator and visionary are all directed towards meeting the ultimate societal objectives of balanced growth in all spheres with the help of the powerful tool of technical education and research.