Mumbai, March 2021: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, a part of the USD 19.4 billion Mahindra Group, today announced that Mr. R Velusamy, Chief of Global Product Development, has been appointed ‘Industry Chair’ at the esteemed Virginia Tech India Centre. Mr. Velusamy in his honorary role will create a vibrant research, entrepreneurial and Innovation ecosystem in the Asian region.
Outreach and International Affairs plays a major part in advancing Virginia Tech’s international agenda to strengthen its global presence. Virginia Tech India is one of the five global centers, focusing on research, innovation and advanced training.
On his appointment, Mr. R Velusamy said, “I am greatly honoured with this appointment and it is humbling to have the support of the administration at Virgina Tech India Centre and my peers at Mahindra. The accomplishments of the Centre and its stakeholders are testament to the work ethic and cooperation of everyone. The key objective will be to maintain the legacy of Virgina Tech India Centre, while expanding research in a strategic and focused manner.”
Dr. Padmanabhan, Director, Virginia Tech India Centre said, “We are delighted to welcome Mr. Velusamy to Virgina Tech India Centre. His illustrious career spanning 24+ years in Automotive research will ensure that our Centre’s quest for excellence in research and development continues along with our global research Chair Dr. Roop Mahajan who is leading the India Research Centre in various new age materials. We are sure that under his expert guidance, we will be able to set new benchmarks.”
Mr. Velusamy was the chief architect behind mHawk – Mahindra’s first-ever high-speed diesel engine in the 2.0 lit/2.2 lit category, the mHawk engine powers several of Mahindra’s flagship products, including the Scorpio, XUV500, Bolero, amongst others. The engines developed during his tenure follow stringent emission regulations, including BS 6 and E-VI. In the overall Vehicle Development at Mahindra, Mr. Velusamy has promoted many new initiatives in both simulation and Physical Development to achieve vehicle level attribute targets on Durability & Dynamics, Crash, and NVH in a methodical way, ensuring all the recent new product launches meet GNCAP targets on Safety.
Mr. Velusamy is a member of SAE and he has been conferred with prestigious awards for his contributions to the Automotive Industry and one of them as ‘Champion of Chennai’ for the Powertrain field. Recently, he was named among the Top Ten Personalities in Tamil Nadu by the VIKATAN Group. Mr. Velusamy also serves as Vice-Chairman – SIAM Emission & Conservation Committee.
Mr. Velusamy is a Mechanical Engineer from MIT, Chennai and he is an alumnus of ‘Wharton Business School’ and the ‘Michigan Ross School of Business’, and a technical stalwart with over 24 years of experience.
