Professor S. Venkateswaran, Emeritus-cum-advisor, Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, passed away on May 15, 2010 after a brief illness. A brilliant academician, Prof. Venkateswaran was instrumental in bringing about the Sankara Nethralaya-BITS collaboration in offering the four-year BS optometry degree. During his tenure as Director, BITS, Pilani, he also spearheaded the introduction of several other programmes, including M.Phil and PhD in Optometry, BSOA and MSMLT programmes at the Elite School of Optometry and Sankara Nethralaya. He was part of the Board of Studies at the Elite School of Optometry.
A fine human being, his zest for pursuing academic excellence will be missed by all at Sankara Nethralaya.
I am deeply shocked to know about the sad demise of my dear friend and boss Prof. S. Venkateswaran. I know him since early sixties. He was a person with lot of wisdom. I worked with him from early sixties to 1987 and then for one year from 1997 to 1998. May his soul rest in peace.