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Sankar Kumar Pal (born 1950) is an Indian computer scientist. He has served as Director and is currently the president of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata. He is an ANRF Prime Minister Professor of the Government of India, currently hosted at IIIT Bhubaneswar.

His research includes pattern recognition, image processing, fuzzy neural networks, rough fuzzy hybridization, soft computing, granular mining, and machine intelligence. His work focuses on fuzzy set theory, neuro-fuzzy systems, and rough-fuzzy computing for uncertainty modelling, with applications in pattern recognition, image processing, machine learning, knowledge-based systems, and data mining. He founded the Machine Intelligence Unit in 1993 and the Center for Soft Computing Research in 2004, both at ISI.[1]

He received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1990. In 2013, he was awarded the Padma Shri in Science and Engineering by the President of India for his contributions in machine intelligence.[2][3]

Education and career

Pal studied at the University of Calcutta, earning a BSc in physics (1969), a BTech (1972), and an MTech (1974) in radio physics and electronics.[4] He received a PhD in radio physics and electronics from Rajabazar Science College, University of Calcutta in 1979 as a student of Indian Statistical Institute and another PhD in electrical engineering along with the Diploma of Imperial College from Imperial College London in 1982. His first PhD focused on pattern recognition,[5] and the second on image processing.[6]

After his PhD at Imperial College London as a Commonwealth Scholar, he was a postdoctoral fellow (1982–1983) as a UK Medical Research Council Fellow. Pal worked at the University of California, Berkeley and University of Maryland, College Park (1986–1987) as a Fulbright Fellow, and at the NASA Johnson Space Center (1990–1992 and 1994) as a US National Research Council Senior Resident Research Associate. He also held visiting positions at the US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., and several universities in Australia, Poland, Italy, France, New Zealand, Japan, and Hong Kong. He established collaborations with institutions such as University of Warsaw (1997–2017), University of Naples Federico II (2004–2020), INSEAD (2001–2013), and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (1999–2008).[7][8]

Pal joined Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, as a CSIR senior research fellow in 1975, became professor in 1987, distinguished scientist in 1998, director (2005–2010), and President (2022–2026).[9] He retired from ISI as a distinguished scientist in 2015. He was the first computer scientist to serve as ISI director and the first former employee elected as ISI president.[10][11][12]

He has co-authored over 500 publications, 21 books, and 20 conference proceedings,[13] holds two U.S. patents, and has served as editor for more than 20 journals in computer science and engineering.[12]

His book, Fuzzy Mathematical Approach to Pattern Recognition,[14] published by John Wiley & Sons (Halsted Press),[15] has been translated into Indonesian and Chinese.

Pal introduced Soft Computing research in India in the mid-1990s. The Department of Science and Technology established the Center for Soft Computing Research (CSCR) in 2004 at ISI, with Pal as Principal Investigator. CSCR became an Associate Institute of ISI in 2010.[12]

During his directorship (2005–2010), ISI established the Chennai and North Eastern Centers and implemented revised pay scales for faculty. ISI also celebrated P.C. Mahalanobis’s birthday as National Statistics Day from 2006.

Pal has served as founding president of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, Kolkata Chapter.[12] The Biennial International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence (PReMI) originated from the Machine Intelligence Unit of ISI, Kolkata in 2005 under his guidance.

Family

Pal was born on 13 September 1950 to Sunity Kumar Pal and Parul Bala Pal. He is the second of five siblings and has two sons, Dhiman Sankar Pal and Anshuman Sankar Pal, with his wife, Amita Pal.

Awards and recognition

Pal has received numerous awards, including:

Pal is an elected fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, TWAS, International Association for Pattern Recognition, International Fuzzy Systems Association, International Rough Set Society, Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association, International Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance, Web Intelligence Academy (founding fellow), Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences,The National Academy of Sciences, India, and Indian National Academy of Engineering.[10][11] He is a foreign member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He is the 14th President of Indian Statistical Institute and a vice president of the International Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance.[12][1]

References

  1. ^ a b “Biography”. www.isical.ac.in. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b NetIndian News Network (5 April 2013). “President confers Padma Awards on 54 personalities”. NetIndian. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  3. ^ F wire (26 January 2013). “Padma Shri awardee favours honours to scientists”. Firstpost. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  4. ^ “Sankar Kumar Pal”. Edubilla.com. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  5. ^ Pal, S.K. (1978). Studies on the application of fuzzy set-theoretic approach in some problems of pattern recognition and man-machine communication by voice (Ph.D. thesis). Univ. Calcutta.
  6. ^ Pal, S.K. (1982). Fuzzy set theory in grey tone image processing (Ph.D. thesis). Imperial College London: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
  7. ^ “European Collaboration”. www.isical.ac.in. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  8. ^ “Complete Bio-Data”. www.isical.ac.in. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  9. ^ “Biography”. www.isical.ac.in. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  10. ^ a b KES International (23–25 June 2010). “Keynote Speakers at KES-AMSTA 2010”. KES AMSTA. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  11. ^ a b Springer. “Professor, Pal, Sankar Kumar: SHort Biography”. springer.com. Springer Science+Business Media. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d e INSA. “Indian Fellow”. Indian National Science Academy. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  13. ^ “Books Published”. www.isical.ac.in. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  14. ^ Pal, Sankar K.; Majumder, Dwijesh Dutta (1986). Fuzzy Mathematical Approach to Pattern Recognition. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-85226-193-4.
  15. ^ “Publishers – Halstead Press in Sydney and Canberra”. Halstead Press. Retrieved 15 February 2026.