Meet our Vice Chancellor Dr. V D Abraham

Dr. VD Abraham

Vice Chancellor, Oriental University, Indore

Born and brought-up at Mavelikara, a small town in the Alleppy district of Kerala, Dr. VD Abraham has done BTech (Electronics) and MTech (Communication) from JNU, New Delhi and MBA (Operation Management) & PhD (Electronic Communication) from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad. He has undergone many certification and skill development/management courses from reputed institutions.

Association with the Defence Services

Dr. VD Abraham joined the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in 1979 and commissioned to The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering. After an eventful and colourful career spanning well over three decades, he took retirement as Brigadier in May, 2013.

Administrative Activities

Dr. VD Abraham had coveted appointments of ADC to Governor, J&K from 1987 to 1990. Then, as aColonel (Selection Grade), he commanded an EME Battalion of a Division and, thereafter, as Chief Maintainability Engineer, Dean Faculty of Inst Tech and Deputy Director – EMEof Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka Area. Before taking retirement, he was Brigadier, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers of Northern Command at Jammu & Kashmir.

Academic Activities

A well-informed educationist,  Dr. Abraham has a passion for teaching. In 1982, he commenced this activity at the Bhopal EME Centre as Lecturer. He was Head of the Department of Communication and Registrar of the Military College of EME from 1997 to 2000.

Later, he was Dean of Faculty of Instrumentation Technology, Army Engineering College at Vadodara in Gujarat from 2004 to 2007.After taking retirement from the Indian Army he joined Oriental University, Indore as Pro-Vice-Chancellor in June, 2013.

Current Assignments

In Sep 2013, Dr. Abraham has taken over the position of Vice-Chancellor in the Oriental University, Indore. A Fellow Member of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), he has been elected to its Governing Council, and is the Chairman of the Innovation and Resource Generation Committee. He is also a Fellow Member of the Institution of Engineers and a Life Member of ISTE and a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and All India Management Association (AIMA) and is on the expert panel as a PhD Guide of MS University, Vadodara and Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu.

A reputed orator, he is a visiting professor and PhD thesis evaluator for various universities. His fields of interest are Philosophy, ECE subjects, Wireless Technology, Thermal imagers and subjects of Electronic Communication & Personnel Management.

Research Work

As a Dy leader to 15th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica for 16 months during 1995 – 1997, Dr. Abraham has worked on satellite based navigation activities and spearheaded the HF Communication link from Antarctica to the Main land. These two projects have benefited the expedition activities of the country immensely.

His innovative contributions include (i) Indigenization of equipment / instruments / components like Infantry Mortar Laying Instrument (IMLI)as substitute to a German origin optical Instrument, (ii) Indigenization of the Dewar Detector Cooler with the help of BARC Trombay, (iii) Design and development of a multipurpose Test Station for all types of Thermal imagers, and Night sight for INSAS rifle.

Awards & Recognition

Dr. Abraham has received few national and international awards, including Sena Medal, a gallantry award from the President of India on 15 Aug 1996, in recognition of his feat of courage in saving the life of officer at the ice-cold Antarctica Ocean, COAS Commendation, and twice the Army Commanders’ commendation and IEEE best paper 2000 Medal.

He respects the basic principles of all the major religions of the world. The Chunakara Mahadevar Temple at his hometown is an important part of his family and he has been associated with the temple since childhood. The Board of Trustee of the Temple has recently honoured him for his achievements.

Papers Published 

Dr. Abraham has done research on Optimization of Auxiliary and CDMA Communication Counteractant to polar effects of Antarctica. He has published over 55 papers in conferences, international and national journals of repute (including IEEE), authored a book Tryst with Technology, reviewed Engineering Text books on Communications & guided a number of MBA and PhD students.