Chennai/New Delhi:
Indian-origin genius Sriram Krishnan, who has been appointed senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence in the incoming Trump administration, was ahead of his time when he was in college, Mr Krishnan’s professor Dr G Vadivu told NDTV.
Dr Vadivu is head of department of science and big data in Tamil Nadu’s SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST).
“He (Mr Krishnan) learned a lot and he got interested in computing languages. He learned the Python programming language on his own and shared his knowledge with the faculty like me. These are new languages useful for new technologies like artificial intelligence and data science,” Dr Vadivu told NDTV.
“While it was too early for us to know about artificial intelligence, he was into that kind of parallel programming and distributed computing with Python. We are very happy to know that he is into that career path from his undergraduate period till this time. He was recruited by Microsoft directly after his undergraduate studies,” Dr Vadivu, who teaches at SRMIST’s campus in Chennai’s Kattankulathur, said.
US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Mr Krishnan, 41, as senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Dr Vadivu said Mr Krishnan learned everything by himself.
“He was very interested in learning new things on his own… We taught common core subjects such as computer architecture or operating systems, something basic for computer science and engineering students. He was, however, innovative and learned new technologies on his own. We felt he would definitely achieve something great in future,” the SRMIST professor told NDTV.
After Microsoft, which he joined right after graduation, Mr Krishnan went on to work at Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) under Elon Musk.
Dr Vadivu said Mr Krishnan never forgot his alma mater.
“He loved to come here and meet the faculty and his juniors. He came to the SRMIST campus many times and gave seminars and sessions for junior students,” she said.
Mr Krishnan in a post on X acknowledged President-elect Trump’s offer and expressed gratitude for the opportunity.
“I’m honoured to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI working closely with David Sacks. Thank you, Donald Trump, for this opportunity,” he said.
Mr Krishnan and his wife Aarthi Ramamurthy host the podcast ‘The Aarthi and Sriram Show’.