MIT South Asian Timeline
Birendra Chandra Gupta, Senior Portfolio, 1907
- 1861 - MIT Founded
- 1882 - 1st South Asian at MIT (Special Student), Keshav Malhar Bhat
- 1907 - 1st South Asian Undergratduate student (Bengal, India), Birendra Chandra Gupta 1907, SM 1922
- 1916 - 1st South Asian Graduate student (Bengal, India), Ram Prasad ScD 1922
- 1917 - Asiatic Barred Zone Act prohibits immigration from Asia to US
- 1923 - US Supreme Court ruling denaturalizes 50 American citizens of South Asian origin
- 1934 - 1st South Asian American student at MIT (San Francisco, CA), Magan Bagai SM 1934
- 1945 - International student admissions limited to 300 (till 1948)
- 1946 - Luce-Cellar Act reopens immigration from Asia (limited to 100/year from South Asia)
Prof. Amar Gopal Bose, Electrical Engineering (1955-01) ’51, SM ’52, ScD ’56 Courtesy of the MIT Museum
- 1947 - 1st Pakistani student at MIT, Ahmad S. Navaz SM 1947, ScD 1949
- 1947 - India and Pakistan gain Independence
- 1948 - MIT introduces 10% cap on International student admissions (till 1952 for graduate students; cap constinues till today for incoming undergraduate class)
- 1948 - Sri Lanka gains Independence
- 1949 - Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visits MIT, Jawaharlal Nehru's Goodwill Tour, 1949
- 1950 - 1st Sri Lankan student at MIT, Edwin Ethelbert Jeya Raj SM 1950
- 1950 - Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan visits MIT, Liaquat Ali Khan's State Visit, 1950
- 1955 - 1st South Asian joins faculty, Prof. Amar Gopal Bose (1955-2001) 1950, SM 1952, ScD 1956
Almitra Pheroze (Sidhwa) Patel practicing gas welding of steel plates, one of the metal working techniques she learned in laboratory sessions. Courtesy of the MIT Museum
- 1958 - 1st South Asian woman receives BS at MIT, Almitra P. (Sidhwa) Patel 1958, SM 1959
- 1960 - Indian Institute of Management - Calcutta collaboration with Sloan School of Management
- 1962 - Founding of MIT Sangam
- 1962 - Kanpur Indo-American Program (IIT-Kanpur) collaboration with School of Engineering, The Indian Institutes of Technology
- 1964 - US Civil Rights Act ends segregation
- 1965 - US Immigration and Nationality Act lifts national origin quota and prioritizes immigration of specialized skills individuals and their families
- 1971 - Bangladesh independence
- 1972 - 1st Bangladeshi student at MIT, Ajmal Hayat Ahmad, MAA 1972
- 1973 - 1st South Asian woman joins faculty, Prof. Prabha Iyengar Sridharan (1973-76)
- 1975 - 1st woman from Bangladesh graduates from MIT, Saeqa Dil 1974
- 1977 - 1st woman from Pakistan graduates from MIT, Fareena Sultan SM 1977
- 1982 - 1st Sri Lankan woman graduates from MIT, Vasanthy Sivasundaram SM 1982
Professor Prabha Sridharan Courtesy of Vilas Sridharan
- 1998 - MISTI MIT-India founded (SHASS)
- 2002 - 1st woman from Nepal graduates from MIT, Sushila Maharajan MCP 2002
- 2003 - J-Pal founded (SHASS)
- 2003 - MIT Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (SA+P)
- 2010 - India Lab (Sloan) established
- 2015 - MIT Nepal Initiative started (SHASS)