Dr Keshav Dattatraya Nayak is a Distinguished Scientist and former Director General of DRDO, having superannuated in 2016 after more than three decades of distinguished service. He specialises in microelectronics and microwave engineering, MMIC design and fabrication, VLSI, ASIC design and fabrication, high-performance computing systems, security products, and cybersecurity, and is regarded as one of the leading experts in these domains.
In 1986, as a core member of the founding team, he helped establish GAETEC (Gallium Arsenide Enabling Technology Centre) at Hyderabad. In 1994, he went on to establish SITAR (Silicon Technology and Applied Research), India’s first 1-micron CMOS VLSI MIL-qualified silicon foundry, at Bangalore. SITAR has since been used for manufacturing silicon ICs, while GAETEC (space qualified) has produced gallium arsenide-based MMICs for communication and radar systems. As Director of Anurag and later as Chief Controller & DG, he continued to nurture both SITAR and GAETEC until his retirement in 2016.
Dr Nayak has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Integrated Guided Missile Programme (IGMDP) Award in 1989, the IETE-IRSI (83) Award in 1997–98 for outstanding contributions to radar and microwave systems, the Technology Day Invention Award by NRDC in 2000, DRDO Scientist of the Year in 2006, and the DRDO Technology Leadership Award in 2013.
He completed his PhD in Microelectronics from IIT Bombay in 1981. Between 1979 and 1981 he worked as a solar cell researcher, and from 1981 to 1984 he was part of the Advanced Centre for Research in Electronics (ACRE) at IIT Bombay. He has published over 40 technical papers in national and international journals and conferences, and has filed three copyrights.
Following his retirement from DRDO, Dr Nayak has remained active through a wide range of advisory and leadership roles, including:
- Member of the Consultation Group on Science & Technology at NITI Aayog
- Member of the Technical Advisory Committee, National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)
- Member of the National Fab Committee for establishing a semiconductor fab in India
- Co-chairman of the Fabless VLSI Design Mission under MeitY, Government of India
- Member of the Expert Committee for review of the SAIF Programme under DST, Government of India
- Associated with the Cyber-Physical Systems Programme under DST, Government of India
- Member of the Governing Council of NITTE Meenakshi Institutions
- Member of the Governing Council of the CR Rao Mathematics Institute in Hyderabad
- Advisory Committee Member for the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay
- Advisor to the Director of IIT Gandhinagar
- Advisory Board Member for L&T Semiconductors
- Conceptualised and guided the formation of a Centre of Excellence for microwave, millimetre wave, photonics, and RF ecosystems at the Central University of Kalaburagi
As an independent thinker, he continues to shape and steer industry-wide collaboration for the development of indigenous software-defined radio (SDR) IP, 5G communication technologies, trusted network products, and the broader semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystem, all with the vision of transforming India into an Atmanirbhar Bharat.