Oral-History:Sanjit Mitra
About Sanjit Mitra
Dr. Sanjit Kumar Mitra was born November 26, 1935 in India, where he received his elementary and secondary education. He graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Utkal University in 1953. He then proceeded to the University of Calcutta, where he received his Master of Science degree in Radio Physics and Electronics in 1956. Moving to California to pursue more graduate work in computer engineering, Mitra earned a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He then spent brief periods of time working at Bell Labs before devoting himself to his present fruitful academic career. Mitra was an EE professor at Cornell University from 1962 to 1965, and then with the University of California, Davis before moving to his present career position at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Mitra became a full professor in 1971, and the chairman of UCSB's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His work focuses on filter design and digital signal processing for computer networks. Mitra has written a dozen book chapters and has written or co-written more than 400 journal and conference papers and twelve books. He holds several patents, and has lectured and researched internationally. Mitra is a member of the IEEE and has served as the Circuits and Systems Society's President.
The interview spans Mitra's pathbreaking career, focusing on his years as an academic. Mitra discusses his collegiate and graduate education in electrical engineering, and praises his mentors Ernest Kuh and Charles Desoer. He explains much of his work with computer filter design and his contributions to the signal-processing field. Mitra mentions pioneers in signal processing, including some of his former students and academic collaborators. He discusses the evolution of the University of California, Santa Barbara's computer engineering program and describes some of his many appointments abroad. Mitra evaluates the IEEE and speculates on how it might be improved. The interview concludes with Mitra's opinions on the need for more IEEE continuing education work and for updated university curricula.
About the Interview
SANJIT MITRA: An Interview Conducted by Frederik Nebeker, Center for the History of Electrical Engineering, 22 February 1995
Interview #237 for the Center for the History of Electrical Engineering, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
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It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows:
Interview
Sanjit Mitra, an oral history conducted in 1995 by Frederik Nebeker, IEEE History Center, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Interview: Sanjit Mitra
Interviewer: Frederik Nebeker
Place: Santa Barbara, California
Date: 22 February 1995