PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Nikhil Ranjan Pal

Also known as Nikhil R. Pal, Nikhil Pal

Nikhil Ranjan Pal is a researcher in computational intelligence whose work covers fuzzy systems, neural networks and feature selection. He joined the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata in 1987, earned his PhD there in 1991, and edited the IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems as Editor-in-Chief from 2005 to 2010. In the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, he was Vice-President for Publications from 2013 to 2016, received the Fuzzy Systems Pioneer Award in 2015, served as President for 2018–2019, and received its Meritorious Service Award in 2021. The Indian National Academy of Engineering elected him a Fellow in 2002, and The World Academy of Sciences elected him in 2016. He is a professor at Techno India University in Kolkata, having been a professor at the Indian Statistical Institute until March 2024 and founding head of its Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Now at
Indian Statistical Institute, Techno India University and South Asian University
Badges

Timeline

  1. 1987–1991

    Joining the Indian Statistical Institute

    He joins the Electronics and Communication Sciences Unit of the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata in 1987 and earns his PhD at the institute in 1991. His degrees cover physics, operations research and computer science.

  2. 2002–2016

    Academy and society fellowships

    He is elected a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in 2002, becomes an IEEE Fellow in 2005, a Fellow of the International Fuzzy Systems Association in 2009 and a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 2011. The World Academy of Sciences elects him in 2016 to its section on information and data sciences and technologies.

  3. 2005–2010

    Editing IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems

    He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems from January 2005 to December 2010.

  4. 2013–2016

    CIS publications and Pioneer Award

    He serves as Vice-President for Publications of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society from 2013 to 2016. The society gives him its Fuzzy Systems Pioneer Award in 2015.

  5. By 2017

    Chair and visiting professorships

    His posts abroad by 2017 include a Chair Professorship at National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan and visiting professorships at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan and the University of West Florida in the United States.

  6. 2017–2023

    Feature selection with neural networks

    In 2017, he lectures at Huazhong University of Science and Technology on neural and neuro-fuzzy methods for dimensionality reduction and for feature and sensor selection with controlled redundancy. In 2023, he coauthors with Aytijhya Saha an arXiv paper that presents an embedded feature selection method based on a multilayer perceptron and extends it to group-feature or sensor selection with control over redundancy.

  7. 2018–2021

    CIS presidency and service award

    He is President-Elect of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society in 2017 and serves as its President for 2018–2019. The society gives him its Meritorious Service Award in 2021.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor at Techno India University

    His professorship in the Electronics and Communication Sciences Unit of the Indian Statistical Institute runs from 2011 to March 2024, and he is founding head of the institute's Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. He is a professor at Techno India University in Kolkata and an honorary visiting professor at South Asian University in New Delhi, and he sits on the advisory committee of the Techno India University conference ICCECE 2026.

Career

  1. Since 1987Indian Statistical InstituteFounding Head, Professor
  2. NowTechno India UniversityProfessor
  3. NowSouth Asian UniversityHonorary Visiting Professor
  4. National Chiao Tung UniversityChair Professor
  5. RIKENVisiting Professor
  6. University of West FloridaVisiting Professor

Education

  1. 1991Indian Statistical InstitutePhD

From the biography.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Indian Statistical Institute. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Indian Statistical Institute. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Indian Statistical Institute. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.
  4. Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labsIncludes RIKEN. Across 15,811 dated work stays (6,529 people), median role tenure runs from 6 years at universities to 2 years at frontier labs. We compare all five organization types, starting decades from the 1970s to the 2020s, and the organizations that keep people longest.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Nikhil Ranjan Pal yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Prof Nikhil Ranjan Pal - VIDWAN profile vidwan.inflibnet.ac.in. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Expert Profile View - Prof. Nikhil Ranjan PAL (Indian National Academy of Engineering) inae.in. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Pal, Nikhil Ranjan | TWAS twas.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Nikhil Pal | IEEETV ieeetvdev.ieee.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. Dimensionality Reduction with Controlled Redundancy Using Neural and Neuro-fuzzy Framework (Huazhong University of Science and Technology) aia.hust.edu.cn. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Group-Feature (Sensor) Selection With Controlled Redundancy Using Neural Networks arxiv.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, Kolkata Chapter: Awards/Honours ewh.ieee.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. Lifeboat Foundation Bios: Professor Nikhil R. Pal lifeboat.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  9. Equipping Neural Networks for the Open World: Addressing Explainability and Boundaries (Xiamen University) informatics.xmu.edu.cn. Checked 22 October 2026.
  10. ICCECE 2026: International Conference on Computer, Electrical & Communication Engineering easychair.org. Checked 22 October 2026.