Guwahati, Oct. 20 -- Prof. Sudhakar Nadkarni, a pioneer of design education in India who helped establish the Department of Design at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, died in Mumbai on Monday. He was 88.

Nadkarni is credited with introducing and institutionalising design thinking in India. Over a career spanning more than six decades, he helped shape design education at leading institutions, promoting design as a systematic approach to addressing practical, social and developmental challenges rather than merely an applied art.

At IIT Guwahati, Nadkarni helped establish the Department of Design in 1997 and developed its first undergraduate design curriculum. His approach emphasised sustainability and the use of local re...