Pan IIT USA Recognizes Avaya Labs' Ravi Sethi for Technology Leadership

BASKING RIDGE, NJ--(Marketwire - October 9, 2009) - The leader of Avaya Labs Research was awarded the Pan IIT American Leadership Award, an honor that recognizes exceptional achievements and contributions to American society by Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) alumni.

Dr. Ravi Sethi, president, Avaya Labs, received the coveted Technology Leadership Award for his work in computing and mathematical sciences. In addition to overseeing Avaya Labs Research, Sethi is known as the co-author of the renowned book "Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools" (published by Addison Wesley), known to students around the world as "The Dragon Book." This book teaches readers everything from syntax analysis to code generation and optimization.

"I am honored by this award," said Sethi. "Throughout my career at Avaya, I've been helped by colleagues who place a priority on innovation and technical excellence. As Avaya focuses on delivering new and exciting communications solutions, we're setting the stage for the next generation of technology leaders."

Award winners will be honored at a ceremony during the IIT Global Alumni conference being held in Chicago from October 9 - 11, 2009. The event features prominent speakers such as former U.S. President Bill Clinton and representatives from America's leading corporations including Caterpillar, Cisco and Microsoft.

"The IITs are renowned for producing some of the country's best global corporate leaders, academicians, technologists and entrepreneurs," said Jai Rawat, vice president of marketing for Pan IIT USA and Chair of the Awards Committee. "Pan IIT recognizes the important contributions these alumni have made in American job creation, education and philanthropic initiatives, and we want to honor these individuals through the IIT American Leadership Awards."

About Avaya

Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems. The company provides unified communications, contact centers, and related services directly and through its channel partners to leading businesses and organizations around the world. Enterprises of all sizes depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service and competitiveness. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

Contact Information: Media Relations: Jonathan Varman 908-953-6432 jvarman@avaya.com