Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a public research institute and university in Kolkata's northern outskirt of Baranagar, India founded by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1931. It is one of the oldest and prestigious institution focused on Statistics, and its early reputation led it to being adopted as a model for the first US institute of statistics set up at the Research Triangle, North Carolina by Gertrude Mary Cox. Its activities are research, teaching, and practise of statistics to the natural sciences and social sciences. Originally affiliated with the University of Calcutta, the institute was declared an Institute of National Importance in 1959. The main campus and headquarters is located in Baranagar, in suburban Kolkata. The campuses at Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore focus on teaching, and the institute has offices in seven other locations throughout India engaging in consultancy in statistical process control and operations research. The Director is Professor Bimal Kumar Roy and the Dean of Studies is Professor Bhabani Prasad Sinha.