I have worked in the industry prior to graduate school. I worked for Engineers India Limited, an engineering consultancy working in the area of oil and gas. It was a great learning experience, but I wanted the independence and freedom to explore, which eventually led to a career in academia. The industry typically has a very strict hierarchy and there is no latitude. By and large, you are confined by a specific project and I wanted to take more ownership of what I did. But academia, especially at IIT Bombay which is a flat organization with minimal bureaucracy, gave me the freedom to explore. I have the freedom to teach courses and follow my research passions. I can apply for funding as I need or collaborate with the industry on projects.

I have four research verticals:

• The first one involves scaling down the macroscale machining process to the microscale. We can use tools that are much smaller than human hair to create features in hard metals and alloys. These find applications in biomedical devices, space, defence, and electronics.
• The second area is flexible reconfigurable fibre laser manufacturing. We use fibre lasers for additive manufacturing, deep hole drilling, and cutting by using different process heads with the same laser source. One of the focus areas in this vertical is the repair of high-value moulds using laser-directed energy deposition.
• The third vertical involves process modelling to understand the physical phenomena underlying the process, which can help us improve and optimize the process.
• The fourth vertical involves the systems integration of special-purpose machines. There is a huge technology gap in the area of special-purpose machines between the Indian industry and their global counterparts. This vertical is focused on increasing the global competitiveness of the Indian Industry by bridging this technology deficit.

Our research has a lot of practical applications that have a societal impact. Micromachining can be used for fabricating microneedle arrays for painless drug delivery, microfluidic devices for diagnostics, and micro-moulds for lenses. These can be immensely helpful in improving the quality of patient care. The repair and restoration of moulds is another area where there is a huge environmental impact. By extending the life cycle of the mould we are marching towards sustainable manufacturing. The energy and resources associated with the manufacture of a new product are saved which aids in reducing the overall carbon footprint.

Basically, these needles are on a patch. There are a whole bunch of micron size protrusions – typically a couple of 100-micron protrusions with a 30-micron tip and 60-micron bottom. When you put them on a patient, it gets into their bodies and delivers the drug without them feeling any pain. It’s like a painless injection. So we can use it to vaccinate people, especially children.

Now all 6 are awarded. 2 US and 4 Indian patents. Unfortunately, getting an Indian patent is usually a long-drawn exercise. We have to draft a statement of novelty and non-obviousness. The patent could be a complete system or a process. IIT Bombay provides very good support in terms of patent attorneys and has a fairly streamlined process for invention disclosure and filing of the patent. It is also important that the patents are backed by the industry. Both our US patents have been filed with industry partners.

Sure. One of my patents is with CEAT Tyres. We created a robotic machine, which will clean the vents of a tire mould. Basically, when you mould the tire over thousands of times the vents get clogged and the tire quality deteriorates. So, we fire a nanosecond pulsed laser beam to clean the clogged vent by vaporizing the rubber and the blow away the debris with a high-speed air jet. This robotic machine has an automated vision system to identify the vents. CEAT has the technology now and when they commercialize it, they will pay us a royalty.

The idea behind patenting is that the products should eventually be commercialized and made available in the marketplace. That is the end game. But this is not an easy task and transmission of ideas to a product does not always happen as you plan. So the struggle is to patent ideas that have genuine market potential and that it’s backed by industry. My students also have a start-up to commercialize the products that have come out of the research in the lab.

While patenting is not a very difficult task by itself, my suggestion is that the student should have an endgame in mind. There should be either an industrial partner or they should be open to becoming an entrepreneur to bring the product to market. My opinion is that keeping a patent to just a level of an idea does not serve the purpose. IP creation should lead to a new product in the market.

The Institute has been extremely supportive of my academic research activities. The functionaries are always ready to support their colleagues in need. Without this enabling support, the faculty may not be able to deliver the goods. I have been extremely fortunate to have received support from the Institute functionaries and felt that it was my duty to serve the Institute and support my colleagues in the same way I had been supported despite the fact that one has to cut back on her/his research.

IIT Bombay’s ecosystem is very responsive. We have an amazingly flat organizational structure that provides both faculty and students unprecedented access to the Institute’s functionaries. You can raise any issue you face at the Departmental or Institute level, and rest assured that some action will be taken. The Department and IRCC routinely support any fund shortage for your research. In my experience, the ME department has been extremely supportive regarding funds and resources. We have a fairly robust system for the students comprising the faculty, the Dean (SA), and the Student Wellness Centre, who are always ready to help them through any academic or personal issue. In addition, we have excellent gymkhana facilities for recreational activities to beat the stress, which are open to students and faculty alike.

I like running and traveling. I am blessed to stay on such a beautiful campus. I enjoy the green and serene environment, especially during my early morning long-distance runs.

I look forward to mentoring many more generations of students who are equipped to be stakeholders in our country’s progress. For me – my output is not research papers but my students. My students are an example of HR creation. My focus is not just on writing academic papers, and patenting products but it’s more on creating quality manpower. I want to focus my attention on creating the next generation of scientists, researchers, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs who will then go on to create solutions that plague mankind. I want my students to make a mark in the world and then pay it forward. That’s how progress happens in any country.