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6<br />

A QUARTERLY NEWS PUBLICATION FROM SRI VISHNU EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY<br />

GOAL POST<br />

C H A S I N G T H E D R E A M S<br />

It feels exciting to write as an alumnus, when many of<br />

you can always drop by or give me a call and I can talk<br />

all about it. Oh, don't scratch your heads, read on my<br />

friends.<br />

I was a fresh graduate from BVRIT Narsapur with an oncampus<br />

job and enjoying my vacation in late July<br />

before it would be time to join the MNC…Yeah! You<br />

know what? I am a Biomedical Engineer, but hey I made<br />

it to India's top IT firm…so why not? I was pretty neutral<br />

about the decision apart from my initial excitement and<br />

plans for the next two years running in my head. Soon,<br />

all my planning went kaput, that's lif e, and<br />

opportunities are thrown at you at unexpected<br />

intervals. I got to know that Prof. Alan Rux, heading<br />

Assistive Technology Laboratory at University of<br />

Massachusetts Lowell was visiting BVRIT to setup a<br />

similar center in our campus.<br />

When the professor arrived in Hyd<strong>era</strong>bad, even before<br />

we met I got a chance to talk to him over the phone; he<br />

wanted to see my final year project “Smart Hat”. In the<br />

final year, I was determined to work on a project that has<br />

direct application in Biomedical Engineering. I wanted<br />

to attempt something distinctive that will set us apart.<br />

“Smart Hat” was an assistive device to help children<br />

with Spina Bifida, a rare nervous disorder. Immediately,<br />

while I was still waiting on my offer letter, I got a chance<br />

to build the Assistive Technology Lab at BVRIT in<br />

collaboration with the international team from UMass<br />

Lowell. I thought what better opportunity than this; I<br />

may as well get some experience interestingly enough<br />

in my own field.<br />

The next one year was a very exciting ride, visiting<br />

rehabilitation institutions, meeting clients, organizing<br />

student projects, making them work, participating in<br />

competitions and winning accolades but you know<br />

what, in this process I had ditched my<br />

MNC offer letter<br />

and a higher paying job.<br />

I received<br />

i m m e n s e<br />

encourage<br />

ment from<br />

o u r<br />

C h a i r m a n<br />

S r i K . V<br />

Vishnu Raju<br />

g a r u a n d<br />

Prof. Alan Rux<br />

to pursue MS<br />

a t U M a s s<br />

Lowell. I had<br />

a l r e a d y<br />

attempted GRE<br />

and got a good<br />

score at the end<br />

of my second<br />

y e a r o f<br />

engineering. But<br />

convincing my<br />

parents to let me<br />

move to the US<br />

was a daunting<br />

task. It<br />

took two people from UMass Lowell, Prof. Rux<br />

and his associate Mrs. Senait Hailesselassie's<br />

assurance to let them agree. Soon after, I was following<br />

my dreams to pursue higher education in the US, to<br />

explore, to be independent and to be someone.<br />

My first steps in the US were set in Boston. Prof. Rux and<br />

Senait patiently explained every silly question that had<br />

occurred to me. Boston is a world leader in innovation<br />

and entrepreneurship and is a university hub, always<br />

vibrant with young students all over the place studying<br />

at top notch universities including Harvard and MIT.<br />

The city will always remain close to me. I was offered<br />

full Research Assistantship at the Centre for<br />

Electromagnetic Materials and Optical Systems that<br />

covered my tuition and also paid<br />

the monthly<br />

stipend. I got to<br />

wo rk w i t h a<br />

y o u n g l a d y<br />

Professor from<br />

China and her<br />

team of course,<br />

mostly Chinese.<br />

A t f i r s t , t h e<br />

n a t u r e o f<br />

r e s e a r c h<br />

happening at the<br />

University level in<br />

the US blew my<br />

mind; it is all very<br />

re a l a n d t re n d<br />

setting, most of the<br />

t i m e s i n d u s t r y<br />

straightaway tests<br />

a n d a d o p t s t h e<br />

technology. In our<br />

laboratory we built<br />

optical sensors to<br />

mea<br />

sure blood pressure,<br />

acoustic pressure during explosions in a war<br />

field and their damages, temp<strong>era</strong>ture sensors to<br />

measure the change in temp<strong>era</strong>ture during machining<br />

and also biosensors to detect bacteria and virus.<br />

All along I had my share of adventures, right from white<br />

water rafting in the Hudson to random plans of night<br />

trekking and star gazing in the middle of a forest; zip<br />

lining in Colorado to sky diving in Massachusetts. I<br />

made friends and memories that will remain forever.<br />

Also contradictory to the trend of extending the study<br />

period, I had taken extra credits to finish Masters in<br />

three semesters so I can get to work soon. With the<br />

history of most of my seniors switching to software jobs<br />

after finishing masters in Biomedical Engineering, I did<br />

not want to follow them. I was kind of adamant to work in<br />

my own area of interest. At the time, prospects for an<br />

international student to get a full time job in such<br />

uncommon fields were not very encouraging. But<br />

immediately after I finished, I started working for a<br />

star tup called Immunotrex Biologics under<br />

Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center,<br />

soon enough I got another opportunity and had to<br />

relocate from Massachusetts to Dallas, Texas. It was<br />

time to leave my mentors and start a new life in a new<br />

city and with a new job. Medisend International gave<br />

me an opportunity to train biomedical professionals<br />

working in the hospitals all over the world. We also<br />

designed training programs for the American Vet<strong>era</strong>ns.<br />

I had an amazing experience and loved working with<br />

the coolest colleagues who would often try to pull my<br />

leg, I was the only female in the technical division<br />

hence was also pampered a little. I was really happy<br />

and content that I could go and get what I believed in,<br />

life was easy and smooth, but I never belonged there.<br />

“Home Is Where Your Heart Is”, for me it was India. In<br />

India it was my alma mater. Now, when I look back<br />

everything becomes clear, I followed the dots which I<br />

never knew made a full circle. As Prof. Rux says, “Keep<br />

doing things, you will automatically be guided”.

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