Karan Mehta, a Semiconductor Laser Design Engineer specializing in built-in photonics, has introduced the closure of his firm in India, citing deep-rooted issues within the nation’s analysis ecosystem.
In a forthright LinkedIn put up, Mehta mentioned he’ll disengage from all built-in photonics initiatives in India and discover alternatives in East Asia, notably China, the place he sees “extremely thrilling work” and “the fitting collaborative environments.”
“The sphere of built-in photonics is difficult sufficient with out having to cope with the numerous cultural and personality-related issues related to doing cutting-edge R&D in India,” he wrote. “I wish to be in a spot the place the system helps the work, as a substitute of me having to combat the system and making an attempt to push the engineering envelope on the identical time.”
Mehta, who holds a PhD from Georgia Tech and has labored with Intel company, underscored that world-class analysis hinges on “folks and tradition,” which he finds missing in India on the required requirements. He pointed to the high-trust, interdisciplinary collaboration wanted throughout lasers, modulators, photodetectors, fabrication, crystal development, testing, and methods integration — one thing he says is lacking in India’s fragmented tutorial ecosystem.
In keeping with him, after over 15 years of funding in silicon photonics, Indian universities nonetheless function in silos, producing solely fundamental gadgets like gratings and filters, whereas superior system-level innovation calls for openness and cross-disciplinary teamwork.
He additional alleged “corruption and insecurity in Indian academia,” the place entrenched senior college block youthful expertise regardless of having “produced no helpful outcomes.”
Staying in India, Mehta concluded, would imply “collaborating in a race to the underside” and risking obsolescence. “If I ever wish to do cutting-edge R&D once more, I want to go away India whereas my abilities and CV are nonetheless related and enticing,” he mentioned.
