I was born in the year of 1978 in a small town located in the middle of Tamil Nadu, India. I did my schooling upto 10th grade at St. Joseph's Matriculation School, Palani. Then I did my higher secondary education at M.S.P Solai Nadar Memorial Higher Secondary School, Dindigul. I passed my 12th grade exam with a score of 93% in PCM (Physics, Chemistry Maths) in the year 1996. I chose engineering for my career.
I joined Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar for my undergraduate education. I chose Chemical Engineering for my UG education. After four years of study at Annamalai, I graduated with Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering with distinction in the year of 2000.
I decided to continue my education in the US, then I joined The University of Iowa in 2001 for my ph.D in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. The "Bio" area took my interests, hence I joined Dr. Linhardt's group to pursue my ph.D. At the end of my second year at the University of Iowa, Dr. Linhardt decided to move to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. Since it's already been two years at the UIowa, I graduated from there with a Masters Degree, and I moved with the group to RPI to continue my ph.D in Chemical and Biological Engineering.
Now, I am doing research in an exciting area of Room Temperature Ionic Liquids (RTILs). I am interested in exploring the behavior of biopolymes in these new type of solvent systems.
Personal opinion about my personality:
I am a person who always aims high. I used to be very reserved, introvet kind of person. But, now I am kind of comfortable in starting a conversation. I believe in the quote of "The Secret of good life is to have the right loyalties and responsibilities and hold on to them in the right scale of values" by Norman Thomas.
My first preference has been always given to my studies. Till the completion of undergraduate education, I didnt go out for any sort of games. But at the same time, I wasnt a nerd either. However, when I started my graduate studies, I started seeing my interests going into the games and other ex-curriculum activities. As a result, now I am green belt holder in Hapkido, a korean martial art. I am playing badminton, baseball whenever time permits.
My favorite hobby is listening to music. Eventhough I have a craze for AR Rahman ( an Indian Music Director) songs, I like some of Ilayarajah's songs too, I kind of feel Ilayarajah's songs are 'evergreen' types. I like dancing as well. My current favorite actress is Sneha ( a south Indian actress), although my all time favorite is Aishwarya Rai (I guess, most of the Indians would say the same).
I agree with John Constable who said "I never saw an ugly thing in my life; for let the form of an object be what it may - light or shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful".
(lots to come...)