“Walk your own path, and it will lead you to your destination.”
- Deep Jariwala, (Metallurgy ’10)
Deep Jariwala is currently an assistant professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. After getting his B.Tech. in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT(BHU), Deep completed his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University. He has been honored with various awards and accolades throughout his career, including the Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Materials Physics from the American Physical Society, the Resnick Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship from California Institute of Technology, and the Johannes E. and Julia R. Weertman Doctoral Fellowship from Northwestern.
Born in a small town in Gujarat, Deep grew up in Suburban Mumbai for most of his childhood. Despite coming from a family with no scientific background, he showed early sparks of interest in the subject, which gradually matured into serious hard work and diligent efforts to achieve his dreams. His research journey began with cracked software and was guided by an ever-present curiosity. Back in the summer of 2007, when he was conducting some simulations on molecular dynamics, Deep had no idea that he would become an inspiration for millions a decade later. From being the first in his family to opt for science to being the only person in his graduating batch to pursue research, he has followed his passion and has encouraged others not to be afraid to walk the road less traveled. Last week, Deep answered some of our questions about his life, work, and research culture.
With this brief background, let’s dive right into his incredible story.
With a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and a B.Tech from IIT-BHU, you’re currently an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania. But before all of this, what was your childhood like?
I was born in a lower-middle-class family and had a very modest upbringing; nothing extraordinary happened. Went to school, came back and did my homework, played cricket with friends, just the usual. I began to develop a strong interest in science around the time I was in fifth grade. Now the funny thing is, nobody in my family had taken science (laughs), so they were unsure about what career paths one could take up and what they entailed. Notwithstanding, I kept showing my interest, so my parents helped me pursue it with whatever limited resources we had at that time. We couldn’t afford the luxury of buying a computer, so I read a lot of books. That’s how I discovered my interest in the subject, and from there, it was onwards and upwards (smiles).
From your time in IIT-BHU, do you have any special memories that you’d like to share, your favourite hang-out spot in Banaras, or clubs and extracurriculars you enjoyed?
I fondly remember my time at IIT-BHU. It was amazing, those four years (smiles). Limbdi Corner was, of course, my favourite place to go for tea and chhola-samosa. We used to spend a lot of time visiting the Vishwanath Temple. In my second and third year, I made some close friends, and we were all involved in Technex. I was the events head, so we used to go around Banaras asking for funds to sponsor the festival. We used to hang out at Assi Ghat a lot back then.
One of my fondest recollections from those days, which also piqued my interest in fest organization, was participating in an underwater robotics competition in my first year at Technex. Our group somehow won the event despite being up against several talented competitors. Everybody was surprised by the fact that a team of all first-year students had won (laughs). We partied a lot in the hostel. That was quite a memorable day (smiles).
After studying Metallurgical Engineering at IIT (BHU), you went on to get a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the world's finest research universities. When did you realize that research is your calling?
It was clear to me from the very beginning that I wanted to go for higher education. Initially, I was torn between doing a Ph.D. and a Master's, but I was adamant that I was not sitting for campus placements. The hysteria around jobs that are really not that significant didn't appeal to me personally. So I was determined to study more, know the world better, and then think about a job.
Towards the end of my first year, I started doing some simulations. I spent the entire summer of my first year at home on a molecular dynamics simulation software that I had found on the LAN of IIT-BHU. Second-year, first day back at my department, I went to a professor, and I told him that I had some simulations I wanted to discuss with him, and he went, "Go away, you don't know anything" (laughs). I persisted, and eventually, after two weeks or so, he looked into it and found it intriguing. I started doing more calculations, and after 5-6 months of effort, he found it good enough for a publication. Research was exciting and challenging at the same time, and I enjoyed every bit of it. That experience earned me a research internship at Rice University in 2008, which helped me further navigate my career, and I have never looked back since (smiles).
Could you explain your research work briefly?
My research has diversified a lot since I started. Back when I was an undergrad, I was only looking into new materials. During my Ph.D., I started looking at the devices from those materials, mainly focusing on simple computing devices, transistors, and photodetectors. As a postdoc, I worked a little bit on photonic devices.
Now in my research group at UPenn, We do all sorts of crazy things, all the way from building new types of transistors and memories to building sensors and 5g devices. The basis of my research group, in general, is to pick any novel material and see if we can make a device that can revolutionize present computing, communication, and information processing. We're developing solar cells that are only a few nanometers thick, which could have applications in space-based solar power. We are also trying to make amplifier devices in the microwave and telecom regime in 5G. Although it has previously been difficult to achieve, we now have some new concepts, materials, and ideas that will allow us to do so.
At such a young age, you have made significant contributions to some of the most important technological research of our day. What does the road ahead look like? Are there any particular research interests that you'd like to work upon in the future?
It's tough to predict the future, but I do think that the memory technology we're currently developing is quite promising. Computers will be humankind's largest energy-consuming devices in less than ten years, so if we continue to progress along that direction and keep making more and more computers, we'll run out of energy for everything else. Making energy-efficient computers is the gorilla in the room that nobody else is seeing, and it'll become a massive challenge in 20 or 30 years. I think this is where some of the work we're doing could be pretty impactful.
One thing I would personally like to get involved in is a little bit towards the chemistry side. I'm interested in new mechanisms or ways to make liquid fuels directly from sunlight and the basic chemicals available. I'm also excited about space research; making electronic, and communication devices for space application is very hard, and as humankind explores more space, developing better technologies will prove more difficult. I would also like to understand the genetics or biophysics of cancer, but this is a pipe dream that I'm nowhere even close to realizing. I have books that I read whenever I get some free time, but this is still a far-fetched goal (smiles).
Making exciting discoveries and solving huge global problems sounds incredible and inspiring, but it must be challenging at the same time. Could you share with us your most memorable lesson along the way?
If I had to summarize my most memorable lesson in one sentence, it would be to never give up. Nothing comes easy in life. You try everything numerous times before it finally works. People on the outside may think that a dream life has been orchestrated and put into place just for me, but that's not true. I work 15-16 hours a day; even on weekends, I work at least 7-8 hours. It's not easy at all; it's far from that, but what I've learned through all of this is that hard work, perseverance, and patience are indispensable to succeed. If you are persistent and hard-working enough, you will get somewhere in the end.
You joined the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor at the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering in 2018. What inspired you to pursue a career in academia?
My decision to pursue a career in academics was influenced by two factors. One was my independence. I'm a free person; I wouldn't say I like being tethered to anything. It's actually one of my defining characteristics, one that not everyone appreciates (smiles). Academia provided me with the freedom and control to do things at my leisure, so that way, I knew I could do it well.
The other thing that was very important to me was to constantly keep learning and interacting with bright, energetic, and enthusiastic people. I think what happens is that as people grow older, some of their enthusiasm and brightness go away. Still, if you stay as a professor in academia, you'll constantly interact with younger generational students, so the cycle of people who will keep coming will prolong your intellectual life.
You have received many awards and recognitions, including the 2021 Rising Star Faculty Award. You were also listed in Forbes' list of 30 scientists under 30 years of age in 2018. How has your experience at IIT-BHU helped you in reaching these milestones?
One thing that IIT-BHU taught me was making the most of the opportunities you get and excelling in whatever limited resources you have. I think this was something I learned firsthand from my experience with the climate and environment at BHU. Then the other thing that I learned was the importance of building human relationships. Most places in life will teach you this, but BHU, in particular, emphasizes that connection with humans is crucial to accomplish any task. I have imbibed these learnings from IIT-BHU in myself and my life as I went through Northwestern, Caltech, and now at Penn, and I think they served me well.
Do you have any advice for all the students out there who hope to have a career in research?
Find your passion. It may sound very clichéd. Everybody says it all the time, but there is some truth to it. You have to find something that you enjoy doing. If you blindly imitate others around you, I don't think you will find success or happiness. I was the only one who went for Ph.D. right after graduation in my entire batch. I didn't know where I would land up when I started doing those molecular dynamics simulations; I didn't think there was any future, but I kept doing it because I was passionate about it. So if research is your calling, don't be ashamed about it because nobody else is doing it. I think it's rather important to think independently. Don't follow the crowd. Walk your own path, and it will lead you to your destination.
This article has been written by Aastha Rani (MEC ‘24), Content Team, SAIC, IIT (BHU), Varanasi.