Dr Ram Dhurjaty-Of Patents, Pilot(ing) and Physics
Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam* Interview Series
(Global Leaders who have Enlarged, Excelled and Evolved into Global Personal Brands)
Dr Ram Dhurjaty is a man of 4 Ps viz Passion, Patents, Pilot(ing)
and Physics. He has 14 patents issued in his name and is working for more. He holds an MS from Yale University and a PhD
from IIT Bombay. He is currently President, Dhurjaty Electronics Consulting, LLC, (Medical Device
System Architecture, Analog and Power Electronics). He is an
innovator-thought leader and a Global Personal Brand.
For more visit http://www.dhurjaty.net/
For more visit http://www.dhurjaty.net/
Please explain your concept of 3Cs of leadership.
3 Cs stand for Credibility, Competence and Compassion. Credibility
has to do with integrity. Say what you do and do what you say. If your life is
an open book, you should not be ashamed of it. Once credibility is established
a leader needs to be competent. I will explain.
A leader should understand his domain and, more importantly
understand his or her limitations. He or she should know sources to get other
information and be humble.
In order for a leader to be successful, it is important to
be in the other person’s shoes (or chappals). In other words be kind to
yourself and be kind to other people. Without that competence and credibility
by themselves become irrelevant.
Are these 3Cs sufficient for leadership or something else is
also required?
Courage and Commitment are also needed.
Please share what do you mean by courage and commitment?
Courage is the ability to make hard decisions when necessary
or in other words to be able to lead from the front lines, if necessary. A
leader will be unsuccessful otherwise. This is also loosely related to credibility,
over time. Commitment is the ability to stand by the decisions that a leader
makes.
Is courage similar to tough love?
Courage is being able to take the arrows that will be thrown
at a leader and to protect the followers and I guess tough love may fall into
that category. But then followership also encompasses leadership and a leader
needs to know how to be a follower.
Besides Dhurjaty Electronics what are the other professional
activities you are into?
I am a pilot. I volunteer with local charities and mentor
young engineers. I am also a mentor to older engineers who see a transition in
their careers, since we have had many layoffs from Kodak. I am helping my
former colleagues transition to other opportunities. I like to, in MK Gandhi’s
words, to be the change that I want people to be.
Your organisation offers consultancy in the area of
technology transfer. Developed world has avoided technology transfer but will
economic problems force them to make money through more and more technology
transfers in future.
Yes indeed.
What do you teach?
I teach Physics and Engineering as a mentor. I have a
visiting appointment in the Physics department of the University of Rochester
where I can interact with students. I learn a lot from young people as they
have the enthusiasm and creativity.
Any of your prominent speaking and writing work you would
like to share?
I have spoken at IIT Bombay on areas on medical imaging
which is now part of an E-Learning course.
What exactly is biomedical engineering?
It is a vast field. I concentrate on designing medical
devices for Hospitals and Industry. My Doctorate work was on modeling blood
flow.
In your Linkedin profile, you have mentioned ‘soup to nuts’
as one of your interests. What is the meaning of soup to nuts?
From start to finish. In other words, from the concept to
implementation.
What about your personal interests?
Flying of course, Comparative religion and the study of
various religious philosophies and understanding common threads.
Have you any of your stuff got patented?
I have 14 patents including one for a hand-cranked
defibrillator that I am developing for underdeveloped countries.
You travel extensively. Is it mainly for professional or
personal purposes. Please share a little more detail.
Often my travel is to clients of mine, both in the US as
well as overseas. I also travel to conferences and am involved in writing
standards for medical devices.
How come you developed interest in renewable energy systems?
This is something that is necessary for a sustainable future
and my engineering training in Electronics and Fluid mechanics is a natural fit.
I like to work on decentralized systems.
Your website uses a term ‘issued patents’. What does it
mean?
I have 14 patents. Issued patents mean that they are patents
that have been granted, unlike pending patents.
Anything else you would like to share. Your future plans?
I have been fortunate to have great teachers during all
facets of life and I continue to learn. My future plans are to be helpful to
people and be compassionate to all. Life has been very good and I have been
blessed.
You plan to write or speak on 3Cs or plan to focus more on
consulting in future?
I continue to consult as it gives me the opportunity to meet
new people. I should be writing more.
You are in your 60s now. Any plans to slow down or retire.
I will slow down only
when I stop breathing.
I would say “Tum Jiyo Hazaron Saal, saal ke din hon Pachaas
hazaar” (May you live a thousand years and each year may have 50,000 days.)
Thanks for your views and sharing your precious time.
(BTW Prof Dhurjaty’s simplicity and his website’s plainness
impressed me the most. Sometime back I had met an entrepreneur, a pass out of
IIM-Ahmedabad, who had a equally plain website. It makes me think, “Greater
the content, simpler the packaging.”)
* "World is one family" in Sanskrit
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