Interview with Sahil Desai
Mr. Sahil Desai, is currently working as a graduate research Assistant at Cornell University. He did his bachelors in chemical engineering from BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus in 2019.
With an MS and PhD from Cornell University, his profound set of research experiences include prestigious institutions like MIT, LOS Alamos National Laboratory etc.
Q: We would begin with discussing your current engagements ,and what are the projects that you are currently working on?
I have been working here with Professor Dr. Abraham Stroock, who is in the chemical and biomolecular engineering department, in agriculture research on utilizing the principles of Chemical Engineering in agriculture to improve the efficiency of crops. His keen interest is in heat and mass transfer at a nanoscale in leaves. I have taken three projects under him. First is from Systems and Synthetic biology. Plants produce their food with the help of CO2 and in that process, water is released to the environment through small pores called stomata on the leaves regulated by a pair of guard cells. We want to optimize and understand how plants utilize water with changing environmental conditions. Plants regulate water supply in drought conditions with the help of genes and protein signaling networks work in the leaves which reduce consumption of water and minimize water loss. This regulation is done by a bunch of different cells near the stomata called the substomatal activity. There are 6 or 7 different cells which function in their own unique ways. So starting with one cell we build up multiscale multicellular systems, modeling and simulating water load from gene perspective.
The second one is a sensor built by an old student which can be inserted in the trunk of the tree and it tells how thirsty the tree is. Here we quantify thirst by a term called ‘water potential’ in megapascals, by dividing by its specific molar volume. So in an orchard we can embed sensors and optimize our water strategy if we know the weather forecast. I’m working on modeling and predicting the stem water potential of a tree as a function of the watering pattern in the field. So, overall our goal is to optimize water conditions and thus reduce cost.
Q: How was life, while in BITS Pilani? What were the challenges and struggles you faced during your rewarding journey? And how did you overcome them?
The real challenge began when I decided to pursue my masters. Moving from Ahmedabad to Pilani was easy and I got really close and good friends in Pilani. My first and second semester GPA was not great — around 7.2. By the end of second year, I opted for higher studies. I wanted projects or something like Milford. So we looked at what professors in Pilani are doing and also searched on the web at what the current areas of research work are in the field in the universities of the US. So you get your desired area of research work. Next I thought of getting a good GPA around 8.2 or so. So I began attending all the lectures and reading textbooks and I don’t think I did anything out of the box to overcome this challenge.
Q: Would you like to share with us any interesting, funny narratives, which you recall from your college days?
One funny narrative was in the Monday-Tuesday tutorial tests at 8 AM in which the students used to by-heart the values, and in similar questions when the professors changed the values , they got wrong answers.
The other funny thing was in process control. I didn’t like the subject as it was useless to copy the lecture from the board. So, I stopped going to the class and covered more chapters than in the syllabus and during the exam, I was busy wasting time by fetching answers from the wrong chapters.
Q: BITS has a rich curriculum and culture surrounding clubs, projects and communities. So how do you think they have shaped you into the person you are today and how did you use the opportunities that were available there at that time to build any meaningful network?
In the first and a half year I joined ‘Formula Student’ and I liked the work they were doing. But I phased out to build my good GPA. But it helped me to interact with people and build good communication skills. So, I wanted to put my point like an instagram reel within 8 seconds, because that is the average attention span of people these days, and be as diplomatic as possible and without feeling like using something or someone. Also, dealing with people, not just the students within your own community. Doing multiple things at a time diverts you from academics. My GPA was down so the only thing I could associate with was being a part of ‘Formula Student’. So, I fizzed out of the team by second year.
Even here, I work from 8 to 6 and get up at 6 in the morning and go for a walk. I have to work in two different communities in the department. One is the ‘Diversion and Inclusion’ program that deals with the diversity in the department and trying to build an inclusive environment in the department.
So, if you have multiple things going on in the environment you do your work more neatly because if you have only one work to do, you will push it up till the evening and do time pass on the phone. Whereas now I have multiple things going on which defines my day into different brackets.
It’s good to have a nine to five job but with more flexibility. My friends at BITS who were part of technical teams and played different sports were really good at management and that’s what I like here now, that I do different things. So, time management and waking up early are good things.
Being a graduate is good. But why waste time doing a PhD in 10 years when you can do it in five. So, I found out that I am not that efficient in the evening, so I tried waking up early a little bit by bit. I used to get up by 9 AM which was not early and so I messed up everything and I had work pending at night hours which was not good time management for me. I wrote my entire thesis between 12 to 6 AM. Because that was the most peaceful time. We lived in a house shared by three people. So, we had our own rooms and everything. So after dinner it would be the most calm and serene time to write. So it’s totally up to people, whatever they find comfortable. My advisor wakes up very early at 3 or 4 rather than all night. So it’s totally about what suits your style best.
Q: How do you keep chemical engineering as a discipline? Like, do you feel it is multidisciplinary? What fascinated you to pursue higher studies in the field?
There was one open elective course — Numerical Methods in Fluid Mechanics, in Mechanical engineering. I found interest in the numerical aspect of CFD. I was interested in modeling systems. To put physics into the equations and simulate it was fascinating and interesting. My wingies took that course and we were given questions on an A4 size paper and you had to solve it step by step and at the end of the eighth step you got a big nice solver. So, different things come together to make one thing. It was really interesting. So I got my interest, I explored different websites and found people working on biomass in BITS or websites of good schools like Stanford, MIT, CMU working on the same project. For example, carbon capture, people in BITS working on it like how to develop membranes or different devices that can capture carbon on a regular 600–700 ppm scale which is a polluted environment, or 2–3 ppm scale coming out from a battery. So, there are different scales and concentrations. So, I got interested in it and I worked on a project on a biomass gasifier with a professor and then after third year I got an internship in a lab and I went for that.
So, I was working on modeling a biomass gasifier to optimize the PM 2.5 emissions in carbon. It was basically modeling and simulation, and I utilized it to get a thesis somewhere at Max Planck last semester. But many of my friends had great GPAs and applied for scholarships in DAAD and SN Bose. I didn’t have that. So, I had to manage my travel and expenses after like end of the third year in Boston. And so we just keep on building on different things and we’ll see where it goes.
Q: So how do you compare the research opportunities that are present in India versus those present abroad? What differences did you find while working abroad?
The only research opportunities I am aware of in India are BITS Pilani, because I didn’t apply to places such as TIFR or CISR or any petroleum university. You can get research work from different professors from different universities in India. But there’s a wider array of topics in BITS Pilani. For example, our department — chemical and biomolecular engineering, has a good focus on biological things. For example, Moderna founder is a chemical engineer from Cornell. People can do cancer research or stem cell research being a chemical engineer. BITS is more of a teaching focus and you develop strong basic theory. An undergraduate here does get an option to work with a number of different professors. It’s just 3 units out of 20. So, the students spend time accordingly. The coursework of BITS Pilani is similar to what we have here.
Your good theory base helps you carry out good research abroad. But, internships only help you to know how to work towards a problem. For example, in building a heat exchanger there is no defined problem statement. We need to find out what the problem is.
So, you have to have a systematic approach. Pilani has a good curriculum with disciplinary and open electives. Many of my friends took computer science courses, few took electrical engineering courses and majority took finance courses. Those who took finance courses are doing product management. There is a lot of flexibility in courses at BITS and that’s what I liked about it.
Q: You had your masters and PhD in biomolecular technology in Cornell University which is regarded as one of the top notch institutions in research. How has the experience been so far? It’d be great if you elaborate over the work which you have done in this field.
I have been working here with Professor Dr. Abraham Strook in agriculture research work to utilize the principles of Chemical Engineering in agriculture to improve the efficiency of crops. Water taxes are a lot to the farmers. The crop will not grow to its best if you continue watering the whole crop. So depending upon how the genes get regulated and we find what will be the optimal condition for watering. With this watering strategy we can save lots of dollars wasted on irrigation methods.
Q: Did you face any challenges when you shifted to the US from India ? What advice would you give to students aspiring to study in the US both in academics as well as lifestyle aspects ?
I was looking forward to it. I came to Boston in 2018. I had a great time here. I had to adjust with the winter here. Also, whenever you meet someone, just say ‘hi’ or give a nod and introduce yourself.
I recommend you to go to different companies’ websites, if they have the students’ name, go and stalk them on LinkedIn. You get to see the work they get. You need to stalk the profiles, go to university pages and proceed from there. You have to write emails to them or reach that person and so you figure out what their procedure was.
Coming to lifestyle, I would go and talk to people. You can do rock climbing, go to gym, play tennis, badminton or whatever you want, and you get people of similar interest who have played for the varsity or at national level. I learnt to run, swim, bike and play tennis. I used to play tennis before. Just try to develop different hobbies, try to stick to some and I guess you find your kind of people.
