Anil Prabhakar

I obtained a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Carnegie Mellon Univ. in 1997 with a dissertation on nonlinear effects in magnetostatic-wave optical devices. This was my first foray into the colorful world of chaos.

Previous degrees include a M.S. in Physics, a M.S. in Elec. Engg (Fiber Optic and Microwave Communication) and a B.Tech in Engg. Physics (IIT-B, 1992)...always toeing the fine line between physics and engineering.

Between 1997 and 2002, I was a design engineer working on magnetic recording heads at MKE-Quantum Components, Colorado and then at ReadRite Corp., California (now a part of Western Digital Western Digital. I was also on deputation at ReadRite (Thailand). The billion dollar data storage industry is based on nanoscale technologies that we are only beginning to understand. Unfortunately, it has by-passed India in favour of our Asian neighbours. The loss is entirely ours.

Beyond Work

Surviving IIT-M as a new faculty member. If you are in "the system", you may want to look at this FAQ which is more current.
Chetana A non-profit organization to promote social awareness in India.
Kabir A couplet (doha) for every occasion.
Hiking 

I AM FOREVER walking upon these shores,
Betwixt the sand and the foam,
The high tide will erase my foot-prints,
And the wind will blow away the foam.
But the sea and the shore will remain
Forever.                    --- Gibran
Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, 
if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. 
My children have had other birthplaces, and, 
so far as their fortunes may be within my control, 
shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth. 
             --- Nathaniel Hawthorne, writer (1804-1864)

Teaching

    Graduate Courses
  1. Fibre Optic Communications
  2. Magnetoelectronics
  3. Special Semiconductor Devices
  4. Integrated Optics Devices and Circuits
    Undergraduate Courses
  1. Electromagnetic Fields
  2. Electric and Magnetic Circuits

Research Interests