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Catching up with USF's Kalam Fellows

By Aruna Dasgupta

TAMPA, FL (July 11, 2024) -- In recognition of the ninth anniversary of President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen (A.P.J.) Abdul Kalam鈥檚 passing on July 27, 2015, USF World reconnects with three USF Kalam Fellows: Avijit Sengupta (PhD-Business Administration and Management, 2021); Veena Subramanian (PhD-Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2022); and Arjun Kadian (PhD-Business Administration, 2023).

The USF President "A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Postgraduate Fellowship," is named after India鈥檚 beloved former President who visited the university in 2012. Dr. Kalam was a highly respected aerospace scientist and popularly known as 鈥淚ndia鈥檚 Missile Man.鈥� You can read about the Kalam Fellowship in .

Sengupta, whose research at USF focused on developing a high-fidelity prototype of a home-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) system to support self-management of chronic cardiovascular diseases, is currently a lecturer at the Business School of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Subramanian, who studied a rare genetic disorder while at USF, last year joined the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, as a research scientist and is studying the effects of virus infection on muscle tissue. Kadian, whose time at USF was spent understanding consumer behavior on IT platforms, is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics at the Florida International University in Miami, Florida. 

As the first USF Kalam Fellow, Sengupta, who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in Mumbai, got a lot of media attention in India. In one interview, Sengupta said: 鈥淭his is an incredible honor as I am a huge fan of our ex-president in whose name the fellowship has been instituted.鈥� In fact, this sentiment was the first reaction of all the Fellows 鈥� not surprising given the near-cult status of Dr. Kalam among young Indians even today. 

As Subramanian says: 鈥淕rowing up in India, Dr. Kalam was a great inspiration to me as he is to millions of Indians鈥� His journey from humble roots to the top echelons of India鈥檚 space organization was a fascinating one. I have read about Dr. Kalam extensively and had the good fortune to meet him when he paid a visit to my high school. In the words of Dr. Kalam, it is important to dream, dream, dream; as dream transforms into thoughts and thoughts result in action. His words have been a true inspiration for me.鈥�

鈥淒r. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has always been a role model to me,鈥� says Kadian. 鈥淗is books 鈥� Ignited Minds and Wings of Fire -- inspired me to dream big and work hard to pursue my goals in the field of science and technology. Inspired by his vision to empower the youth through education, in 2011, I undertook the responsibility of teaching 20 underprivileged children at St. Aloysius Boys Home in Mangalore and this gave me immense satisfaction."

Sengupta鈥檚 research at USF was 鈥渕otivated by a desire to change the lives of underserved people.鈥�  He details his thesis theme: "While the population of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients requiring cardiac rehabilitation continues to expand, lack of access and other barriers to center-based cardiac rehabilitation presents a huge challenge. A mobile phone and wearable device-based technological system can offer an HBCR program for CHD, combining human-expert intelligence with machine intelligence."  

Selected from some 70 applicants who applied for the first Kalam Fellowship, Sengupta chose USF for his PhD because the program brought together his 鈥減assion for technology, behavioral science theory, scientific methodologies, independent thinking and design science principles.鈥� At Queensland he is working on health analytics, with his core concern remaining the same 鈥� 鈥渉ow can my work help those who do not have easy access to basic facilities?鈥�

Subramanian鈥檚 journey has been on a rather different trajectory from her fellow Fellows. 鈥淚 was starting my Ph.D. program in Cell and Molecular Biology at the Indian Institute of Sciences in Bengaluru when I received the Kalam fellowship,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚t was very motivating, boosted my confidence and helped me channel all of my energy into doing research work.鈥�

At USF, her dissertation focussed on Bloom syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that is associated with increased cancer predisposition. 鈥淢y current work at the University of Utah is not a follow-up, but I am using many of the techniques and skills I learned during graduate school. I am working as a Research Scientist with Dr. Gabrielle Kardon on an alphavirus called Ross River virus that causes debilitating musculoskeletal diseases in humans.鈥�

Kadian, the last to receive the scholarship, was already a Master's student at the Muma School of Business when he applied. His research at USF explored topics such as consumer behavior on IT platforms and the impact of organizational initiatives on IT workers' performance, productivity, and wages.

Speaking to USF World a few days ago, Kadian says: 鈥淚 am truly fortunate to have an opportunity to pursue my passion for research and teaching in the Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, at Florida International University. It鈥檚 a great place to build on the research that I started at USF.鈥� What is common between the three Kalam Fellows, is warm nostalgia for their days at USF. 

Sengupta鈥檚 fond memories of USF include 鈥渢he everyday classes, interactions with my peers and professors, those job-hunting days鈥�.and even the pandemic experience.鈥� He is thankful for the challenges too. 鈥淭he journey from India to America and then to Australia was not easy鈥�but they were opportunities which I received and embraced. Now when I look back, I recognize that I enjoyed taking risks and I am not unhappy about that. It reminds me of that famous dialogue in Forest Gump, 鈥楳y mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.鈥� I am thankful to God that life is giving me a lot of surprises.鈥�

鈥淚 was sad about leaving Florida and USF because it was like home. The thought of moving was overwhelming at first, but I am settled in now and enjoying my new work,鈥� says Subramanian, who has a three-year-old son.

Kadian says he owes a lot to the "amazing faculty and staff at USF for their guidance, " for being very generous with their time and supportive of my research endeavors, and for giving me the opportunity to teach a variety of courses to hone my teaching skills." He does not forget to mention "the wonderful students at USF who were always eager to learn and give feedback.鈥�

The three Kalam Fellows are from different corners of India 鈥� South (Subramanian is from Kottayam, Kerala); East (Sengupta is from Kolkata, West Bengal); West (Kadian is from Pune, Maharashtra). 

Their journeys are a testament to President Kalam鈥檚 belief in the transformative power of education.  鈥淓ducation,鈥� he said, 鈥渋s the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom鈥� The ignited mind of the youth is the most powerful resource on the earth, above the earth, and under the earth.鈥�