Name: Sreejit Nair
Place of Birth: India
Date of Birth: 22 April 1978
Studied at TU/e: December 2000 - December 2004, PhD Electrical Engineering/Chemical Engineering.
Current position: Research Scientist at Unilever R&D, India

Why did you choose to go to TU/e and how do you look back?
I had an opportunity to work on an interdisciplinary area of research that always attracted me as a student, which is why I chose to do my PhD in Eindhoven. On top of that, TU/e is considered one of the top universities in Europe. In addition, the city of Eindhoven is synonymous with Philips Research. So all in all, the area of research, the university department and the opportunity to experience a new city were the reasons for me to choose TU/e.

How did you find this job?
I’ve always wanted to see my work in real products and processes, so ideally, I wanted a career in industrial R&D. After my PhD I was keen to explore my own subject area, so I did a postdoc in Japan as well. One of the things that helped me find a job was to focus on my core skills (i.e chemical engineering). I decided to focus on this aspect in my research work, and explored my expertise in various directions.. And, more importantly, I showed how my work could ultimately lead to improvement.

What are your plans for the (near) future?
I am currently enjoying my work and it helps me to look at ways to solve various technical challenges to develop new products and processes. This has been my long term goal and I intend to continue what I am doing. I will stay in India, because I always had the desire to settle back.

What advice would you give current students?
Do what you like to the most and give it your all.