I would like to wish everyone a belated Happy New year!

It has now been three years since I’ve moved to California, can you believe that? When I mentioned I was looking forward to 2017 last year, I had never expected all that has happened this year. I will be taking a leave of absence from my Ph.D. to pursue other projects. As a yearly tradition - here is a short update of what happened over the past year.

Last winter, out of curiosity, I dropped by a career fair to see what kind of positions that the industry is currently recruiting for. After talking with various companies, I was offered a summer internship at Apple, working in the display group.

It has always been a goal of mine to be able to take an idea and be able to turn it into a concept, a product, and to the end user. This is why I’ve been drawn towards entrepreneurship and the Ph.D. This was an awesome experience working further along the development chain on the next line of products to be released. I had the opportunity to learn about the product development and manufacturing ecosystem and fell in love with it.

Unfortunately, it was also during this time that I discovered that another research group had published on similar work that I was working on during my Ph.D. I was devastated; as the novelty of the project is longer there. It was hard news to swallow and lost a lot of enthusiasm for the project. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to put Ph.D. on hold and explore the world of manufacturing. It will allow me to refresh my mind and gain new insights into the current market. I’m currently seeking opportunities in manufacturing, specifically in the optics/imaging/VR/AR areas.

Keep in touch to know where I will end up next! Or if you have suggestions – feel free to get in touch with me! As always, I’m also interested in hearing about what is new in your life!