Lalitesh K Katragadda School Page

After living in a universitiy environment one's whole life (me), life looks very different. Setting aside the petty politics and competition which gets to me, Universities are sources of our cultural and technological future. It takes a while for me to get why something cannot be done (and i still don't believe it). Guess for good or for bad it is burned in my head and those of lots of others so influenced. The schools i attended in order of their impact on my life are:

• IIT Bombay, (India). Grew up there, got a bachelors in Aerospace (1986-1990). This tops my list just for the bachelors alone. The most intense of schools, most fun too. In the face of intellectual intensity and competion, a lot of us discovered ourselves and learned not to take ourselves too seriously (which still leaves me lot more serious than my American counterparts). This place is a source of belonging to me - parents, the lake, the "five terrorists" (Baba, Banna, Tyagi, Bond & me) and of course my pesky brothers.
• Iowa State. Masters in Aerospace, 1990-1991. First time away from home. This school really took care of me - the students, faculty and administration. Also learned what it means to play full out in all spheres of life at this place. Started Taek Won Do, taking on being a leader in my life. If you have come across Bion L. Pierson, Master Pak, James Cornette, Ping Lu - you know the kind of people that make this place great. Made some great friends here, at least one for life - Manish Acharya. In a contest for a school with heart, ISU is it.
• Design Division, Stanford, ME, Masters 1991-1992. Wandering around in a parking lot behind the Tressider, waiting to go out on a Friday evening, it hit me that life is about people, not technology. These are the kind of experiences that people go to Stanford for. If you want to know equations better, don't bother, this School is down n dirty - hands on. Other inquiries i began at Stanford are: What is the purpose of my life?, How does what i do matter a damn in the world?, Am i really an enterprenuer? Made great friends (like Curl, RD, Prasad, Anna, Krishesh, Paddy, KK and everyone at Hammerskjold). Extraordinary training i got here was in three course series - Smart Product Design and Kane's Dynamics. The fun in making plays - "Go Innovations Incorporated".
• Robotics Institute, CMU, 1992-1997, MS & PhD. Wow, what a ride. And its all about the RI. A place of true tomorrow makers. People with vision, not necessarily the best in other technical areas, but pioneering is never about skill, its about committment. Boy, do people have it. Although, this is not a place for the unprepared. We get to stand on the shoulders of giants like Raj, Takeo & Red and go higher. Its an opportunity and a long rope too :). As i write this, i am still at CMU, so the perspective will come later. Meanwhile, look for cool robots from here. Starting a company here. The vision is to integrate Robotics and Information Technology to serve every household. Tidbits on CMU - Home of first CS department, now part of the SCS, School of Computer Science, also the home of the first department & degree in Robotics.