From Kurla slum to Mars and beyond

From the slums of Masrani Lane Kurla West to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA space research laboratory in Maryland US life has been a dream come true for Jaykumar Vaidya 28 who is working on calibrating mass spectrometers intended for Mars the moon and earthrsquos upper atmosphereThe journey of Jaymdashwho spent his early life in an 8x10 room in Kurla lived on vada pav and studied under streetlights before receiving support from 16 trusts in Mumbaimdashis nothing short of inspirationalmidday was the first to highlight Jays triumph in its August 15 2019 article 24yearold scholarrsquos story from Kurla to Virginiarsquo when the youth left for the US for his PhD at the University of Virginia UVA In May 2022 he got a fulltime job at NASAJaykumar Vaidya prepares dinner at his plush apartment in MarylandSpeaking to midday from his plush rented apartment in Maryland Jay said ldquoUpon my arrival in the US in 2019 I met many amazing people and I felt wellwelcomed in the state of Virginia My work at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research TIFRmdashwhich was based on fabricating nanoelectronics devices for lowtemperature applicationsmdash has trained me to understand what it takes to be a decent researcher My graduate research at the UVA was about designing electronic circuits to solve computationally intractable NPHard problems and building ferroelectric nonvolatile memoriesAlso Read Japanrsquos ispace launches worldrsquos first commercial moon landerldquoDuring my second year at UVA I was chosen for an exciting project to build special kinds of Xray mirrors with an atomic layer deposition technique at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Centre in the summer of 2021 The work was then extended for another semester Due to unfortunate circumstances I chose to quit research and instead take up a highpaying job to fulfil the immediate requirements of my family So after completing my masters from UVA I chose to work for the corporate sector in one of the tech giants Applied Materials in the San Francisco Bay Areardquo said JayLife had different plansldquoEarlier in 2022 while I was about to start my new job after resigning from my position at Goddard I was contacted by NASA with a potential longterm opportunity that one can only dream of After months of careful consideration I decided to move to Goddard Currently I am an engineer for Goddard in conjunction with the University of Maryland Baltimore County I work on calibrating mass spectrometers that are built for Mars the moon and earths upper atmosphere I am one amongst the large team working on the NASA Mission 2023 programmerdquo he saidJaykumar Vaidya at NASAldquoI am involved in building mass spectrometers that are being or have been sent to the moon and Mars The main interest in such experiments is to see the relative abundance of atmospheric constituents such as nitrogen dioxygen carbon dioxide argon xenon and helium I conduct experiments for ground systems operations to test the mass spectrometer for the desired specificationsrdquo he addedldquoI had been fortunate enough to work at NASA in the past for a short term but did not expect to be able to work there as an employee I am extremely grateful for the opportunity given to me and want to convey my deepest gratitude to NASA for having faith in me I am working on building mass characterisation instruments that fly to almost all the planets in the solar systemrdquo Jay saidFighting COVID19After coming to the US I arranged for a liveable rented accommodation for my mother in a plush society in suburban Mumbai with a selfcontained toilet and roundtheclock water supply I managed to do this during the peak of the COVID Delta wave in April 2021 My mother got infected and I had to rush to Mumbai to ensure that she got better care but as hospital beds were full with the help of my friends in Mumbai and after consulting medical experts online she could recover at home Jay saidWithin four days of joining NASA the youth got COVID himself but he had a speedy recovery Both my mother and I have taken the vaccine I have also taken the booster shot Though the situation is under control we need to be alert and adhere to COVIDappropriate behaviourrdquo he saidDuring a visit to Mumbai in November 2022 Jay and his mother visited 95yearold Dr A R K Pillai founder of the Indian Development Foundation IDF one of the trusts that helped him to express his gratitude We are glad to know that the student whom we supported is now a NASA scientist Jay is trying to give back to society not because he has the resources now but because he knows the value of not having resources said Dr Narayan A B Iyer CEO IDFTough childhoodldquoI didnrsquot really get to experience childhood as a kid I not only had to battle the problem of poverty but also the constant fear for my life via my uncles who attempted to kill me Money and security good family and friends are the things that I realised the importance of because I didnrsquot have any of thoserdquo Jay saidHe recalled that his father left his mother when she was pregnant and she became the sole breadwinner of the familyAt times I was barred from taking my school examinations as my mother could not afford to pay the school fees on time Often we would survive on a single vada pav To avoid cooking every day mummy would make extra chapattis that could last for three to four days to save the usage of a gas cylinder which was the only luxury we had I started working at electronic shops from my class VI to support my mother and at the time we did not have even R6 in our house recalled JayHe added My mother made Rs 8000 working in a packaging firm until 2002 and after my schooling she had almost thought that I would start working but I was determined to study further and she continued to support me I was fortunate to get admission to K J Somaiya College of Engineering and completed my engineering with financial support and scholarshipsAfter a twomonth free internship at LampT I got a chance to work at TIFR where I was paid Rs 30000 per monthLife changed at TIFRAt TIFR I was fortunate to work closely with my mentor professor Mandar Deshmukh who became my research advisor and always supported me He is a very ambitious scientist and it was amazing to get into nanotechnology research with his supportI got a research opportunity in the USA because I was able to publish two research papers in international journals on nanotechnologyMy mum could not believe that I was flying to the US for future research funded by the US government This was only possible because of the guidance and support of kind people said an emotional JayHe added that he had also started working as an international online tutor to supplement his TIFR salary and until the past few weeks he had twentyfive students from the UK USA Singapore and AustraliaAsked about the fate of the students he said I wont be able to give tuitions anymore The students are excited about my prospectsFirst of his family to flyIn August 2019 Jay boarded an American Airlines flight to Heathrow airport and then to New York from where he went to Virginia via a connecting flight I am the first in our family to sit in an aircraft I had bought an Android phone worth R5000 for my mother so that I could stay in touch with her daily he had saidMotherrsquos blessingsNalini Vaidya 58 Jays mother said ldquoI am happy that Jay is able to lay a strong foundation for his future life He has always been supportive and kindhearted as he suffered at a tender age I am fortunate to have a son like himrdquoNone of our family members is as educated as Jay and I am confident that he will achieve his dream I wish my son all the best for his future she saidAsked if she had heard about NASA Nalini promptly replied in the negative stating ldquoJay used to mention taking me to NASA one day He is doing a lot and I do not want to bother him unnecessarilyrdquoJay has rented a flat for Nalini in Chembur as she had to walk a distance to use the public toilet and had to fetch water from the common tap a few metres away from their shantyNalini dreams of starting a small selfhelp group for women that will manufacture items such as pickles and papads to enable women to be selfdependent and educate their children I want to take care of myself I do not want to be a burden on anyonerdquo said NaliniWhat next Jay wants to focus on his work at NASA and then plan his future one day at a timeOn the personal front he is keen on settling down with his girlfriend soon and becoming a family man so his kids can be proud of him on Fatherrsquos Day I also want to get my mother to the USArdquo he saidAdvice to youngstersStating that success is a journey Jay said Whatever happens in life you should never give up If you fail a million times you should definitely always have hope for the next day that things might be different One should always be optimistic hopeful and focusedldquoDonrsquot lose hope to achieve your goals even if all your lifelines are gone just sail through difficulties in life thinking that maybe this is the way to make you stronger than ever You never know how strong you can be until being strong is the only option you have Lastly you should thank your enemies more than your wellwishers because they are the reason you could be what you are today and further they will be the source of motivation for you for your upcoming battlesrdquo he concludedThe mentor speaksProfessor Dr Mandar Deshmukh department of condensed matter and material science DCMPampMS TIFR said ldquoJaykumar worked with me at TIFR for three years I happened to meet him during his last visit November 2022 and was happy to learn about his accomplishments It is sincere hard work and determination that have enabled him to reach the position where he has reached today I wish him all the best for his future success He is truly an inspiration This is new India being built one person at a timeOne of the trusts that helped Jay speakDr Iyer the CEO of IDF said We are happy that Jay has reached such a level providing hope and inspiration to many children who irrespective of his socioeconomic background could accomplish his dreams IDF has been sponsoring several thousands of students over the last four decades and students have reached important stations in life but Jay is the first candidate to become a scientist of a high order Jay has plans to take his mother to the USA in 2023 and show her his workstation at NASArdquo15Day in August 2019 when Jaykumar Vaidya left for US