Nasa scientist Jaykumar Vaidya, who once studied under streetlights, is building mass spectrometers for space missions
Jaykumar Vaidya with mother Nalini, 58; and Dr A R K Pillai, 95, founder of Indian Development Foundation
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 earth’s upper atmosphere.
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The journey of Jay—who 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 Mumbai—is nothing short of inspirational.
mid-day was the first to highlight Jay's triumph in its August 15, 2019 article '24-year-old scholar’s story from Kurla to Virginia’ when the youth left for the US for his PhD at the University of Virginia (UVA). In May 2022, he got a full-time job at NASA.
Jaykumar Vaidya prepares dinner at his plush apartment in Maryland
Speaking to mid-day from his plush rented apartment in Maryland, Jay said, “Upon my arrival in the US in 2019, I met many amazing people and I felt well-welcomed in the state of Virginia. My work at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)—which was based on fabricating nanoelectronics devices for low-temperature applications— 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 NP-Hard problems and building ferroelectric non-volatile memories."
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“During my second year at UVA, I was chosen for an exciting project to build special kinds of X-ray mirrors with an atomic layer deposition technique at NASA's 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 high-paying job to fulfil the immediate requirements of my family. So, after completing my master's from UVA, I chose to work for the corporate sector in one of the tech giants, Applied Materials, in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Jay.
Life had different plans...
“Earlier 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 long-term 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 earth's upper atmosphere. I am one amongst the large team working on the NASA Mission 2023 programme,” he said.
Jaykumar Vaidya at NASA
“I 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 specifications,” he added.
“I 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 system,” Jay said.
Fighting COVID-19
"After coming to the US, I arranged for a liveable rented accommodation for my mother in a plush society in suburban Mumbai, with a self-contained toilet and round-the-clock 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 said.
Within 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 COVID-appropriate behaviour,” he said.
During a visit to Mumbai in November 2022, Jay and his mother visited 95-year-old 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, IDF.
Tough childhood
“I didn’t 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 didn’t have any of those,” Jay said.
He recalled that his father left his mother when she was pregnant and she became the sole breadwinner of the family.
"At 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 Jay.
He added, "My mother made Rs 8,000 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 scholarships."
After a two-month free internship at L&T, I got a chance to work at TIFR where I was paid Rs 30,000 per month.
Life changed at TIFR
At 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 support.
I got a research opportunity in the USA because I was able to publish two research papers in international journals on nanotechnology.
"My 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 Jay.
He 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 twenty-five students from the UK, USA, Singapore and Australia.
Asked about the fate of the students, he said, "I won't be able to give tuitions anymore. The students are excited about my prospects."
First of his family to fly
In 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 R5,000 for my mother so that I could stay in touch with her daily," he had said.
Mother’s blessings
Nalini Vaidya, 58, Jay's mother, said, “I am happy that Jay is able to lay a strong foundation for his future life. He has always been supportive and kind-hearted, as he suffered at a tender age. I am fortunate to have a son like him.”
"None 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 said.
Asked if she had heard about NASA, Nalini promptly replied in the negative, stating, “Jay used to mention taking me to NASA one day. He is doing a lot, and I do not want to bother him unnecessarily.”
Jay 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 shanty.
Nalini dreams of starting a small self-help group for women that will manufacture items such as pickles and papads to enable women to be self-dependent and educate their children. "I want to take care of myself; I do not want to be a burden on anyone,” said Nalini.
What next
Jay wants to focus on his work at NASA and then plan his future one day at a time.
On 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 Father’s Day. "I also want to get my mother to the USA,” he said.
Advice to youngsters
Stating 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 focused."
“Don’t 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 well-wishers, 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 battles,” he concluded.
The mentor speaks
Professor Dr Mandar Deshmukh, department of condensed matter and material science (DCMP&MS), TIFR, said, “Jaykumar 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 time."
One of the trusts that helped Jay speak
Dr 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 socio-economic 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 NASA.”
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Day in August 2019 when Jaykumar Vaidya left for US
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