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Rahul Panicker

Rahul Alex Panicker is a technology leader and entrepreneur, formerly Chief Innovation Officer at the Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence,[1] and best known as the President and Co-founder of Embrace Innovations[2] and Embrace, a social enterprise startup that aims to help premature and low-birth-weight babies, through a low-cost infant warmer.[3][4]

Until early 2016, Panicker served as the President of Embrace Innovations, a social enterprise that designs and brings to market healthcare technologies for the developing world, starting with an infant warmer. The Embrace infant warmer costs less than 1% of a traditional incubator, and is currently being distributed across clinics in India, and over 15 developing countries.[5][6][7] He is also a member of the FICCI Health Innovation Task Force in India.[8] Starting 2016, he has been engaged in exploring and speaking about the potential impact of AI and what societies can do to prepare for the future, including at TEDx.

Early life and education

Panicker was born in Mavelikara, Kerala, India [9] to Moly and P.C. Mathen Panicker of Kottarakara. He attended Indian Community School, Kuwait, and Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Trivandrum, India, and hails from Vayalikada, Thiruvananthapuram.[10]

Panicker holds an M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford Department of Electrical Engineering, and a B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), India. He is also an alumnus of the design school at Stanford.[11]

As part of his Ph.D. at Stanford, Panicker worked at the interface of machine learning and optics. His thesis work used machine learning techniques to demonstrate a 10 to 100 fold increase in capacity of multimode optical communication systems. His work combined convex optimization, machine learning, adaptive optics and spatial light modulators.[12] He also worked at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, applying artificial neural networks to accelerator-beam controls.

Career

Before starting Embrace, Panicker worked briefly at Infinera Corporation. While there, he worked in a team led by co-founder, President, and member of the Infinera Board, David F. Welch, Ph.D., in the new products group, working on ultra hi-speed optical telecom systems.

Embrace

In 2007, while studying at Stanford, Panicker and a few other fellow graduates were part of a class, Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability, at the d.school at Stanford University. They were asked to create a low-cost infant incubator that could be used in developing countries.[13] They designed an infant warmer that worked without electricity, was expected to be low-cost and was designed for use even by rural mothers in developing countries. After the class, they co-founded Embrace (non-profit), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, in 2008 to bring their project to life.[14] The non-profit entity, Embrace, donates infant warmers to clinics in need, and the for-profit social enterprise, Embrace Innovations, sells the warmers to other clinics.

Embrace has also been awarded the INDEX: Design to Improve Life award in 2011,[15] and the Fast Company Innovation By Design Awards, 2012.[16][17]

Awards and recognition

References

  1. EmTech Digital AI for Social Good Rahul Panicker, Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence MIT Tech Review, retrieved March 26, 2019^
  2. Michèle Mischler. Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013 Schwab Foundation, retrieved 20 March 2013^
  3. Sean Dooley. Embrace Infant Warmer Could Save Thousands 17 December 2010^
  4. Samreen Ahmad. Spreading life-saving warmth Tehelka, 9 April 2012^
  5. Balakrishnan Deepa. Portable incubators in 4 states a new lease of life CNN-IBN, 12 September 2012^
  6. Prem Udayabhanu. The Keralite who made it to MIT's top 35 Innovators' list Manorama Online, 24 December 2015^
  7. Akhila Ranganna. Saving Lives: How Rahul Panicker Developed a Low-cost Incubator for Newborns Man's World India, 18 January 2016, retrieved 8 October 2018^
  8. IANS. National innovation council to build an ecosystem for healthcare products and services health.india.com, retrieved 28 May 2013^
  9. Vasundhara Sirnate. Embrace of Life Open Magazine, 3 October 2009^
  10. Prem Udayabhanu. The Keralite who made it to MIT's top 35 Innovators' list Manorama Online, 24 December 2015^
  11. Shrabonti Bagchi. SAVING LITTLE LIVES The Times of India, 19 September 2011, retrieved 7 September 2013^
  12. Rahul Panicker. Compensation of Modal Dispersion in Multimode Fiber Systems Using Adaptive Optics Via Convex Optimization Stanford University, 2007^
  13. Embrace: A low cost infant warmer CNBC TV18, retrieved 18 April 2012^
  14. Kara Platoni. Baby, It's Cold Outside Stanford Alumni, January–February 2012^
  15. The Daily News Staff. Embrace, Stanford enterprise, wins Index Award The Stanford Daily, 27 September 2011, retrieved 27 September 2011^
  16. Mark Wilson. The 11 Winners Of Our 2012 Innovation By Design Awards Fast Company, retrieved 17 October 2012^
  17. Cliff Kuang. Why Good Design Is Finally A Bottom Line Investment Fast Company, retrieved 11 September 2012^
  18. 35 Innovators Under 35, 2015 MIT Technology Review^
  19. Technology Quarterly. Innovation awards And the winners are... The Economist, 30 November 2013^
  20. Bangalore-based startup founders win Economist Innovation Award The Economic Times, 6 November 2013^
  21. Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013 World Economic Forum^
  22. Michèle Mischler. Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013 Schwab Foundation, retrieved 20 March 2013^
  23. Levent OZLER. Best in Show of the 2012 International Design Excellence Awards Dexigner, retrieved 27 August 2012^
  24. Devin Thorpe. 28 Award Winners Highlight Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship Forbes, 30 September 2012^
  25. Rahul Panicker @EmbraceInnov & his health tech #startup story of creating portable infant warmer #YTatMakeInIndia 17 February 2016^
  26. Young Turks Facebook, 16 April 2012^
  27. Echoing Green Fellows Echoing Green^