Humans of BASIS: Enjoy Every Moment to the Fullest

“That’s life.”

That's a piece of wisdom shared by Dr. Chaudhri, standing nonchalantly in his iconic position (arms crossed, with one foot on the wall), after a complaint about a due date. Learning to deal with life is perhaps a quintessential skill, yet one of the hardest to master. Setbacks and rejections make success seem unattainable, yet behind every accomplished individual there is always a story, an inspiration, a challenge.

Familial pressures pushed a young Dr. Chaudhri into a competition craze, with any free time spent practicing physics or math problems in an effort to get ahead. His biggest regret – “I wish I had enjoyed my time more in middle and high school. I was caught up in a frenzy.” This “frenzy” took over his teenage years — countless hours spent on competition and activities in preparation for college. He had his sights set on India’s top universities and was devastated when he wasn’t accepted. “My first year in college was a disaster,” recalls Dr. Chaudhri. Discouragement and disappointment made “my freshman grades in college far from ideal”. However, he doesn’t regret the path that he took. “It shaped me to who I am today… it gave me a willingness to learn from anyone.” He bounced back in his second year of college, working hard to make up for lost time. “I learned to overcome. I would say it’s one of my proudest failures.”

Dr. Chaudhri’s ideology in the classroom is “only teach what you fully understand,” meaning resorting to research when asked a confounding question. Aidan Peter (11th), a student of Dr. Chaudhri’s for three consecutive years, greatly values Dr. Chaudhri’s willingness to admit his mistakes and shortcomings. “It’s difficult, especially for experts of their field, to acknowledge holes in their understanding,” describes Aidan Peter. “It makes me feel respected. I’m not scared to mess up.”

If you find yourself in any of his classes, sooner or later, you will experience his “frontiers of physics” lecture that spans over multiple whiteboards and class periods. Contrary to popular belief, Dr. Chaudhri did not have an intrinsic passion for physics. “I hated my physics and mechanical engineering classes,” he says, recalling his college years. “It was only until the second year of my Ph.D. that that changed.” It took one spectacular physics professor and a phenomenal lecture to overturn his animosity. “It blew my mind – the fact that you could use physics to understand absolutely anything,” recollects Dr. Chaudhri.

Dr. Chaudhri utilizes physics in much of his everyday life, including the upbringing of his children. One of his favorite projects involved building an architectural masterpiece with his two children (ages five and nine) – a complex hot wheels track, adorned with twists and turns, carefully shaped under his watchful eye. “It was an engineering challenge. The curves and drops had to be perfectly constructed for it to work – we had to factor in potential and kinetic energy, and all of that. It was difficult explaining energy to a 9-year-old.”

Beyond unraveling the mysteries of the universe, he is also an avid long-distance runner. Having already experimented with shorter distances (5k’s and 10k’s), he decided to spend 4 months training for a half marathon (which he successfully finished). “I would say this is my greatest non-academic accomplishment,” noted Dr. Chaudhri. It’s easy to see why – the culmination of months of practice into a single sublime act is a beautiful result of effort and dedication. Despite achieving what many would consider a major accomplishment in long-distance running, he continues to train and improve his abilities.

The passion he has branches far beyond the classroom to unique niches – after chancing across a YouTube video, he picked up wood whittling and resin work. It’s surprisingly complicated: “Resin seems so simple, just pouring resin, but you have to use science – the heat flow and temperature must be ideal,” he explains, “so much chemistry is involved.” There’s a parallel between his description of his hobbies and his explanations in class, where he integrates complex topics with common experience. “I'm only making coasters right now, but my dream project is a combination of resin work and wood whittling,” remarked Dr. Chaudhri.

Taking a quick look at his resume (a veritable jungle of positions and honors), it’s obvious how far his passion and curiosities have taken him since his college days. “My favorite position was probably Director of Research at Arigos,” he explains. Arigos is a biomedical company specializing in organ storage. “The problem I worked on involved everything: math, physics, biology, chemistry, computer science. The freedom I had in tackling problems was absolutely amazing. Being able to help others made it even more rewarding.”

When asked about the biggest problem society faces, we expected an answer along the lines of “global warming” – something that, with enough research, could be solved. Instead, we were reminded of the bigger picture. “I feel the biggest problem in society is the lack of humanity,” ponders Dr. Chaudhri. “There is a lack of kindness and willingness to share love. Everything – health issues, sociological issues – stems from lack of humanity.”