Prasad Akella
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    Messi, the Messiah: Observations from a decade on the soccer field
    June 30, 2026
    When “making it” costs you your humanity
    June 14, 2026
    How to conquer Egypt in 8 days, survive the ATMs, and shop like a Delhi pro
    April 12, 2026
    Precision in the desert: How ancient Egypt mastered engineering millennia before Detroit and Silicon Valley
    February 22, 2026
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    The rise and fall of the Punjab empire
    September 3, 2022
    Asterix & Obelix — My friends for life!
    March 17, 2022
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Blog

In Blog

I went to Egypt for the pyramids and fell in love with its mangoes

December 21, 2025 19 Mins Read

[This is a three-part series on Egypt. This, the first, speaks to its rich history…

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In Blog

Four generations of engineers: The life and times of my grandfather, CVS Narasimha Rao

August 25, 2025 18 Mins Read

When Pooja surprised us and graduated as a bioengineering major last year, it suddenly occurred…

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In Blog

The dancing golf ball and the world of typography

August 6, 2025 10 Mins Read

I chanced upon a rather intriguing story today on the mystery of Dennis Ritchie’s Harvard…

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In Blog

My strange love affair with (Carnatic) music

July 27, 2025 8 Mins Read

There’s something profoundly ironic about my relationship with Carnatic music. Here I am, a man…

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Business

Business

In Business

The brilliance of single-piece flow: The allegory of the cakes

October 11, 2022 4 Mins Read

(Originally published on Oct 11, 2022 on the Drishti blog) This past weekend, I had…

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In Business

Getting workers to collaborate in problem solving the right way vs the fast way

September 12, 2022 6 Mins Read

(Originally published on Sep 12, 2022 on the Drishti blog) For a large manufacturer, everything…

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In Business

Tribal Knowledge is the Enemy of the Growing Organization

May 11, 2022 4 Mins Read

(Originally posted on May 11, 2022 on the Drishti blog) As an organization grows it…

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In Business

Ironically, standardization actually drives creativity

April 20, 2022 4 Mins Read

(Originally posted on Apr 20, 2022 on the Drishti blog) I’ve worked in many professional…

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Technology

Technology

In Blog

ChatGPT 3.5, Ashwatthama, truth and honesty

January 15, 2025 4 Mins Read

Prasad’s introductory note: I had promised, in an earlier blog, to keep track of the…

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In Blog

Flying with the Maharaja

December 25, 2024 6 Mins Read

Co-authored with Prof. Srinivas Akella 15th December, 1980 is forever etched in our memories. It…

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In Blog

Why Paul Revere became famous while William Dawes was forgotten: The all-powerful social network

December 4, 2023 10 Mins Read

Back in November 2007, Jeff Stiles, my new manager at SAP, invited me to talk…

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In Blog

Life is a safari*

September 28, 2023 5 Mins Read

June 2024 update: The Information publicly revealed that Drishti was acquired by Apple. ——- Earlier…

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Education

Education

In Education

To earn a PhD? Or, not.

August 17, 2022 9 Mins Read

A question that often comes up in conversation with friends, the kids of friends, our….
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In Blog

My first Macs

February 18, 2016 3 Mins Read

Stanford, 1985 I am in the process of retiring my old PowerMac 7100 from circa 1994. (I…

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In Blog

Does getting admitted to your state public college need to be this hard?

October 9, 2014 3 Mins Read

With Chirag getting closer to college, we’ve been more attention to college admissions….
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In Blog

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs — starting them young!

February 26, 2014 5 Mins Read

The world talks about Silicon Valley, its spirit of entrepreneurship and how unmatched this environment…

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Society

Society

In Musings

The genius of the Kinder Egg

November 13, 2022 3 Mins Read

I first chanced upon a Kinder Egg (“kinder überraschung”) when in Germany in the fall…

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In Blog

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs — starting them young!

February 26, 2014 5 Mins Read

The world talks about Silicon Valley, its spirit of entrepreneurship and how unmatched this environment…

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In Blog

Changing the world from the bottom — one village at a time

October 24, 2011 3 Mins Read

As an engineer and closet sociologist, I love stories about cultural change — especially those…

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In Blog

Writing in the internet age — “calisthenics for the brain”

June 26, 2011 2 Mins Read

In the “10 Questions” section of the June 20, 2011 issue of Time Magazine, historian David McCullough shares…

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Musings

Musings

In Blog

My strange love affair with (Carnatic) music

July 27, 2025 8 Mins Read

There’s something profoundly ironic about my relationship with Carnatic music. Here I am, a man…

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In Blog

The hidden history of vegetarianism in India: A 3,000-year journey

June 24, 2025 11 Mins Read

Growing up in a vegetarian home in Malleswaram, Bangalore, eating at popular eateries like Kamat…

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In Education

The Indian rules the American Spelling Bee

May 29, 2025 8 Mins Read

Faizan Zaki, today, was crowned the Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion in Maryland. I found…

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In Blog

The tresses of time: A history of hair

May 26, 2025 9 Mins Read

Strangely, I’ve been thinking about hair these last few weeks. Perhaps because I just attended…

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  • Dr. Prasad Akella is a serial entrepreneur who has created and commercialized deep tech products that empower humans — in three very different areas: robotics, business social networks, computer vision/AI.
    He is a Fellow of the ASME and the SME and a Stanford PhD, Michigan MBA, and IIT BS.

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      Recent thoughts on AI and education...

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    • Recent Posts
      • Messi, the Messiah: Observations from a decade on the soccer field
      • When “making it” costs you your humanity
      • How to conquer Egypt in 8 days, survive the ATMs, and shop like a Delhi pro
      • Precision in the desert: How ancient Egypt mastered engineering millennia before Detroit and Silicon Valley
      • I went to Egypt for the pyramids and fell in love with its mangoes
      • Four generations of engineers: The life and times of my grandfather, CVS Narasimha Rao
      • The dancing golf ball and the world of typography
      • My strange love affair with (Carnatic) music
      • The hidden history of vegetarianism in India: A 3,000-year journey

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