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Anantharaman Lakshminarayanan |
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Research Scientist, Cryptography & Security Department
It has been over nine years since I have joined I²R which was then called Institute of Systems Science. I had just finished my Masters degree from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and was looking for a "researchy" job. I wanted a job that allows me to work independently and has the freedom to pursue my research interests without being closely monitored by my supervisors on a daily basis on my work progress. I had also wanted to work in a place full of researchers and scientists hoping that their enthusiasm and energy will inspire me. That's why I joined I²R.
I currently work on information security. My focus is to develop commercializable security systems. I am currently working on projects related to efficient PKI revocation schemes, next generation DRM schemes and user-friendly security for personal devices. As one can see, these are diverse interests and I²R provides me the space and time to work on these areas. A few years back, when PKI was becoming hot, a big multinational company (MNC) licensed a prototype PKI system developed by me. I spent one month at this MNC’s Melbourne office helping that company develop their own PKI system. It was especially satisfying to see a complete system developed by me being commercialized. I had also been lucky to work on other projects which had seen good commercialization success. I sincerely believe that research is good only if it has practical benefits and can eventually be commercialized.
 Life at I²R is relaxed yet challenging. Although my bosses do not supervise me on a day-to-day basis, but they definitely expect me to deliver on results . I love the challenges presented in my research work as commercialization of research is not always as straightforward as it might seem, it entails a lots of risks as well. A researcher should be passionate to do something BIG. If you want to make a small change to an existing system, I would advise you to join the industry instead of a research institute. Aim for the moon and sometimes we can reach the tree top. Aim for the treetop and most probably you will be close to ground forever.
Singapore is a great place to work in. It is safe, convenient and close to home. My home is in India, just 3.5 hours (flight time) from Chennai. My door-to-door time from Singapore to Chennai was just 5 hours. I could finish work at 5:30 PM and be at my Chennai home by 12 midnight! Life in Singapore is fun. Many people said that Singapore is dull. I disagree completely. I personally feel that they have not seen or do not know what Singapore can offer. A place is as interesting as one is willing to make it out to be. Having this belief, I have met many fun people from many parts of the world in Singapore. And of course, I like working at I²R.
It seems that there is not enough time in my life to accommodate all the activities brought on by the many friendships forged and interests in Singapore. These activities includes checking out the books at NUS library, which I believe to be one of the best libraries in the world, working out in the gym (I²R has its own in-house gym), learning Mandarin which is both fun and very challenging, liken to doing research work, and of course hanging out with my friends during the weekends or clubbing.
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