Dr. Venkataraman Swaminathan obtained his doctorate in Materials Science from the University of Southern California in 1975. He worked at Bell Laboratories for 21 years in many aspects of fiber optic communication systems and fiber-to-the-home technologies. Dr. Swaminathan is a Fellow of the Institution of the Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) and the American Electrochemical Society. He has authored or co-authored 160 publications in peer-reviewed journals, co-authored and edited 4 books, received 8 patents and many professional awards and accolades. After his retirement as a Scientist, Dr. Swaminathan is currently affiliated with Penn State University and Rice University as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics and Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, respectively.
Dr. Venkataraman Swaminathan has been a student of Pūjya Swami Dayananda Saraswati and the other revered ācāryas of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam for nearly 30 years. He collected 365 quotes of Pūjya Swamiji and published them as “Day after day with Swami Dayananda Saraswati.” In addition, he edited two booklets, “Satyam and Mithya” and “What you love is the pleased self,” that are based on Pūjya Swamiji’s talks. He has been teaching Bhagavad Gita, Upanishad and other Vedānta classes online.
Dr. V. Swaminathan is also an ardent devotee of Kāñcī Paramācārya and has penned articles on Periyavā’s inimitable style of inquiry of the śāstras. He has recently started disseminating podcasts on the essence of various topics in Hinduism through a YouTube channel. He is frequently invited to give satsangas and Q&A sessions on topics related to Vedanta and Bhagavad Gita.