What unexpected or serendipitous events arose in the course of your research?

While chance plays a role in that one has to be in the right place at the right time with conducive conditions prevailing, upon closer examination one finds that behind every breakthrough there is some level of coordination and planning, though the ending point may not be exactly what was envisioned. In my case there were many instances wherein serendipitous events helped. A case in point is that I was on a trip to IBM Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY and talking science with Frank Stern who had a knack for getting you totally engaged. The topic turned to a controversy in AlGaN, specifically the donor-binding energy and its dependence on the mole fraction. After that discussion, I was motivated to do something about it. In the process, we wrote a classic paper, which is cited with great frequency. (N. Chand, T. Henderson, J. Klem, W.T. Masselink, R. Fischer, Y.C. Chang, and H. Morkoç, "Comprehensive analysis of Si-doped AlxGa1-xAs (x = 0 to 1): Theory and experiments," Phys. Rev. B., 30[8]:4481-92, 1984).

Another example took on a completely different setting. My family and I were vacationing by Lake Michigan. While gazing at the waves, I invented the AlGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic modulation doped field effect transistor (PMODFET), which is the most dominant high-frequency device at present. My view is that one has to have conviction, dedication, perseverance, know-how, and the tools/resources. Everything else falls into place.

  What role did practical support (facilities, funding, etc.) play?

Being an experimentalist and my area of expertise requiring expensive tools, I could not have done what I did without basic research funding. A good deal of long-term investment had to be made in me by funding agencies, particularly Department of Defense and National Science Foundation, for me to pay dividends in terms of educated students, research results and practical devices. Writing on this saddens me a good deal as the funding for basic research has of late been unpopular.

  What are the implications of your work for the future of your field in terms of clinical/therapeutic applications/products?

My contributions can be classified in two groups in this respect. One represents the case in which cumulative understanding and insight gained help pave the way for new products or enhance the performance of existing ones. In this respect, my research helped bipolar transistors, lasers, and light-emitting diodes. The other that does not happen as often is when immediate products are developed. The PMODFET is a case in point in that almost directly from the university laboratory, with help from then GE laboratories in Syracuse, a high performance and reproducible device was born. That device was being used in satellites four years later, and is now used in direct satellite broadcasting, many aspects of telecommunication, automatic toll collection, and highway collision avoidance systems that are under development.

  What would you rate as your most difficult or trying professional moment?

Though I have a few examples that I can cite here, my most difficult and trying moment is really an ongoing struggle to retain my scientific freedom and deal with the built-in bias.

  Aside from your scientific career, what is your greatest or most compelling ambition in life?

To instill in others, especially the young people, the "can do" approach, becoming part of the solution as opposed to the problem, always seizing the opportunity, never hesitating to try new things and learn no matter what the circumstances are, never complaining until the right to do so is earned—which is after everything possible has been explored—and never ever ascribing the blame to others for one's own inaction.