Maker Bhavan Foundation was founded with a vision to ignite a transformation in engineering education, empowering India’s brightest young minds to engineer a future of boundless innovation and positive global impact.
Our timeline chronicles our evolution from a single lab to a collective footprint of 1 lakh+ students.
We are a group of dedicated and passionate professionals with a shared commitment to delivering excellence.
Sandeep loves working with his hands fixing or enhancing broken stuff like furniture, electronic gadgets or kids toys and enjoys being a handyman. He actively participates in adventure activities like trekking, long distance road-trips, river rafting. He has also dabbled in amateur theater and enjoys singing. World history and biographies are his reading interests. He holds a BE in Electronics Engineering from Mumbai University and an MS in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University, New York, USA.
He is driven by the passion for connecting with people and loves being in conversation with individuals who want to make the world a better place.
Our esteemed Board of Directors share a deep commitment to creating transformative education opportunities and empowering students to reach their full potential. The aim of this Board is to pave strategic direction for the foundation and fostering innovation.
Hemant is an ex-member of the Board of Trustees at Case Western Reserve University and Virginia Polytechnic. He was President of the Washington DC chapter of TiE and a member of the global board of trustees of TiE. He currently serves as a board member of several non-profit organizations in the art and cultural sectors.
This philosophy has become the key to my success in life. Early on, I spent a lot of time acquiring knowledge from classrooms and books. Only when I started learning by doing, my life turned around. Through this foundation, I hope many young folks get to learn this lesson early in their lives. As someone said, you do not learn to walk by rules of walking but by starting to walk, falling many times, getting up and trying again.
Aristotle said, “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”
“On Tinkering: The only reason to become wealthy is to be a philanthropist. Tinkering generates a wealth of innovative knowledge that can make you a philanthropist!”
He has been actively involved in non-profits committed to STEM education via high school science fairs and animal causes via German Shepherd dog rescues. Currently, he sits on the boards of a medical device company, a pharma startup, and a non-profit focused on mental health.
Ashish has an MBA from Wharton, a Ph.D. in Fiber Optics from Virginia Tech, and a B.Tech. from IIT Bombay. In his free time, Ashish constructs crosswords and enjoys Bollywood and Indian classical music.
Ron is the Executive Director of WIN Foundation that was spawned out of Wheels Global Foundation to support innovations and fund novel programs in Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) and Maternal and Child Health (MCH) issues in India. Many IITs in India - IITB, IITGN and IITKGP and several highly respected NGOs in India are beneficiaries of over $2 million in grants awarded by WIN Foundation to address WATSAN and MCH issues in India.
Ron is the current Director of IIT Gandhinagar Foundation and previously served as President of IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation.
Ron holds a B Tech (Chemical Engineering' 70), from IIT Bombay and Masters degrees in Chemical Engineering and Engineering Administration from the University of Connecticut and the University of Utah respectively.
Ajay is a charter member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Delhi chapter and has been a mentor to entrepreneurs through programs organized by TiE, iSPIRT, and NASSCOM. Ajay was the Chief Product Officer of SmartVizX, a company developing an immersive design collaboration platform for the building industry. He has also been the Managing Director of RMS Risk Management Solutions India and worked at the parent company, Risk Management Solutions in Silicon Valley as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of data solutions. Prior to that, Ajay founded RMSI, one of India’s leading geospatial information services and solutions companies. Ajay began his career in Tokyo with Kumagai Gumi Ltd., a leading Japanese architecture/engineering/construction company.
Ajay has a Bachelor of Technology degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (New Delhi, India) and a Master's degree in Structural Engineering from Stanford University (California, USA).
Kirat holds a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay, and a Masters in Management Studies, from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Bombay.
Community Service:
Member, Advisory Board of IIT Bombay Alumni Association, Mumbai, India.
Member, Western Regional Committee of the Indian Chemical Council, India.
Member, Finance Committee of UDCT now Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India
Director, Centre, Healthcare Entrepreneurship, IIT Hyderabad.
Member, CSR committee, Alkyl Amines Chemicals
Managing Trustee, Rukavipa Foundation, Mumbai.
Trustee, Babasheth and Kusumben Trust., Mumbai
Sustainability and outdoors are a passion for Ravi. He has worked on sustainable and integrated solutions for water. He has set up more than 10 million liters per year Rain Harvesting system and more than 300 installations in the water sustainability space. He extensively lectures about sustainable solutions for water.
Dr. Mariwala holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware with 5 patents and 17 publications in international peer-reviewed Journals. He has more than 25 years’ experience in chemical and allied process industries in various capacities, including projects funded by Dupont, Air Products, Rohm & Haas and US Govt. through TDS Research, Colorado. He is a promoter of Marico, Kaya and promoter and Director of Eternis Fine Chemicals.
Ravi is an adjunct faculty at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. He lectures on Technology and Entrepreneurship at ICT. He regularly mentors 2-3 students every year through projects to inspire them to join a field related to Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship.
He is also one of the founding members of Tech & Innovation Advisor Group of Centre for Human Rights and International Justice at Stanford University.
Ravi has been sailing for the last 45 years and currently sails competitively and cruises along the western coast of India regularly. He is also an active member of The Himalayan Club. He has climbed and trekked extensively in the Himalaya and Sahyadri (37 years, more than 250 ascents) and edited the prestigious Himalayan Club NewsLetter.
Since its inception in sheet metal, Technocraft has also grown to become a leading global manufacturer of scaffolding systems, an industry considered hazardous in the US and western Europe.
With subsidiaries in engineering services for the global market and defence, the company keeps up with the latest technology. Technocraft Defence Private Ltd. develops defence technology as part of its efforts to make our country Atmanirbhar. The company continues to be managed and co-chaired by Sudarshan.
The trust he founded by Sudarshan and his brother runs subsidised vocational courses in tool making, die making, and Mechatronics in Murbad, Mumbai and supports a number of charities at the same time. Children from tribal communities receive free education, lodging, and food.
Sudarshan with his brother also funded Alma Mater in Bombay to set up a centre for applied artificial intelligence. The centre is known as the Technocraft centre for artificial intelligence.
Vinaya received a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB) and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, both in Chemical Engineering. She is on the Board of IITB Heritage Foundation and is the President of the IITB SF Bay Area Chapter. She also served in leadership roles with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) community and the California Separation Sciences Society (CASSS). Committed to furthering interest and careers in science, technology, environment and the arts particularly among women and youth, she volunteers her efforts towards this.
Our Board of Advisors forms a global group of experts who bring their vast knowledge and experience in guiding the work of the Foundation.
An internationally respected scholar, Dr. Jain has made seminal contributions to earthquake engineering practice, education, and seismic code development in India. He founded the National Information Centre of Earthquake Engineering (NICEE) at IIT Kanpur and led the National Programme on Earthquake Engineering Education (NPEEE), training thousands of engineers and educators. His work spans reinforced concrete structures, bridges, seismic codes, and post-earthquake damage assessment, with over 150 scholarly publications and extensive consultancy on major infrastructure projects.
Dr. Jain was awarded the Padma Shri in 2020 and elected an International Member of the US National Academy of Engineering in 2021. He has also received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Roorkee. He served as President of the International Association for Earthquake Engineering (2014–2018) and is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering.
Under his leadership, IIT Gandhinagar emerged as one of India’s most globalised and innovative institutions, with strong interdisciplinary curricula, extensive international exposure for students, and a nationally acclaimed, sustainability-leading campus.
Dr. Jain holds a B.E. from the University of Roorkee and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.
An internationally acclaimed nanoelectronics researcher, Prof. Rao has authored over 500 research papers and holds more than 50 patents, including 20 US patents, with several technologies commercialized and deployed globally in hundreds of millions of integrated circuits. He is a co-founder of two deep-tech startups, Nanosniff and Soilsens, both of which have successful market-ready products.
Prof. Rao has played a pivotal role in establishing major nanoelectronics programmes in India and has supervised 52 Ph.D. graduates working across leading global academia and semiconductor industries. A recipient of over 35 national and international honours, his awards include the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, Infosys Prize, and the IEEE EDS Education Award. He is a Fellow of multiple national and international science and engineering academies and serves on editorial boards of leading journals. In addition, he chairs several national-level bodies, including JNCASR and NIFTEM.
Paula brings more than 25 years of entrepreneurial and operational experience with technology companies and 15 years of investing experience in early stage companies in the USA and India. In her role as Founding MD of Seedfund since 2006, Paula has been actively involved with the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India to source, evaluate and mentor start-up companies having led investments in education, healthcare, deep technology and rural/social impact sectors. She works closely with portfolio companies to take them to their next stage of growth. As an angel investor she has a large portfolio of companies with Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs India and in her individual capacity through her family office.
She is on the board of Foundation of innovation and Technology Transfer, (FITT)- IIT, Delhi, Beyond Capital Fund, The Stanford SEED Transformation Program, Go Massive Incubator for Sustainability and Social Impact Platform iDoBro. She writes and speaks regularly at various startup events and serves on boards of several of her portfolio companies. She is also President of the Stanford Alumni Association – India.
Paula is deeply committed to the causes of education, environment, gender equality, human rights and women empowerment. She supports several NGOs and serves on the boards of The Gender Lab, Avanti Young Women Leaders Program and Katalyst India. She is an advisor to the SDG Philanthropy Platform, India, The UN India Women Entrepreneurship network. In addition, she mentors women entrepreneurs as well as young women from socially disadvantaged backgrounds through various personal and professional networks.
Paula is a founding member on the Board of Management of KREA University, India, The Governing Board of K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering and on the Advisory Board of Physics Department of her alma mater, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.
She also serves on the Advisory Boards of The Centre for Human Rights and International Justice at Stanford University and Stanford SEED, India.
Paula holds an MS in Applied Physics from Stanford University and BSc (Hons) inPhysics from St. Xavier’s college, Mumbai.
He subsequently founded the Central Square Foundation (CSF), a grant-making organization and policy think tank focused on transforming the quality of school education in India. Deeply committed to education reform, Ashish spearheaded the founding of Ashoka University, where he serves as Chairperson, and sits on the boards of several prominent education and governance nonprofits.
Ashish is the Founder and CEO of the Convergence Foundation (TCF), which incubates and supports nonprofits driving system-level impact across economic growth, equality of opportunity, sustainability, governance, science and technology, women’s economic empowerment, and air quality.
An alumnus of Yale University and Harvard Business School, Ashish also serves on Harvard’s India Advisory Board and Yale’s Development Council.
As Secretary to the Government of India, he led key national reforms in higher education and social justice. He played a pivotal role in redesigning the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) by introducing IT-enabled systems, real-time monitoring, and transparency mechanisms such as social audits. As Education Secretary, he spearheaded the formulation of the National Education Policy 2020, working closely with academicians and experts.
Mr. Subrahmanyam was instrumental in establishing institutions to strengthen programme delivery, including the Higher Education Financing Agency and the National Testing Agency. His areas of expertise include large-scale programme design, rural development, and education reform.
He holds degrees from Madras Christian College, Jawaharlal Nehru University, the University of Bradford (Commonwealth Scholar), and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
The Founders of MBF are all alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. A committed group of volunteers, they drive many of our key programme interventions.
Raj retired from TIBCO Software Inc (acquired by Vista Equity Partners) as an Executive Vice President in the office of CEO. Prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer at TIBCO Software Inc. Since the founding of TIBCO, Raj built and led the worldwide sales and marketing operations. As the Chief Operating Officer, Raj was also responsible for engineering, professional and support services.
Prior to joining TIBCO, Raj co-founded YieldUp International, a semiconductor equipment manufacturing company, Media Computer Technology Inc., an ASIC design house and Consilium Inc., a Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) software, provider. Mashruwala led Consilium’s R&D and professional services operations since the company’s inception.
Raj holds M. S (Engineering) from the University of California, Berkeley and B. Tech (Mechanical) from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
Raj holds several patents on Object-Oriented Modeling for Manufacturing Systems.
Community Service
Chair, IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation, Santa Clara, USA
Director, IIT Gandhinagar Foundation, Palo Alto, USA
Director, Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Palo Alto, USA
Member of the Advisory Board of Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, India
Director, Foundation of Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship, IITH, Hyderabad, India
Chief Biometric Coordinator (2009-2011), Aadhaar. Raj has been an early volunteer in this ambitious nation-building project of Indian Government.
He embarked on a Social path for creating livelihoods for the urban poor through a unique business model for which he was awarded ‘Social Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year” award at the World CSR Congress in 2014. He is actively engaged with his alma mater and the Institute has recognised his contribution with the Distinguished Services award”.
He is also a Partner in Sonal Engineering and specializes in the design and fabrication of Fluid bed processing equipment for the Pharmaceutical Industry. Jayant holds a B Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay.
Community Service:
Ex Chair, Gujarat State Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
Member, Executive Council, Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers' Association
Member, CII – IT Gujarat Taskforce,
Member, National Council on Innovation
Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Member IIT-Gandhinagar Endowment Committee
Member Post Graduate Board of Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad
Since his retirement Shekhar has been focused on volunteering his time and in the education sector working with NGOs to improve student awareness in ICT. He has also guided faculty and students of Atal Tinkering Labs in schools and as a special advisor to the Director of IIT Goa between 2018-2020.
Chandrashekhar holds a B Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay. In spare time he can be found reading books on education and economics or pottering in his garden.
He is serving as an advisor to SPARK Translational Science Program at the Stanford Medical School. This program bridges the gap between discovery and treatment in medical science. The SPARK model has been adopted at over fifty medical schools around the world.
Sunil has co-authored 30 US patents.
He holds B. Tech. EE ’76, IIT Bombay, Ph.D. EE Stanford Univ. ’81.
He went on to join Altair Engineering, Bangalore in 2007, where he built and lead a wonderful team of 30 with diverse & niche skill sets as a professional services group for CAE process automation & related Enterprise Solutions.
Subsequently, Shashi worked as a consultant in the field of Engg Process Automation and Data Management for a few years before retiring from professional life.
Shashi holds a B Tech in Aerospace Engineering and an M Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay.
He had been very active with the IIT Bombay alumni movement and founded the Hyderabad Chapter of the Association. He is a recipient of IIT Bombay's "Distinguished Service Award".
In his free time, Shashi enjoys outdoor sports and social work and spends a lot of time in his home garden.
