I am a PhD student at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota specializing in Strategy and Entrepreneurship. My background is in Industrial and Systems engineering and I spent a few years working as a robotics engineer after my Masters. Gradually, I moved away from a mechanistic view as an engineer and came to appreciate the significant role of entrepreneurship and strategy in business. I started my PhD here at the University of Minnesota in 2006 and since then I have been studying the nature of entrepreneurial opportunities and their impact on value creation.

In my research, I have explored heterogeneity in opportunities from both a behavioral as well as as a structural perspective. Being a realist, I feel both approaches are important--while the first approach helps us develop an understanding of behavioral assumptions underlying our models, the second approach offers the potential of developing generalizable theories that build on our behavioral understanding.

Currently, I am working on my dissertation that explores the link between knowledge and opportunities in an environment characterized by technology convergence. Technology convergence is therefore a fertile ground to study the process of creative destruction—specifically the way knowledge has influenced reorganization in firms. Specifically, I hope to study how knowledge reshapes boundaries, how opportunities get created and who are these entrepreneurs who take advantage of convergence opportunities? Knowledge forms the core of most theories of the firm and understanding these questions can shed light on how and when value is created through entrepreneurship. My other interests include using agent based simulation models to highlight the link between behavioral assumptions and structural theories.