I know it’s unusual to dedicate a web page to this, but it would feel deeply incomplete not to. Whatever I’ve been able to contribute professionally has never been mine alone. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to walk alongside visionary mentors, generous colleagues, brilliant collaborators, trusted friends, and a loving family who have shaped my thinking, opened doors, and lifted me up. Any accomplishment attributed to me is, in truth, shared with them. This page is my humble attempt to honor their role in my life.
Nick McKeown recruited me to Stanford in July 2007 as Executive Director of the Clean Slate Internet Program and Consulting Professor of Electrical Engineering. Over the years—at Stanford, ON.Lab, and ONF—he has been a mentor, collaborator, and friend whose guidance deeply shaped my journey. He also encouraged my early-stage investments in Nicira and Barefoot Networks—both of which had successful exits. This chapter of my life has been among the most meaningful, and I remain deeply grateful to Nick.
During the Clean Slate and POMI-2020 programs, I was fortunate to collaborate with and learn from outstanding faculty like Paul Raj, Monica Lam, Bernd Girod, and Ramesh Johari. Our teams of staff and PhD students were the lifeblood of these initiatives. I especially want to thank Guido Appenzeller, Robert Sherwood, Saurav Das, Brandon Heller, David Ericson, Peyman Kazemian, Nikhil Handigol, and many others who contributed with dedication and brilliance.
At the Stanford Platform Lab, I had the privilege of working alongside John Ousterhout, Balaji Prabhakar, Mendel Rosenblum, Phil Levis, and Christos Kozyrakis—each an inspiring mind and generous collaborator.
I am deeply thankful to Scott Shenker and Nick McKeown for including me in the foundational Software Defined Networking (SDN) journey and inviting me to lead ON.Lab, ONF, and the Open Networking Summit. That experience remains one of the most exciting and purpose-driven periods of my professional life.
I also want to thank the key members of my board at ONF who supported me through both good and challenging times. These include Urs Hölzle, Amin Vahdat, and Dan Lenoski from Google; Andre Fuetsch from AT&T; Alex Choi from SKT and DT; Rob Howald from Comcast; and others. John Donovan from AT&T, in particular, played a pivotal role in getting ON.Lab off the ground.
The impact of ON.Lab and ONF was made possible by an exceptional team. I’m particularly grateful to Bill Snow, Larry Peterson, Oguz Sunay, Saurav Das, Timon Sloane, Aseem Parikh, Thomas Vachuska, Brian O’Connor, Ali Al-Shabibi, Jordan Halterman, Scott Baker, Zack Williams, Andrea Campella, Carmelo Cascone, Pier, Asena McKeown (Gencel), Sedef Ozcana, and many others. Many of us later joined Intel through the ONF/Ananki acquisition, continuing our shared mission in building Intel’s Edge AI Platform. It’s been a long, fulfilling journey together.
Jon Turner and Jerry Cox recruited me to Washington University as I was completing my PhD, and they became lifelong mentors, collaborators, and dear friends. Together, we created successive generations of gigabit networking technology, led impactful research initiatives, and co-founded Growth Networks. Their influence extended far beyond professional mentorship—they shaped how I view integrity, leadership, and humanity.
I also had the privilege of working closely with inspiring colleagues like George Varghese, Subhash Suri, and Doug Schmidt, who enriched my thinking and broadened my horizons.
As a PhD student, I was fortunate to be advised by Dave Farber—a visionary who taught me the power of systems thinking and the importance of asking bold questions. I also learned deeply from Adarsh Sethi (performance modeling), Paul Amer (formal modeling and protocol design), and Dave Mills (foundational work on the Internet and time synchronization). Their generosity, rigor, and encouragement shaped my academic foundation.
As every professor knows, it’s the students who make the journey worthwhile. I’ve had the good fortune of advising several brilliant PhD students who have gone on to make their mark:
Saurav Das (Stanford – co-supervised with Nick McKeown)
Zubin Dittia — LinkedIn
Chuck Cranor — CMU Profile
Milind Buddhikot — LinkedIn
Christos Papadopoulos — LinkedIn
Fengmin Gong — LinkedIn
Late James Sterbenz
My parents—late Sushila and Madhukar Parulkar—remain the compass of my life. They lived simply and selflessly, dedicating their lives to their children’s education and growth. Their humility, wisdom, and quiet strength continue to guide me every day.
My elder siblings—Rajan, Shailendra, and Jayashree—nurtured me, advised me, and shaped my early worldview in ways I continue to draw from.
Kalpana, my wife and life partner, has been my steadfast companion, trusted advisor, and emotional anchor. Her grace, clarity, and strength have shaped our lives in ways big and small. Our daughter Nikita has brought joy, wisdom, and thoughtful perspective into our world. She continues to inspire me and teach me.
I’ve also been blessed with dear friends across St. Louis, the Bay Area, and beyond. They’ve made life fuller—grounding me, challenging me, laughing with me, and sharing this path of growth. I’m especially grateful to:
Sanjay and Savita Bhat • Sanjeev and Priti Lele • Sanjay and Manisha Patwardhan • Adwait and Swanandi Bhagwat • Raja and Kala Pathak • Raju and Mini Damle • Rahul and Shilpa Abhyankar • Manish and Neeru Muthal • Sudesh Saoji and Charu Bobde • Raju and Neeta Yavatkar • Sanju and Manjiri Ghate • Dhananjay and Meghana Koshe • Milind and Maneesha Khandekar
Finally, I am grateful for the presence of many nephews, nieces, and their families—now an integral and joyful part of our lives.
Thank you all. My journey has only been possible because of you.