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Okay. Today is October 4th, 2024. My name is Advika Rajeev, and I'm with the Houston Asian American Archive. I'm talking today with Dr. Bandula Wijay, an inventor of cardiovascular medical devices and a founder of several

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medical technology companies. Thank you so much for talking with me today! Thank you. To start, can you please state your full name and where and when you were born?

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Well, [coughs] my name is Bandula Wijay. W-i-j-a-y. I was born in Sri Lanka in June 1946. So right now, I'm about 79 years old.

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And, yeah. Next question. Thank you. Can you talk a little bit about your household growing up? Well, I was in a household where my–my parents were school teachers. They were school principals in local high––local schools.

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I had two sisters and one teach––one elder sister was a school teacher, and my second sister was a banker, and I was the youngest. That's awesome. What values did your parents emphasize in you and your siblings growing

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up? The one most important value is to be ethical and do the right thing and work hard, and I think these were the most important values that they–they–they tried to teach

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me, even while I was a child or when I was an adult are the same thing, yes. That's amazing. Are there any lessons from them that you brought into raising your own two children?

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Yes. I have two sons. They are–they are–they are grown up. One is 46, the other one is 38. So they are both grown up.

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They have their own children. I have grandchildren. What was your neighborhood in Sri Lanka like when you were a kid? So basically I am––I was not from a town. I was from a village. My–my village is not too far from the

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city. So I was like three miles from the city, but three miles a long, long distance those days. And so I grew up in kind of a country environment where we–we grew a lot of stuff, vegetables and stuff,

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and we were among a lot of paddy fields, so we were––we didn't own paddy fields, but we–we had some–some people sold their products to us and so on. So we–we–we grew up in a sort of like a a-agricultural

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environment. But I did go to the city school, which is three miles away, which is a quite a well-known high school in Sri Lanka. And I went from third grade to high school

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in that school called Mahinda College or Mahinda Vidyalaya as the Sri Lankan pronunciation, so. And so I-I had a very good life growing up. My–my school life was wonderful.

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That's awesome. Since you mentioned schooling, I was wondering, were there any teachers or experiences during this early schooling that inspired you academically or non-academically? So, I–I––after the eighth grade, I got into the sort of science

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stream, so I was one of the students in the science stream, and I was very fortunate to have a few great teachers, and those teachers made a big impact on–on our––my life and lives of a lot of other students in the school.

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So we grew up trying to learn the–the basic and the fundamentals of science and–and trying to understand that knowing it and learning it properly means a lot in how you practice eventually when you grow up and

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when you go to work, so that–that––they made a really big impact in–in my life and the life of a lot of other kids. And I was a lot of a hands-on type of person at the time when I was growing up in school,

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so I did a lot of hands-on type of things. Pretty much the same things that I have done the rest of my life is just being hands-on in d-developing the various things I have developed, just mainly because I've been very practical and hands-on.

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That's really great to hear that they cultivated that interest in you while you were young. Were your parents supportive of your interests early in life, or did they push you towards any specific field of study? Well, my parents always insisted that I–I study well and study

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hard and achieve the goals that I have set for myself, and they want to make sure that I follow through. So in that sense, yes, they were persuasive. Plus, they themselves were teachers a-and therefore they–they

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knew the value of education. So, [laughs] my household is like, yeah, you better study and, you know, do well in school. That sort of mentality, that–that environment exists,

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you know, throughout my life until I left–left home. Yes. When you were a kid, what was the first thing you wanted to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a scientist, and I wanted to be a medical doctor

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or an engineer. So I had this option of doing this or the other, and I did go into the medical stream to start with, but then I switched to engineering after high school. That's amazing. Do you have a favorite childhood memory

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that stayed with you? I do. So, when I was––I think I was in the 12th grade or 11th grade, something like that. One–one of the things that–that

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happened in about the sixth grade was that the teacher insisted that we talk to each other in English so that we can improve our English. So, there was–there was a penalty if we spoke anything but English.

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So there was [laughs] this teacher. Interestingly, he is related to my mother––some sort of an uncle to me, and so––and he really made a big–big change in the way we grew up and this––so they-they forced us to learn

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English, and that was in the sixth grade. So, then about the 11th grade––I think 11 or 12th grade––I don't remember the exact grade, I was awarded––I participated in a science exhibition, so I built

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some-something, and I presented it, and I got the first prize in that thing. So I–I always remember that I was hands-on. I built things and–and things that are sort of innovative stuff. So, that I-I always remember those kind of

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things that happened and other things in my life. I was a Boy Scout. I was a troop leader. So a lot of things that we did in Boy Scouts, went camping and places that we visited and all that,

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sometimes come to my head when I'm alone and think about the past. These things pop up in my head and I remember those things. Yes. Thank you for sharing.

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Did you travel a lot when you were younger? Yes. So my parents were teachers. Therefore, they were employees of the government. And because they were employees of the government,

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they have this train pass that–that allows them to make trips basically free of charge for them and their family. So, because of that, we went all over Sri Lanka by–by train. And once you get to a major city or station

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by train, the rest of the part of the trip can be by bus or by a taxi or car. So, we did travel all over the country while we were little because they had this train pass, but not outside of the country. Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun.

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What influenced your decision to move and then stay in the United States? Well, first I got a scholarship to study in India. So my–my basic degree is from India. And first I went to a university called Jadavpur

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University in Calcutta. And I did my undergraduate there, chemical engineering, and I graduated from there. Then I applied to the–the school there called IITs,

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and I applied to IIT and I got admitted to IIT Kanpur, so I went to study in Kanpur. I did not complete my education at IIT Kanpur and I had reasons. My mother passed away, meanwhile, and my father was alone.

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A lot of things happened back home. So I––after I think about two semesters, I went back to Sri Lanka and I started working there for a short time. And then, I had the opportunity to come to the United

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States. I was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship. I was one of three people that year who got the scholarship. So, then I came to the US in 1974. So, I had the opportunity to go to various schools,

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and I didn't know too much about the United States at the time, so I asked somebody where I worked, who has been to the United States and got educated, where I should go. I was thinking of like MIT, Colorado School

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of––School of Mines, and then something somewhere in Southern California, USC, and he said, "Go to USC. The weather is very good. You will feel very comfortable." And I had no idea [laughs]

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and said, "Okay, I'm going to USC." I told the US––I think IIE is the name of the institute that handles the Fulbright Scholarship. So I told them I'm going to USC. They asked me to apply for admission.

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USC gave me admission. So, I ended up coming to USC. So once I arrived in the United States, I realized that USC is a–is a great school, it's an elite school, and all that good stuff.

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So I said, okay, I lucked out. So–so I did my education at USC. I entered. I did my master's in chemical engineering, and then I enrolled in the PhD.

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And while I was doing my PhD in chemical engineering, I enrolled in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and I did a master's in mechanical engineering on the side, and I got that degree on the side.

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And then I graduated in chemical engineering, I think, in 1978. Wow. That's amazing. When you first moved to the US or to India, were there any, like, major challenges that you faced?

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Well, going to India–going to India was a bit tougher challenge in the sense, you know, we had little cultural differences and the food was the biggest challenge because I was not used to the kind of food in that area of India. But I got adapted to it fairly quickly.

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And because of this history between India and Sri Lanka, there's a some sort of a story from–from way back when that talks about Ravan and so on. So that kind of influenced me a little bit.

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But after everybody got friendly with me, that–that went away. So they were like––we were like brothers then after that. And coming to the United States, then I was six years more mature, right, and then, I came in and no, not a

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problem. I just got an apartment and started living in an apartment. We walked to––I walked to class. It's about half a mile––I think about a mile walk to class. These are graduate level courses.

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They were always in the night. So we go there, I think, about 6:00 and walk–walk home by 9:00. So it was––it wasn't a huge cultural shock coming to the US.

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Well, the only other thing was we had to cook ourselves. That's the only difference. So there was nobody to cook for you. We learned how to cook. You had mentioned that you moved to LA when you first moved to the US.

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Were you able to find a strong Sri Lankan community in LA? Interesting question. Actually, when I moved in 1974, there were like nine families. There were only like nine families. Okay.

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And today, I don't think you can count the number of families there. It's so huge. People don't know each other. But those days, nine families.

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Of the nine families, I was one. So there are other eight families. There was another student from Sri Lanka who was doing chemistry. So he was the other family.

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So there were seven families outside of us. So it's a very small community. So we got to know each other quickly because he had some connections in the––with somebody. And when he connected with that person,

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that allowed me to connect with that person and then the community as a whole. So–so we were–we were well-received by these families, and we still continue to have a relationship with those––some of those families.

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Some of them are no longer there, but there are few who are still alive and we–we communicate regularly with them. Yeah, that sounds like a really tight-knit community. Building off of what you just mentioned, what are some changes that you've noticed in

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the US from when you moved to present day? The biggest change that I noticed was the education system. The education system in the United States, not only having got my––most of my education here in the US,

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but also h-having been an entrepreneur and built several companies and being a professor for almost 7 or 8 years, one of the one of the most remarkable thing in America is the education system. I–I–I always in my

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speeches, when I'm asked to give a speech, I always tell about this story. That means this education system is totally unparalleled to any other education system anywhere else in the world, including the developed countries, including the Western Europe or China and Japan.

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This education system is very different, and this is the reason why America has progressed is because of our education system. We don't teach kids. We make kids learn. That's a huge difference.

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In–in Sri Lanka and India, because I was in India, you teach the kid, you teach in class. But here you–you go to class. As a professor, I would entice the kids to learn.

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And in the process, when the kids learn, they become better in–in practicing what they learn. As you know, if you take h-hundred things that have changed the way humanity exists today. The way we live life.

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If you–if you pick up 100 things, 99 of those things were invented in the United States. Okay. The fact that you and I are talking on the internet with the Zoom connection, this was done in the United States,

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not by the highly educated people––bright, brilliant people somewhere else. Now, granted, some of these things were invented by the people like me who–who have immigrated to this country, who have adapted this system, and therefore that's how a person like

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me and others who have used their skills to come up with these new ideas. So you name it, from the transistor to the microwave oven to all these various things were invented and developed in the United States. The only reason is–is how we educate our

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students. Because when these students, they learn to learn, they go back outside––to the outside world. They learn to learn, to learn in order to produce something that is disruptive. Okay. So you–you––I remember in my

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older days––somebody asked me the other day, how often did you talk to your father? And I said, I used to write letters and he used to reply me in letters. Now, letter takes about a week or two to go, and another letter takes a week or two to come. And a phone call was like

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$3-4 a minute. So a ten minute phone call, we could not afford as students. But today, with the WhatsApp, y-you just can talk to people around the world, right? How did that happen? That innovation came from here,

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granted from people who came from other countries, but it happened here through this system. And that's what he said, "That is what I admire in the American system, the American education, what America has given me."

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That's a very fascinating perspective about, like, the difference in teaching content and teaching how to learn. [BW: Absolutely.] So thank you for sharing. Were [BW: When I get in front of a class––] there any important–– When I get in front [AR: Oh, sorry.] of a class, I intentionally

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don't tell them this stuff. The what is subject matter? I don't tell them. Even the very first day of first class, as I see my students, I ask a question.

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What is the answer to that question? Through that question, I indoctrinate what I want to tell them. This is my way of thinking. And there are a lot of teachers like that in the United States.

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Majority. Please, I'm sorry. Thank you for sharing your teaching philosophy. That's really cool. Were there any important people who helped you during your transition as a new immigrant to the US? Yes. So, after

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the first–first year or so was kind of sort of like anybody else, eventless. There was a host family that we met every so often. They invited out to their house for dinner, and they were very nice and they

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were always advising us about, you know, America and what–what–what–what we should learn from them. So they were very useful. But, I think

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my–my–my teachers, my professors m-made a huge impact on my life. And not only that, they gave me the chance to work on some areas that are so important, but also the way they–they encourage us to excel in what we do.

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So not just do something enough to satisfy the need, but do the best you can so that you excel in what you're trying to do. I think that–that character was instilled in our––us

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by our teachers, our professors at USC. Thank you for sharing. You mentioned about the education system, but did you see any differences between the scientific communities in all the places you've lived and worked at?

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Well, when I was in Sri Lanka, I worked in the most premier institute for scientific research in Sri Lanka, and I was a research officer. That's my title. And so I worked with a lot of other scientists.

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Most of them were educated in the United States, so they got their PhDs in the US, maybe a few from places like Switzerland or Germany, but most of that higher senior staff were educated here.

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And so we worked again over there. I worked on very practical things. So, my work was very much appreciated by the senior management. What I was able to produce.

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So, as far as that when I went to work here, I did not go into scientific research environment like a research lab. I went to work for a company in–in more of a practical

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development. So I work with engineers, not so much scientists who were doing fundamental research. While in Sri Lanka, I did––I worked with people who were trying to do fundamental research. But here, when I went to work, I worked with myself,

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with engineers, where we are trying to make something happen with existing knowl––known knowledge. We use the known knowledge to make something. So in that sense, my experience here is not so much with

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the scientific community. It's more on the medicine and engineering. I work with doctors and engineers, so that's where my life from that 1978 to today, my life is working with them, not so much with

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the scientific community. I see. That makes sense. Did you face any discrimination after moving to the US? Absolutely not. I think there is

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a––I don't see that––I never faced any sort of discrimination because I'm a foreigner or because I'm an immigrant. I'm not a foreigner anymore, but I was a foreigner at the time

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because I'm an immigrant or I'm a different skin color. I never felt that. But in the first place, wherever I went, I was at the very top, right? So it's very hard to discriminate somebody at the top because most people are working for

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me, right. So it's hard for your employees to discriminate your boss. So I don't know whether this exists in–in another situation, but in my situation, I did not tell––my employees, whether they are white or black or brown,

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they loved me for what I do, how I treated them. So, I never felt that. So. That's amazing. That's really nice to hear.

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You mentioned that you received the Fulbright Scholarship to pursue higher education in the US. What's your opinion on study abroad opportunities and moving to different countries for education? Sri Lankans go to different countries, they mainly

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go to the UK and some now go to Australia, but most of the people go to UK. Some people, few people come to the United States at that time. Now that has changed. I think now you–you see more and more people coming to the United

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States, and I do not know how many people go to the UK because I don't live there anymore. So I'm not privy to that information. But, I was lucky. That year that I got the Fulbright Scholarship, I also got the Commonwealth Scholarship to go to–to–to England.

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So I chose to take the Fulbright and–and not the Commonwealth, so I came here. Why I did that, I don't know. It's just okay, I'm going to America, not here [laughs]. So.

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That's awesome. Did your vision for your future or your career change while you were in college? When you say college, you mean college here, like in the university here.

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So my–my future––where I am today is fairly accidental. I––when I was doing my PhD, I worked on these things called highly field system.

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Highly field systems is, we have a binder like rubber and inside this binder, you get 98––95 to 98% solids which can be any kind of thing. Why this is important is the rocket fuels,

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for example, the–the–the, you see the flame coming down and the rocket is going up. That––what is inside that is a rocket fuel. The rocket fuel is 98––95 to

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98% the–the fuel, solid fuel, and it's held in place by the binder, which is 2 to 3% of that. So–so this is very important because it's–it's

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like you go to the beach and you–you take sand and make a tube and you try to hold it from the top. It breaks, right. It doesn't have strength. But in the rocket, it's held in the top.

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It's burning at the bottom. So therefore, it has to have some strength, otherwise it will fall––break and fall apart. So this is very important study. So I–I studied this. This is my area.

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I did this, and that's what I did towards my PhD. And I was––I made a presentation in one of the local meetings. And at the lunchtime, I–I had lunch and there was

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a little round table. There were a few other people at the lunch, and I overheard these people talking about a problem that they have. So this guy who had a problem is telling the other guys, "Hey, we have been working on this and this.

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What do you think? What can be done?" That sort of question, the conversation. And after I finished the lunch, when they left, I went and talked to the guy who has the problem and said, "Hey, I overheard it. I'm sorry, but

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based on what you guys were talking, maybe the solution is something like this or something like that." And he said, "Oh, yeah?" And–and a couple of–couple of weeks later, I got a call from this guy. And my––those days, there were no cell phones.

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There's phone in the house––and say, "My boss wants to talk to you." And about this, I said, "Okay, well." So I got into my car, I drove from USC to Ryan and I met with this––his

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boss. And he asked me––he told me that, "Oh, you told him that you–you–you can solve the problem. You know the solution." I said, "I think I can help you solve the problem, and you should do this. You do that." And whatever came to my mind,

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I told him, and he was very impressed. And right then and there, he offered me a job. So, and––within the next––so I was there in his office for about half an hour.

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15 minutes later, I had a piece of paper with the job offer, [laughs] and that the the dollar amount is much higher than my scholarship amount. So I went and told my professor, "Hey I got this offer.

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What do I do, sir?" And he said, "No worries. You have already finished your work at the PhD. Take the job and write your thesis." So I took the job and start writing my thesis, and I graduated and I worked.

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I did solve the problem in within about 2 to 3 months, I solved the problem and I got started in a medical device field. So it's very accidental. I got into the medical device field. Here I'm working on highly fueled

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systems for my PhD. And yet, I––my work in my life ended up in the medical devices, like the pictures you see in the–in the wall back here. They're all various devices I developed. So, the rest is in the rear view mirror.

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So. Yeah, that's a really impressive story. [laughs] It's something to do with luck, I believe. You know, I mean, maybe–maybe we shouldn't believe in luck,

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but in–in retrospectively looking, maybe even there was luck that I fell into this. Although, I don't know, maybe if I went to work for a aerospace company or petroleum company, maybe I'd have done okay,

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but this turned out to be a very rewarding career for me. Thank you so much for sharing. What clubs or extracurricular activities did you participate in during college in Sri Lanka, India or the US?

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In India, I played a little bit of cricket because everybody was playing cricket, and once I arrived here in the first few years, I couldn't. I was not involved in any kind of sports. But once I finished and when I––especially after a while,

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I was in California working for this company. I worked for them from '79––8 to '82, 4 years. I was not that much involved in sports. Once I came to Houston, over here, then I started

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playing tennis. I played tennis for quite a long time, and so that was the extra sort of thing I did. Other than that, no, I'm not a super-duper athlete.

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My–my two sports––my two sons are athletes, so that's enough. So. Thank you. Can you provide a brief timeline of your professional experience?

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So I started with this company, and I developed––so there is a very well-known product that is used in cardiovascular medicine called the Swan-Ganz catheter or cardiac output monitoring catheter.

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So this is the one I got started when I joined them. So I worked with Dr. Ganz, it's––the catheter is named after Dr. Ganz. So I worked with Dr. Ganz, and in the process I learned a lot from him.

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And so that was my first contribution. So that product came out about '78-79, something like that. It is still in use. So, during that time, [coughs]

00:32:25.130 - 00:32:42.620

the––you probably have heard of balloon angioplasty. This is by using a balloon in the–in the heart to open up the clogged arteries. And that was kind of sort of getting started in the world. The–the most of the conversation was happening in

00:32:42.620 - 00:33:00.110

Europe by a-a physician by the name of Grüntzig. And–and also there was a doctor in–in Oregon, Dr. Charles Dotter. He was also talking about it. And so the–the–the race started to

00:33:00.140 - 00:33:15.910

make this balloon catheter. So my company, the company I work for, also started this and asked me to be the one in charge to–to make this product. At the time, we didn't have the knowledge how to do

00:33:15.910 - 00:33:31.390

it, so I personally, and my engineers––I had a few engineers in my group. By then I was the manager of the department, and we–we tried various things and we were not

00:33:31.390 - 00:33:49.960

having great success. But then, all of a sudden one day, we made something that looks like a balloon. And so when we tested that it's–it's okay, but not okay. So––but the race was going on––the race––in

00:33:49.960 - 00:34:05.110

the East coast of the United States. They were also trying to do, and, while this is going on, t-the balloon development was the key. You––in order for this catheter to work you need a good balloon.

00:34:05.710 - 00:34:21.520

So at the time, we didn't have a good balloon, so the company also was not super energized to move this project forward. And I left the company and came to work here and worked for a different company, different field,

00:34:22.060 - 00:34:39.190

still medical device, and I have few inventions for that company. And then one day, I was toying with this idea to make the balloon, and I made a balloon from a different material than the one

00:34:39.220 - 00:34:51.190

we were trying in California. And I made that balloon in my kitchen. My wife and I, working together, we made that balloon in the kitchen without any tools, instruments.

00:34:51.190 - 00:35:06.180

We made the balloon. So I tested the balloon, and–and my numbers in this balloon were twice as good as the numbers of the balloon I made while I was in California. And I said, "I got something here now.

00:35:06.180 - 00:35:23.190

I'm going to start." So, a couple of weeks later, I went and told my boss and gave my resignation, saying, "I'm going to leave the company in order to get––start a company to do balloons." And I gave them one year's of notice,

00:35:23.220 - 00:35:38.310

saying, "I'll continue to work for one year until you find somebody to fill my shoes." They really a-appreciated that, me giving such a long time. And they said, "Okay, we will continue to pay your salary.

00:35:38.340 - 00:35:51.810

You can start tomorrow." I mean, they allowed me to start my business right away while still working for the company. So they were very nice. So, I left, meaning I didn't

00:35:51.810 - 00:36:10.160

leave physically. I'm still in the company, but in the night, in the week and afternoons and weekends, I'm making the balloon. So I made the balloon, and I was able to make a prototype catheter, and then I went to this medical con-conferences,

00:36:10.160 - 00:36:27.590

like American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association meeting. And I was there in one of the meetings, and I was looking for a chair to sit. All the chairs are taken. And there was this one empty chair.

00:36:26.180 - 00:36:42.230

And I said, "Okay, let me–let me." So I had to go through, like in a movie theater, you know, go through the various people and eventually take a seat in this one empty chair. Then the woman next to me, I looked at her badge and she's from

00:36:42.230 - 00:36:59.720

Houston. I said, "Oh, you're from Houston?" She said, "Yes." I said, "I'm working on something like this. Who are the top cardiologists in Houston who will be interested in what I'm trying to do?" So she

00:36:59.720 - 00:37:09.440

gave me, like six names. I said, "Now give me the grades: one, two, three, four, five, six." So she said, "Okay. Number one is this, two, three, four, five like this." So I came back

00:37:09.440 - 00:37:22.670

to Houston and I called the number six guy, and I went and met him and I told him what I want to do. And he said, "That's great. It's very good." And in that conversation, he also taught me a lot of

00:37:22.670 - 00:37:36.200

things I didn't know. So he ed——he educated me. Then I w-went out with the number three guy, and I was able to make a better presentation to the number three guy, and he was very impressed. And he showed it, "Yeah, this is great.

00:37:36.200 - 00:37:51.500

We should do it." Then I went to see the number one guy. I made a call–made a call, made an appointment, went somewhere, and I made the presentation. I had already––I have written a patent and applied the patent

00:37:51.530 - 00:38:06.100

already, okay. So I take a copy of my patent, and I took and gave it to him, and he reached out to his cabinet in his bookshelf. He pulled out a-a document and gave it to me.

00:38:06.760 - 00:38:18.070

When I opened the document, he's talking about the same thing. What I'm talking about. So our–our–our minds met right immediately. He wants to do what I want to do.

00:38:18.820 - 00:38:36.010

So, the science of this is when you put a balloon into the–into the heart, into the clogged artery. When you inflate the balloon, you block the blood supply going into the artery. And when that–when that happens, the–the

00:38:36.010 - 00:38:49.330

heart becomes what is known as ischemic. The patient gets——feels a lot of pain. And his–his EKG changes. His EKG goes wild. And in–in–in our

00:38:49.330 - 00:39:06.550

terms, we call the ST segments go up. So therefore the doctor has to deflate the balloon quickly. So by doing this, our method, we are taking blood from the patient and using a pump.

00:39:06.550 - 00:39:20.470

That is a picture of it here. There is a model here. A pump––we pump to the other side of the–of the lesion or the clot, and the patient's heart is supplied with oxygenated blood.

00:39:20.500 - 00:39:36.340

Patient is not in pain and the doctor can keep the balloon inflated for a long time. So with this concept that I came up with and the doctor I met, his name is Dr. Paolo Angelini, he had a similar thought.

00:39:36.340 - 00:39:54.640

Mine is little bit more advanced because I'm doing it with a pump. He was trying to do it with a syringe, which is not as good as doing with the pump. So we––our–our minds met, and we formed a company called Leo Corp, and this company, we were t-the

00:39:54.640 - 00:40:10.740

four companies in the world in angioplasty and the only company in the world doing this profusion with the pump. So, we got a very significant coverage in the––in that arena. But everybody, whether it is United States,

00:40:10.740 - 00:40:27.390

Europe, Japan, China, South America, everybody knew the word Leo Corp because this is what Leo Corp does. So, we became well known very quickly, and we built that company. We had like 75 employees and we

00:40:27.390 - 00:40:43.440

had pretty good sales, and we had it from 1982 to 1997, and we sold that company in '97. While this was going on, I––the stents came into––you have heard of stents,

00:40:43.470 - 00:40:58.890

right? So, the doctor in here by the name Palmaz and another doctor in San Diego, California, called Schatz, they came up with the stent concept. So this stent was developed.

00:40:58.980 - 00:41:13.770

It was very short, eight millimeters in length, and it–it would not go through the tortuosity of this coronary artery. It was difficult to–to–to take it and to place it in the right

00:41:13.770 - 00:41:29.670

place. And so, you need––therefore you needed a longer, flexible stent. Not eight millimeter, you need something like 20 to 25 millimeter long and something that is flexible so i-it can go through the–the curves of

00:41:29.670 - 00:41:39.270

the–the artery. Then again, the race started, like the race in 1979. The race started. There were others working on it. They came up with some.

00:41:39.270 - 00:41:56.400

I came up with the–the concept called the nested loop stent. So, I developed the nested loop stent. By that time, the first company is undergoing sales, so I formed a new company to do that, and this patent got

00:41:56.430 - 00:42:11.990

issued in 2002. Within a week, the pattern was the–the––I was acquired. As soon as the patent was issued, I was acquired and––by Boston Scientific. The company earlier was also bought by Boston Scientific. This company was also bought by Boston Scientific.

00:42:12.260 - 00:42:29.570

So, these are the two important main things, but there are lot of other products that I have done and invented that have seen either in the market or what's in the market and acquired by some big company.

00:42:27.740 - 00:42:41.570

So–so my career, basically, was pretty much dealing with the heart. I haven't gotten out of the heart. So as recent as this year, I developed a new

00:42:41.600 - 00:42:58.430

catheter to pace the heart. Those people who have cardiac issues, all of a sudden, a catheter that EMT, emergency technician, or a nurse or doctor or anybody can use,

00:42:58.460 - 00:43:15.650

put in through the nose, and–and–and then pace the heart to get the heart started. So we develop that this year. And there's another project that I'm working on right now that also is a future of a–a––future product that will make a big impact

00:43:15.680 - 00:43:29.870

on how people treat heart disease. So my expertise, my–my involvement has always been in the heart. So, that's pretty much my–my career. There are little other details that are probably not important.

00:43:32.840 - 00:43:44.810

Maybe [AR: Thank you for sharing.] I bored–I bored you with it [laughs]. No–no, not at all. It's very cool, like, how all of your experiences are still centered around the heart, but you're exploring different facets of it. So I think that's very cool.

00:43:45.320 - 00:44:00.340

Going back to what you were talking about, developing the angioplasty balloons. Did you encounter any unexpected obstacles that required you to change about how you thought about the problem? And, as materials and uses for these devices changed over time,

00:44:00.370 - 00:44:13.510

like, how did the project––the product also change accordingly? Very interesting question. In the beginning, the–the––making the

00:44:13.510 - 00:44:27.970

balloon, in the beginning, I think I have to fault myself not thinking in fundamental terms and basic science. I did not think. I just really went into practical things.

00:44:28.000 - 00:44:37.030

Okay, if you do this, we'll do––i-it might work. If I do this, it might work. If I do this, this might work. That was my thinking. I think that I made–I made a mistake.

00:44:37.060 - 00:44:50.590

I should have thought in–in basics and fundamentals. This is what I preach to my students, my workers, people who work with me. But I failed to do that at that time, and that's why I could not develop the

00:44:50.590 - 00:45:04.620

balloon while I was in California, or the balloon I develop is not good enough. But when we came–and I came to Houston, maybe I'm another year mature, but then I

00:45:04.620 - 00:45:19.050

started thinking more in fundamental terms. How can I make this so that the balloon is strong? The–the–the pressure inside the balloon, those days, we were shooting for something like 15 atmospheres.

00:45:20.340 - 00:45:34.530

That's about 225 psi pressure. Okay. Today, it's almost like 18 atmospheres. The science has advanced, okay. But I wasn't thinking in a basic way how to do it until I came here.

00:45:34.530 - 00:45:52.770

Then I thought, basically, I'll do it. Most everything I do, I always think in–in a fundamental way, in the basic way, so that–that–that––one

00:45:52.770 - 00:46:04.350

lesson I learned from that. So, I don't know whether that is the answer you were looking for, but yeah. Thank you for sharing.

00:46:04.860 - 00:46:21.450

What were the main characteristics of this medical device that you need to account for when you were building it specifically for public health care use? For the angioplasty––so angioplasty has––our angioplasty

00:46:21.480 - 00:46:38.270

has two components. One is the balloon and one is the pump. So, pump is the process that allowed the doctor to do the balloon angioplasty with confidence,

00:46:38.270 - 00:46:53.180

so the patient is not in pain. Patient is electrocardio-cardiologically stable. So that allowed him more time to do it slowly, carefully, and leave the balloon inflated for a long period of time.

00:46:51.590 - 00:47:09.290

We also found in our research, in clinical research, that with long inflation, the outcome was much better. In other words, those days, 25% to 30% of the

00:47:09.290 - 00:47:26.480

inflated angioplasty cases, they reclose. Okay. With this method we are using, we could reduce it to like 5%. That's a huge improvement. So, the pump is the one that allowed them to do it.

00:47:26.480 - 00:47:41.730

So that's why this combination is what made us quite well known at the time. The–the–the doctors who are today may not remember it because they are old. They're young at the time.

00:47:41.730 - 00:47:58.250

And––but that's what made us be recognized for make that contribution. And when it came to the stent, the problem with the stent was because that stent was too short, they had to put two,

00:47:58.280 - 00:48:14.750

three, four stents in order to cover the whole lesion. And that's not good. Whereas with the longer 25 millimeter stent, you can put one stent to cover the whole thing. So that's a–that's a huge significant improvement in the stent.

00:48:14.990 - 00:48:32.180

So those two are how the–the practical realization of our work, our contribution to–to–to science. Have you seen any major trends in the medical device industry,

00:48:32.180 - 00:48:45.770

and do you have any predictions for the future? So, there are a lot of things going on in medical device industry, from head to toe, right? So, there are a lot of things that have happened in the medical device

00:48:45.770 - 00:49:02.200

industry. I am not up to date on various other aspects. I am basically always staying inside this heart area. But other than that, there have been a lot of––one of the

00:49:02.200 - 00:49:19.630

areas that I have really admired, and I also have worked in that area, I have a patent too in that area, is that they are using RF energy in the renal artery to ablate, and that will help to reduce the blood pressure.

00:49:20.470 - 00:49:30.400

I think that's–that's a tremendous contribution to medicine. Okay. So you put a catheter into the renal artery, a blade, and take the catheter out. The patient's blood pressure drops. That's fantastic.

00:49:30.400 - 00:49:42.430

So that's one area. The other area that I have seen some interesting work done is for people with congestive heart

00:49:42.430 - 00:50:01.660

failure...for several years, I think at least for ten years, people thought by putting a hole in the wall of the atrium from the septum between the left atrium and the right atrium,

00:50:01.660 - 00:50:17.590

there's a wall that is called the septum. And, in that, you cut a hole and you relieve the pressure from the left atrium. So your–your ventricle has––doesn't have to work very hard in order to pump the blood.

00:50:17.890 - 00:50:31.900

So, I think that concept was later developed. Now there are everyone where they can put a stent, and there's another one that can put a stent and has a valve. I think this area is very interesting.

00:50:31.930 - 00:50:50.370

I'm also working in this area, and I have a new invention that is going to go into pretty soon in this area. This is–this is a very, very important and interesting area. There is a huge

00:50:50.370 - 00:51:08.730

number of people, a large percentage, who have congestive heart failure, okay. So the market is huge, and it can be treated with medication to some extent, but it needs some sort of a thing like this in order

00:51:08.760 - 00:51:21.630

to resolve it 100%, or at least 100%. Nothing gets done 100%. But yeah, close to 100%. So, that is an area that I think is an interesting

00:51:21.630 - 00:51:36.330

area, and so I'm also working in that area. So. That's really interesting. You'd mentioned this earlier, but like what made you want to focus specifically on the heart for medical

00:51:36.330 - 00:51:49.650

devices? Oh, like I said earlier, it was an accident. So, I-I met with these guys at the––at that conference. They had a problem of a product that they want to develop to measure the cardiac

00:51:49.650 - 00:52:02.130

output. How much does the heart pump every time it pumps out the cardiac output, you measure with a catheter. They–they need to solve that problem with that catheter. I went and solved the problem.

00:52:02.130 - 00:52:11.730

So I fell into this area of cardiovascular devices. And then I found it interesting. So I can do–I can do this, I can do that. I can do many things.

00:52:11.730 - 00:52:25.680

So then, that kept me engaged year after year after year on doing things. Part of that is as an entrepreneur developing the business. Of course, once you come up with the concept,

00:52:25.710 - 00:52:42.380

you have a product, you have a prototype, then you–you spend the rest of several years being entrepreneur, trying to make it to the market, right. And during that period, maybe I'm not inventing every day, but I do invent because even–even this company I made

00:52:42.770 - 00:53:00.350

from Leo Corp, other than this–this patent that I told you about already, I think I have applied for about 10 or 15 other inventions in that company, and have applied for another 10 or 15 inventions beyond that.

00:53:00.770 - 00:53:17.960

I think I have about 28 or 30 inventions right now. Wow, that's very impressive. You've built and worked on, I believe, four startups in the medical engineering field. What's the general timeline in building up–building up a company

00:53:17.960 - 00:53:33.620

like this until it's absorbed by another company? So from the time you have a concept to the time you have a product in the market, that's––that timeline is fairly long.

00:53:34.190 - 00:53:51.910

So there are some––several things that–that you must have in order to make that happen. One is, although you have a great idea, but you need some help, some funding, some partnerships in order to make it happen. So you need to have a thought leader,

00:53:51.940 - 00:54:06.220

a flag carrier in––nowadays the word used is influencer [laughs]––widely used word is influencer. So somebody who takes this idea and present it to the world, right? I'm not a cardiologist.

00:54:06.310 - 00:54:22.810

I cannot go and present it to the world because I'm not a cardio––but you need to find a cardiologist that takes your idea and say, "By the way, this idea by Bandula Wijay is this" and present the world. Okay? So you need the sort of the Taylor Swift kind of

00:54:22.810 - 00:54:36.280

person to do that. And so finding that person is not easy, convincing that person is not that easy. Then you need some funding in order to develop this basic concept. You need funding.

00:54:36.640 - 00:54:54.250

Funding depends. Sometimes easy, sometimes not. And then, [coughs] you need other people that you need to hire or work with in order to develop this concept to actual product, okay. And once you make actual product,

00:54:54.280 - 00:55:11.950

because it's a medical device, you have to go through all sorts of testing and validations, testing and validation, testing and validation until it is ready that you can apply to the FDA for approval to be able to sell the product in the market.

00:55:10.090 - 00:55:24.220

For–for angioplasty, which was a class three device, and all other devices that I'm talking to, are class three devices, it's a very long process. First, you have to submit what is known as an IDE,

00:55:25.360 - 00:55:38.820

investigational device exemption application. And they review it and say, "Okay, this is good enough. You can do the clinicals." 90% of the time, they will say, "Oh, the data is not good enough.

00:55:38.850 - 00:55:56.100

You have to supply us more data and you have to supply more data," and then they will look at it. And this back and forth goes until they say, "Okay, you can do clinical investigation." Then you have to convince clinicians around the country, around the world saying, "Can you please try it in 20

00:55:56.100 - 00:56:06.930

patients?" And they have to think. They think twice before you try a new device saying, "What's going to happen, what can go wrong? Okay. This is a new device.

00:56:07.110 - 00:56:21.870

Can I hurt my patient? What am I going to do if I-I hurt the patient?" So it's not that easy to convince a physician in–in let's say in Munich, okay, can you try this, you know.

00:56:21.870 - 00:56:36.120

So, this 20 or 30 centers, they have to do the study. Then you have to collect all the data. Then you have to compile the data and write this nice application called the PMA, premarket approval, submit to the FDA.

00:56:36.120 - 00:56:49.980

And when you do that, they keep asking questions and–and you answer questions. It may need more clarification on the clinical study or maybe more clinical study or something else. We don't know what they will ask.

00:56:50.610 - 00:57:01.230

This whole process take a long time. So––but there are medical devices which are simpler medical. Let's say you want to make a syringe needle.

00:57:01.410 - 00:57:13.530

You don't have to go through this rigmarole. You make a syringe needle, and you supply basic data, FDA says, "Okay, you can sell it," [laughs] you know. Or, if you have something very simple, a saline bag,

00:57:13.560 - 00:57:26.310

you know. So–so t-these medical devices are categorized into class one, class two, class three. Class one is very, very easy. Class two, little bit difficult, but it's doable.

00:57:26.340 - 00:57:40.010

Class three is very difficult. Interestingly, all the things that I have done in my career has been class three devices. So I went through this–this whole thing, the rigamarole, in order to get the product out in the market.

00:57:43.850 - 00:57:57.620

You mentioned how important people are in this journey. So, how did you build a strong leadership team and what did you consider when hiring people? So in the first place, I first bonded with Dr.

00:57:57.620 - 00:58:13.670

Paolo Angelini. So he and I are–are partners in this business, and he is one of those influencers or the flag carriers who is visible in the–in the–in the world of cardiology. He's a visible figure.

00:58:13.670 - 00:58:29.150

So, when he talks, people listen. Okay. And then, in order to make this happen, you need to have a support p-people or support function. So for that, I basically hired young engineers,

00:58:29.540 - 00:58:43.460

straight out of college. Already I had about, let's say, four, six years experience, and I'm a practical guy in the first place. So I was able to teach them how to do things,

00:58:43.460 - 00:58:56.810

and they were very enthusiastic, you know, to make things happen. They work hard. And they–they–they adopted the culture of practical innovation, solving problems.

00:58:55.640 - 00:59:15.710

So they––so I had like about ten young engineers I hired, okay. And some of them were regulatory kind of people, like people who do paperwork and some were actually hands-on guys, some were in quality. So it's a mixture of people.

00:59:16.100 - 00:59:32.410

So that–so that building that culture is–is something that I–I was able to do. And fortunately, those guys adapted very quickly to that culture.

00:59:32.680 - 00:59:51.790

And so we had a very good working relationship with each other. And so we were able to get a high quality product out. How big of a company was Leo Corp in terms of the number of employees and more specifically, the number of, like, R&D personnel?

00:59:52.000 - 01:00:09.520

So we had about 75 employees. In the R&D––everybody who was in R&D, we had about 4-5 engineers in R&D. They also played a role in manufacturing.

01:00:09.520 - 01:00:23.890

So when there is a problem in manufacturing machine or something like that, they are our guys who are doing the R&D. They run there and fix the problem. So, we had about 2 to––2 people or so in the quality

01:00:24.010 - 01:00:41.710

management and about one senior guy and one below for regulatory work. And we had one person for the

01:00:41.710 - 01:00:55.840

clinical coordination, the people––the person who goes to the clinic, to the doctor, collect the data and, you know, do all that kind of stuff. So, you know, each–each slot

01:00:56.200 - 01:01:12.010

needed a person, and I kind of played all the slot when they need be. If–if it is a European center, I would go to––fly to Munich. I will go meet with the doctor.

01:01:12.040 - 01:01:26.500

I will collect all the data and whatnot, or I will train the doctor how to use it. And maybe I'll have dinner with him. And, so that role I played, especially in the beginning, I–I did that.

01:01:26.500 - 01:01:45.210

But later on, the lady that worked for us also went overseas in Italy and other places, so did that. Locally––she went locally to all the places. A-as time went on, I was doing more of a

01:01:45.240 - 01:02:00.360

CEO work than the engineer work, you know. So, that's normal. I know you mentioned invention-wise, it's important to focus in on the basic science, but after successfully building four companies,

01:02:00.360 - 01:02:14.820

are there any decisions or strategies you would have approached differently? Ask me the question again. Were there any decisions or strategies that you might have done differently for the companies?

01:02:15.870 - 01:02:33.980

I–I–I think that even my current project, which is a difficult product to develop, I think more you think in basic terms, better it is for––to come up with the solution.

01:02:33.980 - 01:02:51.560

But at the same time, when you come up––when you think in basic terms and say, this is the solution, then you also have to think in real-life practical terms. The solution that you have come up with, would it have any problems

01:02:51.560 - 01:03:09.620

because you did not think about the things that can work around it? You know? So right now, the p-project I am doing has a lot of those, I thought, very basic terms, but you have to be practical in–in–in thinking, what if this happens?

01:03:09.620 - 01:03:21.950

What if this happens? What if it gets stuck? Okay, what if this––the tissue that I'm putting in, if–if–if–if it leaks, what happens, you know? But those things are not in basic science.

01:03:23.450 - 01:03:36.680

Basic science says you have to block the flow. Okay. Yeah. Okay. I block the flow. Now I'm going to use a––some sort of a membrane to block the flow. Okay, what happens if there is a leak, and this sort of thing.

01:03:36.680 - 01:03:56.690

So it's a combination of basic science and practical implications. Did you know that you wanted to enter entrepreneurship when you were a student? I don't think I intentionally thought that I want to be an entrepreneur,

01:03:56.780 - 01:04:12.770

but in my–in my childhood, also, I was a bit of an entrepreneur. I used to sell used newspapers [laughs]. So, my parents, they buy the newspaper, and after 2 or 3 months you get whole

01:04:12.770 - 01:04:26.230

stack of newspapers. So I take this and sell it to––those kind of things I did. Specifically, as an entrepreneur, no, I did not think that, "Yes,

01:04:26.260 - 01:04:40.270

I-I grow up I'm going to become an entrepreneur," because my parents were not entrepreneurs. Now, when it comes to my sons, my two sons, they grew up in a household where the father and the mo––both father and mother were entrepreneurs.

01:04:40.270 - 01:04:55.900

So they obviously inherited some of that character. So no, not in my case [laughs]. That's nice to hear. Have you been manufacturing the devices in the US or have they been sourced overseas?

01:04:55.900 - 01:05:09.640

And how challenging has it been––oh, sorry. Has it been difficult in recent years to maintain reliable sources of manufacturing? So, in the–the very first company, I made

01:05:09.670 - 01:05:22.490

everything myself. This is not the angioplasty company. There was a company before that I––so I made myself here in the US. No labor, nobody to help. Everything was done by me.

01:05:22.520 - 01:05:37.670

Then comes Leo Corp. Leo Corp, everything was done in the United States. Everything from––this is called vertically integrated. That means we buy the resin, the pas-plastic pellets, and goes out the product.

01:05:37.700 - 01:05:54.170

Vertically integrated [coughs] was done here [coughs]. The third company–third company was the stent company. I did not cut the stent. It was cut in the US by another company, and––but I did the design

01:05:54.170 - 01:06:07.940

work and the development work here within the company. But the stent was cut locally in the US. Fourth company is the first time we start looking for outside sourcing. So in that fourth company,

01:06:07.970 - 01:06:23.010

we bought maybe 20-30% of the raw mater––the parts, from China, okay. Fourth company, we bought from it. So, that's because everything has become little bit expensive here.

01:06:23.040 - 01:06:35.850

Hard to find. There is cheaper. The quality is good. So fourth––after fourth company, then there was a lull period that I didn't do any medical devices and then I re––got restarted.

01:06:36.150 - 01:06:54.120

The––lot of things were bought from China and assembled here. So that's the––I guess the fifth venture. It's not a company, it's just I did it as a consulting thing,

01:06:54.120 - 01:07:09.570

and then the next one is still in the–in the paper and pencil form right now. So. Awesome. Thank you. You've received many notable awards in your career,

01:07:09.570 - 01:07:24.030

including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the President of Sri Lanka, the Vidya Jyothi award for scientific and technological advancements, and the Ada Derana Sri Lankan Global Innovator of the year. Can you talk about your experiences in receiving these awards?

01:07:26.070 - 01:07:42.960

Well, I don't know what experiences you feel good when you get an award and well, the most important one was the Vidya Jyothi award. It's a––in the history of the country, I think like 30

01:07:42.960 - 01:07:54.630

or 40 people received it, but only like ten people are alive. The rest are passed. They received in the 1930s, 40s, something like that. But about 10–10 to 12 people are still alive.

01:07:54.630 - 01:08:13.950

Those who got it. It's the most prestigious award in Sri Lanka. Then I got these other awards. I also got the award from United Nations, Citizen of the Year award, which I think was something I really appreciate.

01:08:08.550 - 01:08:23.420

So awards are given, I guess, people get to know you and then they say, "Oh my God, you have done so much. I think you deserve an award.

01:08:23.450 - 01:08:38.180

Can I propose your name? And can you give me your CV and these various information?" Then I give that CV information. They submit to the–to the whoever is going to give the award and it goes into a

01:08:38.180 - 01:08:48.800

committee and the committee looks at it and say, "Okay, let's give a vote to so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so," and then you get a call or email saying, "We have chosen you to give the award.

01:08:49.130 - 01:09:01.550

It will be on such a today. Please come." So, let's go and get the award. So that––awards are like that, I mean. It–it is

01:09:01.550 - 01:09:20.480

definitely––I appreciate all the–the recognition that people have given. I am––when I'm––when I go to Sri Lanka, I––on the average, I give 6 to 8 speeches.

01:09:20.990 - 01:09:36.020

If I go to like–like last December, I gave the convocation speech. It's called graduation in America. Graduation speech in one of the universities.

01:09:36.050 - 01:09:47.540

They also gave me an award. And then I gave another speech. Total of eight speeches in different universities. I gave a speech at National Science Foundation.

01:09:47.570 - 01:10:04.310

I–I gave a talk at the Sri Lankan FDA, the FDA equivalent of Sri Lanka. And so likewise, people invite you to give. And over here, also in the US also,

01:10:05.090 - 01:10:22.570

people who have something like that, they say, "Hey, can you come and give a talk?" So, I go and give a talk. So, and in–in all these talks, I talk about education, the–the need for effective

01:10:22.570 - 01:10:38.380

education, to train the young people to be able to get on their own, become entrepreneurs, think on their own, come up with new–new solutions to various problems. I mean, there are so many things in–in the–in the world right now,

01:10:38.410 - 01:10:51.160

today, even here in Houston. There are so many things that if you solve these little, little problems, then you have a business opportunity. You know, it may be there's this problem, but I'm not interested in solving that

01:10:51.160 - 01:11:04.630

problem because I'm so dedicated to cardiovascular medicine. I don't want to take my time out to go and solve this problem, but maybe there's somebody else who can do it, you know? So–so that's the thing about awards.

01:11:04.660 - 01:11:21.780

Awards are nice, but...I'm also the Ambassador for Science Technology and Innovation for Sri Lanka. These days haven't done too much because there are a lot of politics going on.

01:11:21.870 - 01:11:40.380

But in the past, I had a lot, a lot of different events organized both here and in Sri Lanka. I actually wanted to ask about that role. Can you speak to your responsibilities and how you worked in the past to link American

01:11:40.380 - 01:11:54.650

and Sri Lankan scientists together? Yeah. So, before the pandemic, when people were traveling and it was very different world at the time. For example, I brought a

01:11:54.650 - 01:12:10.320

group of senior university professors. These are like a dean of the faculty of medicine, dean of another faculty of medicine, professor of medicine. So like that, all these high–high level people to Houston.

01:12:10.440 - 01:12:29.190

I took them to Baylor College of Medicine, and I organized a event, a meeting which lasted like four hours, where the dean of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine explained to them, the visiting–visiting folks, about how we educate–educate

01:12:29.220 - 01:12:45.420

our medical students. What is our curriculum look like? How do we test them? What y-you–you indoctrination of how medical medicine is taught in the United States, done by one of the top medical schools in the country?

01:12:42.960 - 01:12:59.250

As you know, Baylor is like number–number six in this country. So, to listen to that, from–from Baylor, from a group of people, medical educators, in Sri Lanka, that was fantastic information.

01:12:59.280 - 01:13:17.720

Okay. And then from there, I took them to Rice, and at Rice, I organized a–a–a event with your current president on active learning. So, we had,

01:13:17.810 - 01:13:34.820

if I'm not mistaken, like six speakers on active learning, and we had it organized at the Design Kitchen has a–has a little meeting room behind it.

01:13:34.820 - 01:13:49.910

So we had it there, and we provided lunch and stuff––Rice provided lunch. And there we were t-telling them, what is active learning? How do you do it? So we did that, okay. And t-that's one.

01:13:49.100 - 01:14:05.060

There's another event. I brought a whole group of oncologists from Sri Lanka. They're very senior level oncologists to some fairly junior oncologists. So there's a whole array of probably about 6 to 8 oncologists,

01:14:05.090 - 01:14:21.200

cancer doctors. And I took them to M.D. Anderson, and they met with various people at M.D. Anderson and discussed about whatever the area of interest to them. Okay, so the labs and talk to them and so on.

01:14:19.670 - 01:14:33.050

And I brought...some other academics also to Rice, and–and we had the event at Rice

01:14:34.280 - 01:14:48.710

about mainly––what I want to do was I want to indoctrinate them about this concept of design kitchen. Okay. I-I mean, I had––I've been in USC, and I have been to other various universities.

01:14:48.710 - 01:14:59.060

I've been a professor at U of H. Design k-kitchen, I never saw anywhere else. So Rice is the only place I saw the design kitchen. I said, that's a fantastic idea.

01:14:59.090 - 01:15:16.030

Let me tell these people you got to do it. So I brought the––you know that all the universities has one–one organization above the university is called University Grants Commission. They are the ones who–who–who manage all

01:15:16.030 - 01:15:32.030

the universities. And the chairman of that university is somebody––I brought him, and with him came a whole bunch of university professors. And, I took to that group to Rice Design Kitchen.

01:15:32.030 - 01:15:47.950

So I have taken people to Rice about 3 or 4 times. At one time, the Minister of Health and Minister of Science came to Houston, and I took them to Rice. At the time, the––your president was the one before.

01:15:47.980 - 01:16:01.630

What's the name? Leebron–Leebron–Leebron is the president. And we had a meeting with him. He gave us a lunch. So likewise, you

01:16:01.630 - 01:16:17.470

know. And then another event. This–this is very new and upcoming area called personalized medicine. So you–you are treated–treated based on your genetics.

01:16:17.500 - 01:16:36.340

So your treatment is based on your genetics and your gene structure. So, with the Texas Medical Center as a whole, I organized––I was one of the people who was in the group organizing it.

01:16:36.820 - 01:16:51.820

The Minister of Health in Sri Lanka, myself, W.H.O. There was some other person. So this––we as a group, we organize a-a conference on personalized medicine.

01:16:51.820 - 01:17:07.020

And that was in Sri Lanka. So I had 8 or 9 academics from TMC, Texas Medical Center, travel to Sri Lanka to participate in that. So where all these people,

01:17:07.140 - 01:17:20.190

when they are give talks, I also gave a talk, and it's very successful. I think we had total about 700 participants from all over that Southeast Asia area. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh.

01:17:20.220 - 01:17:37.830

They also came. So it was done very well. So these are some of the things, and I participate in various meetings on Zoom with counterparts in Sri Lanka about whatever they want to ask me questions about

01:17:37.860 - 01:17:52.370

or––so that's–that's–that's–that's my–my–my job as the–as the ambassador––now last––during the pandemic, everything slowed down. Now after the pandemic, now it's––I'm getting started.

01:17:52.370 - 01:18:10.470

Now, this December, they have asked me to give a talk in one symposium and another talk in the––one of the graduation ceremonies, and I have about 4 or 5 smaller talks, like smaller audience talks.

01:18:10.500 - 01:18:29.100

The sym––the conference, big audience talks, like a––so I'm getting involved in that sense. Thank you for sharing. Reflecting on your successes, what are the opportunities you've gained in

01:18:29.100 - 01:18:44.910

the US that might not have been available to you back in Sri Lanka? Oh, that's a very good question. So here, when you have a idea, when you have––your idea is realistic, and–and you have some potential,

01:18:45.240 - 01:18:58.890

you can take it somewhere. Doesn't matter who you are, that idea is accepted if have––if it has merit. So i-it's not based on where you come from, who you are, and all those things.

01:18:58.890 - 01:19:14.670

So, therefore, it's–it's easier to take your idea from concept to practical––practicality in–in America very well. That's–that's the good part of this, okay.

01:19:14.670 - 01:19:29.300

Now, in those days, I'm talking 25–30 years ago, it costs less to do it, but now it costs more to do it. So that's a bit of a disadvantage. So in a place like Sri Lanka or

01:19:29.300 - 01:19:45.920

India, you may have a great idea, okay. But to take it and sell it to somebody, and who says, "Hey yeah, that's a great idea" or "We should support it and move it a notch up–notch up every time." That's very difficult.

01:19:45.950 - 01:20:03.370

Okay. Think about something like WhatsApp, okay. Why didn't Whats––something like WhatsApp didn't happen somewhere else in the world? Okay. Because even if somebody has the WhatsApp concept, it would have been turned down by the p-people you presented say,

01:20:03.370 - 01:20:17.800

"Oh, no. That's not important." It were––it turned down. But here, you have this idea of WhatsApp. You take it, you build something around it, and then the Facebook see it and say, "Wow, that's interesting concept.

01:20:17.830 - 01:20:30.700

We can use it." Come and grab it, right. And they make some amount of money, but not a lot of money [laughs]. They didn't make a lot of money, unfortunately. 15 million dollars. But–but that's besides the point.

01:20:30.730 - 01:20:47.860

Here is, if your idea is good, people will accept it. Okay. And if your idea is not good, people will tell, "Hey, it's not good because of this–because of this reason. I don't think it is a good idea." But it–it is––it's

01:20:47.860 - 01:21:02.170

not difficult to advance your idea in America. I think it's very difficult to advance your idea in Western Europe or in India, or possibly even in China. Definitely not in Sri Lanka [laughs].

01:21:04.510 - 01:21:17.380

Thank you. That's a really interesting perspective. I want to pivot a little bit more into your family and community. So how important is it to you to teach your children about their ethnic heritage?

01:21:20.110 - 01:21:34.180

So my children were born here. They grew up here. Their grandparents were here when they were little, so they learn quite a bit of the Asian culture when they're grandchildren.

01:21:34.300 - 01:21:49.150

But as they grew up––so i-it's very hard to keep them tentacled to this culture. So as they grow up and they go to school, they graduate, they go to work, and so on.

01:21:49.240 - 01:22:07.620

So still keep those tentacles is not easy. But in–in their heart, they–they have the–the–the essence of the Asian, Sri Lankan, Indian cultural values in their heart, okay. But it's not as noticeable

01:22:07.620 - 01:22:21.450

as if they were growing up in India or Sri Lanka. So–so, you know, you got to take that. There's–there's nothing I can do about that. You just have to accept that.

01:22:21.690 - 01:22:41.010

And they are both are parents, and they are very good to their kids. They take care of the kids the same way they–they saw us taking care of them. They are both are good fathers and they are married to women who are good mothers. So, I think in that sense, they have acquired

01:22:41.010 - 01:22:57.870

some of our–our culture. But, I have to admit, they have more the Western culture, American culture, than the Sri Lankan culture. Thank you. Can you talk about any important holidays,

01:22:57.870 - 01:23:10.740

cultural or religious, that's important to your family, and how do you celebrate them? So the important holiday in religious-wise is the called Vesak, or Wesak, and it is in May.

01:23:10.770 - 01:23:24.840

It's the day that Buddha was–was born, and he also died on the same day, and he achieved his enlightenment on the same day, according to history, okay. I can't say I know that for sure or not.

01:23:25.350 - 01:23:39.300

So–so we kind of celebrate that. We go to temple. And then every month there is a full moon day that they celebrate. So, sometimes we go. We don't go all the time.

01:23:39.780 - 01:23:57.410

So...t-these are the religious ceremonies that goes on. There's an important religious ceremony coming up next month called the rainy season retreat. So then after the rainy season retreat,

01:23:57.440 - 01:24:09.920

there is a big–big function, big event, and so that next month. So, normally we go to that. So we also have the Sri Lankan New Year, like India has their own new year.

01:24:10.190 - 01:24:23.810

I-it's interesting. I think it's the same day [laughs]. The Sri Lankan New Year is April 13th. India also celebrates it the 13th, something like that. So, that's the day that, you know, families get together.

01:24:24.200 - 01:24:38.930

We make milk rice and we–we basically eat Sri Lankan-style food. So, and––so close families or close friends get together on that day.

01:24:39.920 - 01:24:56.240

We have a-a community of about 4000+ people, and not everybody knows everybody. But w-we know a few people, and everybody knows a few people. So on these celebrations, we get together and-and-and

01:24:57.410 - 01:25:11.270

then we celebrate that. We have a Buddhist temple here, the Sri Lankan Buddhist temple. We were the one who donated the temple, so we are the founders of the temple, and it's near the Hobby Airport.

01:25:11.660 - 01:25:26.810

So–so we have a special place because we are the founders. And recently, one of the monks got ill, so I'm taking care of him, so I go there more often than normal to see him.

01:25:31.550 - 01:25:49.250

Speaking of the temple that your family funded, what was your motivation and dream behind the organization? I––initial motivation was, we wanted our kids to grow up in–in that sort of environment, that culture,

01:25:49.730 - 01:26:06.610

that faith. And so, okay, we build some place so we can take them there and the––on a Sunday, they can learn little bit of Buddhism, they can get close to some p-part of the religion, and so on.

01:26:07.000 - 01:26:24.520

In the beginning, it worked, but as they––as my kids grew up, it––they did not come back and reconnect. They're just on their own. Now–now when, like,

01:26:25.510 - 01:26:43.750

some occasions here––my younger son has three kids, and they––sometimes, they will go to temple with the kids and sit down, and then the kids see something happening, but I don't know whether they can actually relate to see what exactly is

01:26:43.750 - 01:26:55.420

happening, but it's some exposure, so in that sense. Their connection is not super great. There––I can't say there is no connection. There is some connection.

01:26:55.420 - 01:27:10.570

But that connection is a small light thread, not a rope [laughs], yeah. Thank you for sharing. Just a couple more questions about your identity and any

01:27:10.570 - 01:27:25.810

advice you'd give. How do you identify yourself ethnically? Ethnically, I am Sri Lankan origin. So, South Asian, Sri Lankan.

01:27:26.950 - 01:27:47.770

And I know that this is somewhat difficult for people to understand. We are from everywhere. We started in the bottom of Africa,

01:27:47.970 - 01:28:09.540

and then we–we came up...we came up, and somewhere in the European that area, we split and some group went west. The rest of the group came the other side to Iran, Iraq, and Turkey and all that, and

01:28:09.540 - 01:28:22.890

then to n-north of India, and then they came down to India, to Sri Lanka, and then the rest went to Indonesia and those kind of places. So when we look at us, who are we?

01:28:23.910 - 01:28:38.010

We are from everywhere. In fact, I did my genetic makeup, the 23andMe, and, for most part, my genes are from somewhere else.

01:28:38.010 - 01:28:55.640

And so my––I also originated from Africa, and then came up, and came all this area like Turkey, Iran, Iraq, that area, and then some part went to–to

01:28:55.640 - 01:29:09.200

Bengal area, Ben––West Bengal area, and then so on. So, in–in–in–in–in–in–in reality, we all are the same. We all started in some place.

01:29:09.410 - 01:29:25.670

So when people ask, "Where are you from?" I obviously say I'm from Sri Lanka, but I'm from everywhere [laughs]. Yeah, that's a really valuable way of looking at your identity. Thank you. What do you feel most proud of?

01:29:27.500 - 01:29:42.670

I'm very proud of my family. I'm very proud of my–my–my beginnings, my origin. The–the–the cultural values that was instilled by my parents as I was growing up.

01:29:42.670 - 01:30:00.980

The education I received there. I'm very proud of this education I got in India. And then I'm very proud of my professional achievements that I got in the last––I had in the last

01:30:01.040 - 01:30:14.660

30+ years. All the inventions I did, the contributions I made. Like, I was at lunch with a couple of friends, and so

01:30:14.660 - 01:30:31.160

we're talking about things that I do right now, and then they–they both––they said, "Do you know that I have stents in my––in me?" I said, "I didn't know." "Well, thanks to you, I have two stents." This is something that you

01:30:31.190 - 01:30:46.180

can––y-you feel good about hearing when somebody says that sort of thing, you know? I was in an airplane some time ago. There was this gentleman seated next to me.

01:30:46.600 - 01:31:02.980

Somehow this thing came up in conversation, and the guy has a stent, and he was so happy and thankful. He–he bought drinks for the people around [laughs], to me included. So, that sort of thing happens,

01:31:02.980 - 01:31:22.150

so. These moments make you feel it's all worth it. Not [AR: That's very amazing.] the money. Money is, you know how––whatever I eat now, and all these things, is no different than whatever the guy down the street eats or––but what you carry in your

01:31:22.150 - 01:31:40.030

heart, it-it's a pleasure that you carry throughout your life. Yeah. It seems really cool to see the actual, real impact that you're having on people around you. Where and when do you

01:31:40.030 - 01:31:52.480

feel most at home? Actually I'm most at home here in the house and in my work. I mean, I don't have an office these days. I'm about to get an office.

01:31:52.480 - 01:32:07.600

But when I had the companies, when I go to my company, I feel at home. This is my home. I feel–I feel Houston is my home now because I am here since '82. So, what is that, 42 years, so––32

01:32:07.600 - 01:32:23.230

years––oh, 42 years, right? So–so I–I feel at home here. I feel at home with my family and with my friends.

01:32:24.100 - 01:32:39.790

So that's where you––where anybody should feel home, with your family and with your friends, so. Do you believe what you consider to be your identity has changed over time?

01:32:46.080 - 01:33:04.260

In a way, yes, it has changed. If I didn't contribute, maybe my identity would be something else. As I was able to contribute and do these various things that has received a lot of recognition, I-I think my identity

01:33:04.290 - 01:33:17.100

has changed the way I think. The way I feel has changed. And, so, yeah, the answer to that question is yes, my identity has changed.

01:33:17.130 - 01:33:39.240

I feel differently now than when I was 25 years old. At that time, I–I didn't know. Now I feel good about what I have done. Thank you. Sort of wrapping up, is there anything you'd like to add that we

01:33:39.240 - 01:33:59.910

have not covered yet? The most important thing, I think, is anyone who reads or listens to my story has to feel that that person also has an opportunity to–to

01:33:59.940 - 01:34:11.730

excel. Okay, it's not like, oh, because Dr. Wijay did it, I can do it. No, that's not how it should be. It should feel like, he was able to do it.

01:34:11.940 - 01:34:27.930

What path did he do––take in order to achieve these goals? I need to create my own path, not his path. My own path. In order to–to–to get to where I want to.

01:34:26.820 - 01:34:41.780

And sometimes when you are 25 years old, you don't know where you want to go. And sometimes you get in the train, and you don't know where this train is going, like in my case. Okay, so I was on the train platform.

01:34:41.780 - 01:34:52.850

There were several–several trains on the platform. I got into the cardiovascular train. So that's the train I took. I could have gotten on the petroleum or some other train.

01:34:52.880 - 01:35:04.070

Aerospace, I would've gone there. I didn't know that. So I got into that train, so here I am. And––but it doesn't matter. Once you get to that train, you have to concentrate,

01:35:04.100 - 01:35:20.750

devote yourself, and make sure that you stay focused and dedicate yourself to–to–to achieve what you must. There is no–no–no place for mediocracy, you

01:35:20.750 - 01:35:34.940

know. It's–it's––in my mind, I–I–I tell that to my sons, too. Of course, they both have done well, but had they not done well, I would have been very upset. I'd say, "What? Why–why not?

01:35:34.970 - 01:35:53.780

You got to excel." So, and––so that's what I would like anyone who is listening to this story to see. Yeah, you can carve your own path and stay in that path and move to where you have to be.

01:35:54.290 - 01:36:09.050

Or walk there or run there. Thank you so much for sharing your advice. It's very motivational. With that, I'd like to conclude our interview for today. Thank you again, Dr. Wijay, for talking with me.

01:36:09.050 - 01:36:24.200

I really enjoyed learning more about your story, and I appreciate you taking the time to share with us. And thank you Advika for–for giving me this opportunity to tell my story. And–and I hope that this is worthwhile

01:36:24.200 - 01:36:32.900

story for you to–to showcase, but thank you. Thank you very much.