Kalyan Acharjya has been contributing to MATLAB Answers since 2017. This past year his participation skyrocketed and he is currently a Rising Star. Here is a recent Q&A I had with Kalyan

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Welcome John, first of all I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to introduce myself to the MATLAB Central Community. I grew up in Hahkhati village, Tinsukia, Assam, in the north-eastern part of India. I studied at Tinsukia College, Dibrugarh University and received my Masters in Electronics Engineering from Tezpur Central University.

Currently I live in Jaipur, known as Pink City, in the western part of India.  I am an Assistant Professor at Jaipur National University, where my regular responsibilities include teaching and training engineering students.

I started with asking questions in Matlab Answer forum, happy to see, I contributed 1164 answers, where 500 answers were accepted🤓
I am glad to be part of all those who are helping the questioner #WeLoveMATLAB❤️#MATLAB #coder #volunteer@MATLAB @MathWorks @HeatherGorr @pfernad pic.twitter.com/ZRZHyujqmU

— KALYAN ACHARJYA 🕊️ (@Kalyan_online) November 21, 2019

Oh yes, I am quite active on Twitter, sometimes I share my thoughts. Still, I remember the first day, when I posted a question on MATLAB Answers, and Walter Roberson or Image Analyst answered the question. It was great, I got an answer within 5 to 10 minutes.  I had been struggling with my problem for a month prior. After that I started contributing to MATLAB Answers. When my 500th answer was accepted, I was so happy. I am grateful for all the help I have received from this forum. I was delighted, and I shared my feelings through this tweet.

There are many reasons.  MATLAB products are universal, any science or engineering or medical student understands the same language. In addition, MATLAB provides specific tools for a specific category, whether engineering or biology or humanities, or finance students as well, truly great products.

During my master’s studies, I used HDL for digital design, especially digital design-based work and I was happy on the Xilinx or Mentor platforms. But in the last 3 years, I have been doing research on image processing using MATLAB, after that I have been using MATLAB continuously.

It’s universal nature, also allows all types of data inputs and data visualization capability, which is very strong as compared to peers. Furthermore, one can initiate a discussion with most scholars about MATLAB, whether humanities, science or whatever background, most people understand it. Moreover, the platform is fairly simple to learn, whether for high school students or doctoral scholars. In addition, MATLAB provides vast rich documentation with references, which is quite helpful in understanding the functions. When I started work on MATLAB, I truly fell in love with MATLAB. Continuous additions of new features in upgraded versions is also impressive. Really great work by the MATLAB developer teams.

During the middle of 2017, I was stuck with a problem for a month, the problem related to getting different threshold values to plot the ROC (medical image processing). When I came to know about the forum, I posted the question and got the answer within a few minutes. The answer saved another month, and the journey began with MATLAB Answers.

Yes, I feel good when I can answer the question. Sometimes the question is very interesting, by answering such a question it also helps to improve my own skills. Besides that, members are amazing, always ready to help, whether it is in the comments section or sometimes another answer. Truly, I would like to thank all the MATLAB Answers members for their valuable contributions to teaching MATLAB to millions of people. These are sufficient reasons for motivation to keep visiting MATLAB Answers.

It’s people, MVP members, all volunteers, amazing and very knowledgeable members. They are so talented. Most notably Walter Roberson, Image Analyst and all the MVPs. MathWorks staff who continuously update the new addition of features in the latest versions. Other things, like reward points and voting systems, are also amazing

Most features, such as the Cody Challenge, MathWorks blogs for the latest updates, etc. Also, File Exchange is very good. Here, people can obtain code and do modifications as per their requirements. These are open access, anyone can download the code and make modifications and changes.

I have some ideas for new features to achieve more perfection in MATLAB Central.  One idea is adding video blogs by MVP members on specific topics (if anyone showing interest).  Another idea is to have webinars discussing the latest industry requirements or new development, similar to the existing MATLAB Live Streams on YouTube.

I offer personal online MATLAB training to students across different countries. Still I try to get free time during evening hours and go for a long walk with a list of favorite songs, this happens twice or thrice in a week. This is my own time, there is no one to disturb me and I feel refreshed. Besides that, I love to capture a sunset picture, such moments give me positive vibes to keep going, as life moves forward. I believe in human relations, and prefer to do any voluntary services, if I get a chance and time allows me to do so. In addition, I love cooking and reading self help books.  

Usually I cook typical Indian dishes, preferably seasonal vegetables. I prepare dishes that are less spicy. I prefer eating fresh and healthy. Seriously, I feel great when I get a chance to go to the kitchen and my favorites are green beans, bitter gourd or any green vegetables.

There are many good books I’ve read, someone rightly said “A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge”.  The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, a Computer Science Professor, is my favorite. Others, The Magic by Rhonda Bern, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, For One More Day by Mitch Albom and many more.

Once again, thank you John for the interview and nice to talk with you.