zDoof Team

zDOOF has grown through partnerships with chefs, culinary hobbyists and expert food critics. It has become the center for everything food, from experimenting with new recipes and creating healthy meal plans to connecting with the chefs or other similar culinary hobbyists.

Management Team

The management team is led by Dr. Santanu Das who is the Chairman of the Board of the Company.
The key members of the management team are -

Dr. Santanu Das was the Founding CEO of TranSwitch Corporation in Shelton, CT. TranSwitch was a Fabless Semiconductor Company established to design, manufacture and sell specialized semiconductor components for telecommunication applications. The company had a successful IPO in June 1995 and Dr. Das ran the company from it’s inception till his retirement in December 2009.

  1. Dr. Das is currently the Chairman of the Board of zDOOF Corporation as well as DomaniSystems, Inc. in Shelton, CT.
  2. Dr. Das has a D.Sc. in EE from Washington University in St. Louis as well as BS and MS in Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
  3. Dr. Das was a member of the Board of Trustees at Washington University in St. Louis, from 2000 to 2008.

Thomas Richtarich has an MBA from the University of Connecticut. He worked for Southern New England Telephone (SNET) in a number of Strategic Planning and Marketing roles for fifteen years before joining Abundance Networks in Shelton, CT as VP of Finance & Administration.

When Abundance was acquired by Nayna Networks, he became the CFO of the combined company, a role he played till March 2009. From April 2009 to November 2013, he was Director of Human Resources and Administration at TranSwitch Corp. in Shelton, CT.

Jitender Vij was Senior Director Product and Technology Management at MRV Communications in Chatsworth CA from November 2010 to May 2012. From December 1999 to December 2008, he was with TranSwitch Corp. in Shelton, CT where he played a number of Senior Management roles. From 2008 December till he joined zDOOF as a VP of Marketing & Business Development, he was the Managing Partner of a consulting organization in Connecticut.

  1. Mr. Vij has a BE degree in Electronics & Tele-communications Engineering from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Punjab, India.
  2. He also graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program (AMP).

Steve Lam has MSEE degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts and MBA from University of New Haven, Connecticut. Till recently, he was a Project Manager with APS Technology in Connecticut. Before APS, Mr. Lam held various management positions in Operations & Marketing with TranSwitch Corp. in Shelton, CT.

Himadri Tanay Das has a Bachelor of Information Technology degree from NIIT in Odisha, India. Before joining zDOOF, he was Director of Technology at Shiftu Technology Pvt Ltd in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India. Himadri’s background is in developing complex software-centric systems and he leads zDOOF engineering team which is based in Silicon Valley as well as in India.

Technology Team

Our technology team is led by Dr. Santanu Das who is also our Chairman of the Board. Dr. Das is assisted by a team of engineers in USA including Jitender Vij, Steve Lam, and two Ph. D. students as well as a team of Technical Advisers led by Dr. Arye Nehorai of Washington University in St Louis.

The implementation of zDoof technology is led by Himadri Tanay Das, who is zDoof’s Director of Engineering. Himadri’s group is based in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India as well as in Silicon Valley and comprises a team of 40 engineers.

Dr. Santanu Das was the Founding CEO of TranSwitch Corporation in Shelton, CT. TranSwitch was a Fabless Semiconductor Company established to design, manufacture and sell specialized semiconductor components for telecommunication applications. The company had a successful IPO in June 1995 and Dr. Das ran the company from it’s inception till his retirement in December 2009.

  1. Dr. Das is currently the Chairman of the Board of zDOOF Corporation as well as DomaniSystems, Inc. in Shelton, CT.
  2. Dr. Das has a D.Sc. in EE from Washington University in St. Louis as well as BS and MS in Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
  3. Dr. Das was a member of the Board of Trustees at Washington University in St. Louis, from 2000 to 2008.

Jitender Vij was Senior Director Product and Technology Management at MRV Communications in Chatsworth CA from November 2010 to May 2012. From December 1999 to December 2008, he was with TranSwitch Corp. in Shelton, CT where he played a number of Senior Management roles. From 2008 December till he joined zDOOF as a VP of Marketing & Business Development, he was the Managing Partner of a consulting organization in Connecticut.

  1. Mr. Vij has a BE degree in Electronics & Tele-communications Engineering from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Punjab, India.
  2. He also graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program (AMP).

Steve Lam has MSEE degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts and MBA from University of New Haven, Connecticut. Till recently, he was a Project Manager with APS Technology in Connecticut. Before APS, Mr. Lam held various management positions in Operations & Marketing with TranSwitch Corp. in Shelton, CT.

Dr. Arye Nehorai is the Eugene and Martha Lohman Professor in Dept. of Electrical & Systems Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Till recently, he was the Chairman of the Department.

His research interests are

  1. In Developing Mathematical Models of Complex Systems, including Biological and Physical Systems
  2. In the use of Statistical Signal Processing and Machine Learning Tools to analyze multi-sensor measurements of the systems.

Current projects his group is involved in include security, defense, biomedicine, energy and the environmental system.

Dr. Nehorai did his BS and MS from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology and Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

Himadri Tanay Das has a Bachelor of Information Technology degree from NIIT in Odisha, India. Before joining zDOOF, he was Director of Technology at Shiftu Technology Pvt Ltd in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India. Himadri’s background is in developing complex software centric systems and he leads zDOOF's engineering team which is based in Silicon Valley as well as in India.

Our chefs have international experience and are well placed in their profession.

zDOOF allows you to connect with other foodies, restaurant and grocery shop owners, as well as with a group of internationally known chefs who have distinguished themselves in their profession. Currently, our Chef Advisory Board has three members:

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Manish Tyagi Know More


Manish Tyagi heads zDOOF’s Chef Advisory Board. He is a versatile professional with more than 13 years of experience in every aspect of the Hospitality industry.

He is the Head Chef of Amber restaurant in San Jose, California, which is owned by Amber India Corporation, a California-based chain of restaurants serving authentic Indian and contemporary cuisine. Manish was previously the Executive Chef of Taj Gateway in Nashik, Maharashtra, India.

In 2009, Manish was awarded the “Best Chef of the Year” award by Gallivanter's Guide, UK. The contestants were chosen from 42 countries, and we are obviously proud of the fact that Manish bested them all.

His cooking classes have been cited as one of the top 10 Great Cooking Classes around the world by the National Geographic magazine. (http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2012/11/09/food-fridays-10-great-cooking-classes/)

Manish is a graduate of JP Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Meerut, India.

zDOOF is honored to have Manish as a key member of the founding Team.

You can contact him at [email protected]
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Ajay Mishra Know More


Ajay is a seasoned hands-on chef. After culinary training at the Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata, India, he worked his way up in the kitchen, through assignments with Taj, Hyatt and Marriott hotel chains in India and USA.

Ajay was the Head Chef at Amber India Restaurant in San Francisco, California, which was featured in the Top 100 restaurants list of Bay Area. Amber, San Francisco, was awarded 2.5 star rating by Michael Bauer in recognition of Ajay’s culinary skills and his passion for everything food.

Ajay is currently living in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and delighting foodies with his culinary skills working for a restaurant in nearby Hunter Valley, New South Wales.

zDOOF is proud to have Ajay on board as a key member of zDOOF’s Chef Advisory Board.

You can contact him at [email protected]
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Manjit Manohar Know More


Manjit Manohar was born in India. He graduated in 2002 from the Institute of Hotel Management & Catering technology, Delhi, with a degree in Applied Nutrition. Currently, he is an Executive Sous Chef in a five-star hotel in New York City. This hotel is a part of a chain of hotels owned by an India-based multinational corporation. He has 13 years of experience in the culinary industry, with a proven record of accomplishment.

For zDOOF, Manjit will be featuring his own personal style of cooking and fusion recipes, developed over the last 13 years.

You can contact him at [email protected]
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Nimish Bhatia Know More


Popularly known as Chef Bhatia in the hospitality and culinary world, Chef Nimish Bhatia started his culinary journey in 1990. With over 26 Years of association with Culinary / F&B Management & Experience in Leading World Class Hotels and Restaurants, Nimish have had a progressive & challenging career. Chef Bhatia is renowned for his culinary skills and his exceptionally high standards in the kitchen and at the table.

The one to innovate the Cold Kebabs, he has been the face of popular food & travel shows like Foodistan and more. A ‘people’s person’, Chef Bhatia cherishes his connection with his guests over the years. He is also a member of La Chaine de Rotisseurs which is the most reputed gastronomic society globally. La Chaine de Rotisseurs awarded him with a couple of medallions.

Chef Nimish Bhatia was recently featured amongst Top 25 Chefs of India. IFCA (Indian Federation of Culinary Associations) and World Chefs Society awarded ‘Culinary Greatness Award 2012’ and recently top of all ‘Culinary Leadership Award 2015’ for his contributions to the Gastronomic society.

After his stint with the Lalit group of hotels, he is now seen in the role of a Director/Entrepreneur for Four Flavors LLP which has opened its standalone fine dine restaurant in the country "Nimisseire” celebrating Aspect cuisine.

zDOOF is honored to have Nimish as a key member of the zDoof ‘s chef advisory Board.

 

You can contact him at [email protected]

Culinary hobbyist

zDOOF allows you to connect with other foodies, restaurant and grocery shop owners, as well as with a group of internationally known chefs who have distinguished themselves in their profession.

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Viviane Schreiber Know More


Ms. Viviane Schreiber, who is a citizen of Belgium, has been living in Provence, southern France, for the last 20 years. She runs a Bread and Breakfast place in a charming village with a gorgeous view of the Mont Ventoux and the pre-Alps mountains.

In her previous career, she worked for YWCA, UNICEF and a few other European NGOs. She has traveled extensively in Europe, North America, North Africa, Caribbean islands and Asia.

In addition to running the B&B, she works as a consultant on a European Environmental project advising local municipal authorities.

She is a cooking enthusiast, with a particular focus on healthy food and healthy ingredients. In her zDoof page, she’ll be sharing her recipes for healthy breakfast, snacks and lunches. These are influenced by her multicultural experience and exposure.

zDoof Advisers

zDoof has two advisory groups: Technical advisory group and Business advisory group.

The Technical advisory group is led by Dr. Arye Nehorai and also has the following members:

  • Mr.Tamoghna Roywho is Pursuing Ph. D. degree in Electrical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic.

Dr. Arye Nehorai is Eugene and Martha Lohman Professor in Dept. of Electrical & Systems Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Till recently, he was the Chairman of the Department.

His research interests are

  1. In Developing Mathematical Models of Complex Systems, including Biological and Physical Systems
  2. In the use of Statistical Signal Processing and Machine Learning Tools to analyze multi-sensor measurements of the systems.

Current projects his group is involved in include security, defense, biomedicine, energy and the environmental system.

Dr. Nehorai did his BS and MS from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology and Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

Mr. Tamoghna Roy is pursuing his Ph. D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic, Blacksburg, Virginia. His areas of interest are in Digital Signal Processing and Machine Learning.

Mr. Roy has an MS in EE from Virginia Polytechnic and BE in Electrical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.

The Business advisory group is led by Dr. Jeorge Hurtarte who is Director of Marketing at Teradyne Systems in Boston. In addition, it also has the following members

Dr. Jeorge S. Hurtarte is currently RF Market Segment Manager at Teradyne Inc., Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to joining Teradyne, Dr. Hurtarte held the positions of Senior Vice President of Engineering and Operations, and Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales at TranSwitch; and Vice President and General Manager at Rockwell Semiconductors. Dr. Hurtarte holds Ph.D and BS degrees in electrical engineering, a MS in Telecommunications, and a MBA. Dr. Hurtarte is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program (Boston and Shanghai), and a Registered Professional Electrical Engineer in the State of California.

Dr. Hurtarte has been in the Advisory Board of Directors of the Global Semiconductor Alliance, TUV Rheinland of North America, NSF's Wireless Internet Center for Advanced RF Technology, and College of Natural Sciences, Mathematics at the University of Phoenix. Dr. Hurtarte is a Visiting Professor at Auburn University and at the University of Massachusetts. He is also the lead co-author of the book Understanding Fabless IC Technology.

Dr. Hoshang Mulla did his BS, MS, Ph.D. in Computer, Information & Control Engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He was a Member of Technical Staff in Motorola for 5 years and then joined ITT Corporation in 1982 where he led research in Digital Signal and Speech Processing.

After a 12 years stint as Vice President of Network Architecture at Southern New England Telephone Company in Connecticut, he joined as VP of Marketing at TranSwitch Corporation in 1999 and held that position till recently.

Mr. Mike Macari is currently the Vice President of Operations at Thinklogical in Milford, CT. From Jan 1999 to Oct 2011, he was the VP of Engineering & Operations at TranSwitch Corporation in Shelton, CT.

  1. Mr. Macari has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and MBA from the University of New Haven in Connecticut.
  2. Mr. Macari is an accomplished High Technology Executive and has experience in driving all aspects of large global engineering and manufacturing organizations.

Caroline’s career spans both the UK and the USA. Having held senior and board positions with the two main commercial broadcast channels in the UK, ITV and Channel Four for 15 years, she relocated to New York in 2001 to become the CEO of one of the most prestigious UK owned B2B events companies in the USA.

Caroline owns Energetic Communications Inc., a business that helps companies launch, develop and grow in the US by helping them build infrastructure as well as representing their sales and marketing requirements. www.energeticnyc.com

Mr. Hemant Habbu is a partner at the Law Firm of Habbu & Park in San Jose, CA. His practice covers corporate / business and immigration matters for high technology clients.

Mr. Habbu has an MA in French Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India and JD degree from Government Law College in Mumbai, India. He also has LL.M. degree from Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Our Yoga Master

Our Yoga master Srihari Varada practices yoga both recreationally and competitively. Srihari will share with us on this page his philosophy on practicing yoga, giving us insight into the principles surrounding the revived ancient art.

Know More

Hatha yoga

While Hatha, a branch of yoga, which targets multiple channels of enlightenments, remains Varada’s main interest, he has also recently invested his time into advancing his mastery in terms of Ashtanga yoga as well.

Ashtanga, unlike Hatha, places a strong focus on the hands as a medium to accomplish many of the postures.

Yoga is all about improving physical and mental health. Healthy food habits are an integral part of the practice of yoga.

Key points

Varada believes that there are three main philosophies surrounding the execution of yoga in its truest and purest form.

  1. He believes that the most important factor behind successfully practicing yoga is to stay focused on the present. In the midst of yoga, one should not have any concern about the future or the past. The focus on the act itself is what leads to the ultimate peace surrounding yoga, and so practicing “staying in the present” remains as the primary principle of the art as a whole.
  2. Secondly, Varada believes that in order to successfully accomplish your goals regarding yoga, one must “embrace the moment”. This requires a certain amount of open-mindedness. Without this mindset, the brain is restricted, and thus the execution is flawed. To reach the state of mind, practicing yoga promises, one must become one with time, and let go of anything that does not pertain to the act in that moment.
  3. The last principle states that yoga must be fast paced. Not in the traditional sense of speed, but without distraction. Postures should be executed one after the other, without the hindrance of outside distractions. To achieve this, both the right environment and mindset are required.
We at ZDooF are honored to work with Srihari as he spreads the love and knowledge of yoga to more and more people everyday.

Stay updated on new methods, philosophies and inside tips by checking back to our yoga blog regularly!
You would also learn healthy food habits from Srihari.

You can contact him at [email protected]