Born in 1945 in Jogimal a small village in Odisha Akhileswar’s achievements as a scientist, businessman, and a community leader continues to be an inspiration for his family and friends.
His grandfather Sri Lachaman Patel was a well-known politician and his father Dayanidhi Patel continued to pursue the family business in agriculture. His mother Amruta Patel was a homemaker. He grew up in a close knit rural community, helped his father with farm chores, and attended the village school. He credits his seventh grade teacher Yudhisthir Das for inspiring him to complete his high school and his uncle Rama Chandra Patel , M.A.,LLB an advocate by profession, for inspiring him to pursue his keen interest in Physics. He got married to Basantha Patel in 1971. In 1977 he earned a doctoral degree in Physics from National Institute of Technology in Rourkela.
As the first and the only delegate representing India he visited Germany to attend an international conference on Small Angle Scattering at Berlin (West) on October 2, 1980, where he was presenting a paper. He met Professor S.S.Stivala from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey. Professor Stivala invited him to join his Institute for research in America offering him a postdoctoral position in his department. And so began the incredible journey to a new world of opportunities…
Everything was new and exciting in America. Even the water fountain was a novelty! With great enthusiasm Akhileswar began his post-doctoral studies in 1982 and soon became a well-regarded research scientist. He has published four articles in the following four books:Neutron Scattering 1985; Biomedical and Biotechnologial Advances in Industrial Poly saccharides 1988; Industrial Polysaccharides: The impact of Biotechnology and Advanced Methodology 1986; and Chitin and Chitosan, 1990; and contributed scientific papers in more than 35 international journals on topics related to his field of specialization of Small Angle X-Ray and Neutron Scattering.
Akhileswar received the Hind Ratan Award for being the first and only Indian to represent SAX and SANS International Seminar at Berlin (West) in 1980.With insatiable curiosity and scientific precision he continues to pursue every new adventure whether it was science, philanthropy, politics, or business. The successful outcomes are a testimony to his abilities as an inspiring leader.
After leaving Stevens Institute of Technology he joined Electro-Catalytic as Head of Quality Control in 1995. He started working as an Investment Advisor for AXA Equitable in 1998 and became their Regional Vice President of AXA Equitable from 2001 – 2006.In 2002, while he was a Regional Vice President of AXA , he was awarded The Best Manager in the country Award , in the first year in management.
Today, his family owns daycare centers in Somerset/New Jersey and Chelmsford/MA and partners with four Seven Eleven stores in West Melbourne, Florida and employs over 100 people in USA. He continues to give back to his community as a volunteer and serves on the boards of many local religious and cultural institutions.
Dr. Akhileswar has four children – Madhumeeta, Nivedita, Sushreeta and Dharmaresh and seven grand children.