Hemant K. Thapar
Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, OmniTier Inc.
MSEE 1977, PhD EE 1979
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."John Wesley
For his revolutionary work in data processing and communications, addressing critical topics for the disk drive industry that improves speed, storage density and affordability, helping to redefine how we both store and retrieve information on electronic devices today.
A proven leader, inventor and industry groundbreaker, Hemant Thapar currently is Chairman, CEO, and Co-founder of OmniTier Inc. With OmniTier, his third startup, he is solving big-data problems in computational genomics with innovative algorithms and dataflows using tiered-memory architectures that expand computational storage and improve run times to make genomic medicine more affordable.
Thapar previously founded and led DataPath Systems and Link_a_Media Devices, also successful startups, which were acquired by LSI Corporation and SK Hynix, respectively. Together, these startups delivered many industry firsts in controllers for data storage and data recovery and system-on-a-chip technologies, contributing to the shipment of over 100 million chips for hard disk drives and solid-state drives.
His work has earned 12 patents on coding, detection, and synchronization. He says the work he did in cofounding and leading DataPath Systems was some of his most rewarding.
"We helped transform the disk-drive industry and brought to life a paper I had published in 1987," he says. "The ideas in the paper became the technology roadmap for the mass magnetic storage device industry and are still used today."
He has addressed critical topics for the disk-drive industry, improving speed, storage density, and affordability. His contributions range from channel equalization in magnetic-disk storage systems, to efficient VLSI architectures for implementing the Viterbi algorithm (a powerful method to accurately retrieve data from storage devices), to coding and detection methods that combat the effect of intertrack interference.
Thapar credits Purdue with teaching him how to pursue technology innovation: "Coping with uncertainty is the common element between conducting research and leading a startup company. My training in research at Purdue, and subsequently at Bell Labs, helped me in many ways to build two successful startups and made them enjoyable experiences."
That enjoyment has also brought Thapar recognition. He has received Purdue's Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineer Award and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Santa Clara University. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He is a corecipient of three best paper awards for his work on high-speed data transmission and high-density data storage. He also has chaired IEEEs' Comsoc Data Storage Technical Committee and served as a guest editor of two special issues of the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications that focused on high-density data storage technologies.
Purdue's high standards, Thapar says, helped him set a high bar for himself. "The rigorous graduate curriculum, the high standards for research and the exposure to cutting-edge research topics all shaped my training and preparation at Purdue," he says. "It helped me transition from academia to industry to startups in a somewhat seamless manner."
Career Highlights
| 2015-present | Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, OmniTier Inc. |
|---|---|
| 2013-2015 | Visiting Research Scholar, University of California, San Diego |
| 2012-2013 | Chief Executive Officer, SK Hynix Memory Solutions |
| 2004-2012 | Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Link_a_Media Devices Corporation |
| 2000-2004 | Senior Vice President, LSI Logic Corporation |
| 1994-2000 | Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DataPath Systems Inc. |
| 1984-2004 | Adjunct Lecturer, Electrical Engineering, Santa Clara University |
| 1984-1994 | Senior Engineer and Manager, Advanced Channel Technology, IBM Corporation |
| 1979-1984 | Technical Staff Member, Data Communications, Bell Telephone Laboratories |
Education
| 1973 | BS Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Santa Clara |
|---|---|
| 1977 | MS Electrical Engineering, Purdue University |
| 1979 | PhD Electrical Engineering, Purdue University |