Several were left surprised when Chitraang Murdia, once hailed as a certified intellectual genius, quit one of India's topmost universities. He was admitted to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), a dream come true for lakhs of aspiring engineers, with a brilliant 97% in Class 12 and an All India Rank (AIR) 1 in JEE Advanced. But in a contradiction of expectations, Murdia decided to drop out of school, opting for an alternative path in pursuing self-expression and creativity.
Joint Entrance Examination, JEE (Main) consists of two papers. Paper 1 is held for admission to Undergraduate Engineering Programmes (B.E. / B. Tech.) in NITs, IIITs, other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs) and Institutions / Universities funded / recognised by participating State Governments. JEE (Main) is also a test for eligibility to write JEE (Advanced), which is held for admission to IITs. Paper 2 is held for admission to B. Arch and B. Planning courses in the nation. NTA conducts JEE Main exam annually for aspirants to secure admission to leading engineering colleges.
Chitraang Murdia achieved an All India Rank(AIR) 1 in IIT-JEE exam 2014. On the heels of this great accomplishment, Murdia secured admission in IIT Bombay and was destined to become a Computer Engineer. But who knew that things will not go as expected. Yes, this pivotal choice of Chitraang altered his whole life. A post dated April 1, 2017 on Facebook at Humans of India said, "I have achieved All India Rank -1 in IIT-JEE exam 2014. I joined IIT Bombay and was ready to become a Computer Engineer.". But shortly after receiving the admission I came to realize that "Computer science is of interest to me, but I am interested in physics. I wanted to work on research, most likely on quantum theory."
Leaving IIT Bombay was a turning point in his life. Everyone was taken aback. "Don't know how, but I developed my keen interest in Physics and decided to leave IIT.". All the students were left shocked by this move and that too included even my friends," the post added. Chitraang Muradia achieved 334 marks out of 360 in the 2014 IIT JEE Advanced test. Going on to elaborate later in his post, he added that felt that although computer science interested him, his ultimate area of passion was physics—and that too particularly carrying out research, maybe into quantum theory. He achieved 97% in class 12 test.
He said," People used to tell that you are a child and do not know how to make significant decisions of your life and you will be making in lakhs after getting the Engineering degree from IIT. But as always, I did what my inner soul was telling me and not others." Chitraang joined the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2014 to study Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science. But in 2015, after spending a year at the Institute, Murdia quit IIT Bombay and received admission to the elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), on a scholarship.
He added,"At last I got admission to one of world's most highly rated institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and that with scholarship. The students who have a good proficiency in physics and maths are moving along with the herd to seek admission to classes like computer science and electrical engineering."
Following his MIT course, Chitraang joined the University of Pennsylvania for a Doctor of Philosophy in 2018. He graduated with Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2023, and has a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Currently, he is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania