- Date Of Birth: May 6, 1949
- Date Of Death: March 1, 2019
- State: Massachusetts
HAVERHILL – It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we inform you that our husband and father Dr. Amit Sarkhel peacefully passed away on Friday, March 1st, 2019, surrounded by his family. We will miss his genuine, humble and compassionate soul dearly. He is survived by his wife Surya (Arundhati), his daughter Anjana and son Ranjan.
Amit started his journey of nearly 70 years in a small town in the Indian state of West Bengal, on May 6th 1949, as the first of seven brothers. His many intellectual gifts, coupled with an unparalleled determination and drive to succeed, brought him first to India’s premier institution for engineering and technology, the Kharagpur IIT, where he completed his undergraduate degree. In 1970, he arrived in the US as a graduate student – to pursue his own version of the American dream. By 1977, he had completed his PhD in Material Science from SUNY Stony Brook. He then moved onto post-doctoral studies at Lehigh University. While he was studying there, he was part of a scientific exchange program between the USA and the USSR in the late 1970’s where he represented the USA along with other distinguished scientists. He came back from Soviet Russia with a newfound appreciation for American decadence and a set of Russian matryoshka dolls. The one doll that has survived 40 years of moves, decorative editing, and Anjana’s early childhood currently resides on a bookshelf in our living room. In 1980, he finally got a real job after marrying his other half and comedic foil in 1979.
