Arun Mehta

Arun Mehta
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	IIT Delhi Stony Brook University Ruhr University
Occupation	Software developer

Arun Mehta is an Indian software developer and a disability activist. At the request of Stephen Hawking, he, along with Vickram Crishna, developed a free and open source software named eLocutor, to allow nonverbal disabled people to write and speak.

Early life

Mehta obtained a B.Tech. degree from IIT Delhi in 1975, a master's degree in computer sciences from the Stony Brook University. After that, he worked with Siemens AG in Erlangen for three years. As a fellow of Friedrich Ebert Foundation, he joined the PhD program of the Ruhr University in 1982. ^[1] After returning to India, Mehta joined Indata Com Private Limited as the Managing Director. During this time, he developed a software for early detection of Alzheimer's disease, for the University of Pittsburgh.^{[ citation needed ]}

eLocutor

Hawking (sitting, right) during Strings Conference at TIFR, in 2001

During a tour to India in 2001, ^{[2] [3]} Stephen Hawking delivered a lecture in an international physics conference dedicated to String theory held at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. ^[4] It was during this time, Hawking, suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, contacted Mehta and Crishna ^[5] along with several other software companies to write the replacement for the software he was using for the computerised machine fixed to his wheelchair, and to communicate with others. ^[6] Mehta and Crishna developed eLocutor, a free and open source single-button typing and speaking software. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Bibliography

• Peter, Wogart, Jan; Mehta, Arun; Kapur Mehta, Aasha (1993). Technology and competitiveness : the case of Brazilian and Indian machine tools. New Delhi: Sage Publications. ISBN   9780803991200. OCLC   27897348.

References

1. "MEHTA Arun". www.itu.int. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
2. "Stephen Hawking meets President". The Hindu . 16 January 2001. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
3. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Nation". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
4. Strings 2001 : proceedings of the Strings 2001 Conference, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India, January 5-10, 2001. Dabholkar, Atish., Mukhi, Sunil., Wadia, S. R. (Spenta R.). Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society. 2002. ISBN   0821829815. OCLC   49727764.
5. "Meet The Indian Engineers Who Helped Stephen Hawking Get His Voice Back". The Better India. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
6. "Local scientist writing software for Prof Hawking - Volume 2 Issue 23: Disability News and Information Service for India". www.dnis.org. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
7. "How did Stephen Hawking talk? The Indian connection to British theoretical physicist's conversations". The Financial Express. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
8. "When a button is all that connects you to the world". Beautiful code : [leading programmers explain how they think]. Oram, Andrew,, Wilson, Greg, 1963- (1st ed.). Beijing: O'Reilly. 2007. ISBN   9780596510046. OCLC   174040370.
9. Rawat, Astha. "Video: Meet the two Indian engineers who helped Stephen Hawking talk". Scroll.in. Retrieved 17 March 2018.