An IIT Delhi alumnus from the 1985 MTech batch, Sandhu currently serves as Senior Fellow and Vice President at Micron Technology. (Source: @brahma_4u/X)India has produced some of the brightest minds in technology, but many of them ended up building their biggest breakthroughs overseas. One name now being widely discussed online is Gurtej Sandhu, the Indian-origin engineer who grew up in Amritsar, studied at IIT Delhi, and went on to become the seventh most prolific inventor in US history.A viral post on X recently reignited the debate around brain drain with the line, “India trains the engineer and America files the patents. We export the inventor and we import the chip.” The post pointed to Sandhu’s extraordinary journey as an example of how Indian talent often finds greater opportunities abroad.Check out the post:India trains the engineer.America files the patents.Gurtej Sandhu was raised in Amritsar and trained at IIT Delhi.He now holds 1,299 US patents at Micron, Edison topped out at 1,093.Sandhu is the 7th most prolific inventor in American history.His titanium nitride… pic.twitter.com/UqHBZfkZ0O— Shubham Mishra (@brahma_4u) May 21, 2026 An IIT Delhi alumnus from the 1985 MTech batch, Sandhu currently serves as Senior Fellow and Vice President at Micron Technology. Over the years, he has accumulated a staggering 1,382 US patents — even more than Thomas Edison, who held 1,093 patents. His work in semiconductors, chip fabrication, and atomic layer deposition has played a major role in making modern devices smaller, faster, and more efficient.After studying at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Guru Nanak Dev University, Sandhu moved to the United States for his PhD and eventually became a key figure in global microelectronics research. For the last 35 years, he has been associated with Micron Technology, where he now leads the company’s Si-to-Package R&D roadmap from Boise, Idaho.His contributions to silicon CMOS technology and memory scaling for DRAM and NAND systems have helped shape the future of cloud computing, smartphones, cameras, and advanced data storage. In recognition of his work, he received the prestigious IEEE Andrew S Grove Award in 2018.Reacting to his achievement, Guru Nanak Dev University vice-chancellor Karamjeet Singh called it “a moment of unparalleled pride” for both the university and the country. “Gurtej’s journey from our campus to global acclaim shows how dedication and curiosity can reshape the world. His success is an inspiration for our students and faculty alike,” he said.The viral discussion around Sandhu also sparked wider conversations about innovation and talent retention in India. Many social media users argued that the country needs a stronger research infrastructure and better support systems to prevent brilliant minds from moving abroad.Story continues below this adOne user wrote, “He couldn’t possibly had done those inventions in India. You need labs and support for this.”Another commented, “Smart people are the most valuable investment a country can make. Gurtej Sandhu generated thousands of patents. That is not one person succeeding. That is knowledge creating more knowledge. We grew the mango tree. Someone else opened the juice factory.”A third person added, “Have met him in a conference at Las Vegas in 2019, though I have filed multiple US patents myself but I must say he is a very humble and approachable person considering his achievements and depth of knowledge in our domain. Lot of reformation needed in India to breed innovation!”