Inspirational! This Bengaluru professor got his Ph.D. at 79

Bengaluru: Professor Prabhakar Kuppahalli has become an inspiration for many after he achieved his long-standing dream of getting a Ph. D. or Doctor of Philosophy, at the age of 79.

While most prefer to retire in their later years of life, Prabhakar Kuppahalli was insistent on adding the title "Dr." before his name. As per a TOI report, Prabhakar undertook the Ph.D. when he was 75 years old.

He finished his Ph.D. at Bengaluru’s Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, where he was already recruited as a visiting faculty member. While finishing his thesis, Dr. Kuppahalli refused to receive any special treatment based on his seniority, according to media reports.

Dr. Kuppahalli, who earned his engineering degree in 1966 from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, worked at IIT Bombay for a few years. He then spent several years of his profession in the United States where he also got a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

"It was a long-cherished dream. Though I had planned it when I was younger and working in the US, it did not come about because of unavoidable circumstances. When I turned 75, I decided to give it a go," he said while talking to TOI after the 41st annual convocation of Mangalore University.