Published: February 20, 2025 8:59 AM IST 
The Joint Entrance Examination, JEE (Main) comprises of two papers. Paper 1 is conducted for admission to Undergraduate Engineering Programs (B.E. / B. Tech.) at NITs, IIITs, other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs) and Institutions / Universities funded / recognized by participating State Governments. JEE (Main) is also an eligibility test for JEE (Advanced), which is conducted for admission to IITs. Paper 2 is conducted for admission to B. Arch and B. Planning courses in the country. Every year, NTA conducts JEE Main exam for aspirants to get admission in top engineering colleges.
IITs are the most sought-after institutes by students, with many aspiring to secure admission and fulfill their academic dreams.But what if we tell you about an individual who obtained the All India Rank(AIR) 1 in the JEE Advanced 2014, even took admission at IIT Bombay, but left the institute for..…The individual we are talking about is Chitraang Murdia.
Chitraang Murdia secured an All India Rank(AIR) 1 in IIT-JEE examination 2014. Following this major feat, Murdia got admission in IIT Bombay and was set to become a Computer Engineer. But who knew that things will not work as planned. Yes, this significant decision of Chitraang changed his entire life. A post published on April 1, 2017 at Humans of India on Facebook read, “I have secured All India Rank -1 in IIT-JEE examination 2014. I took admission in IIT Bombay and was all set to become a Computer Engineer. But soon after getting the admission I realized that “Computer science is interesting to me, but my passion lies in physics. I wanted to do research, probably in quantum theory.”
Leaving IIT Bombay was a major turning point in his life. Everyone around him was shocked. “Don’t know how, but I developed my keen interest in Physics and decided to quit IIT. Everybody was shocked by this decision and that included even my friends,” the post further read. In the 2014 IIT JEE Advanced examination, Chitraang Murdia scored 334 marks out of 360. Later in his post, he mentioned that realized that while computer science intrigued him, his true passion lay in physics—particularly in pursuing research, perhaps in quantum theory. He secured 97% in class 12 examination.
He mentioned,” People used to say that you are a kid and don’t know how to take important decisions of your life and you will be earning in lakhs after receiving the Engineering degree from IIT. But as always, I followed my inner soul and not what others said.” In 2014, Chitraang took admission at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay to pursue Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. However in 2015, after a year at the Institute, Murdia left IIT Bombay and secured admission to the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a scholarship.
He said,”Finally, I got admission in one of the world most prestigious institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and that too with scholarship. I have seen the students who are good in physics and maths are following the herd to seek admission to courses such as computer science and electrical engineering.”
After his course at MIT, Chitraang took admission at the University of Pennsylvania for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2018. He completed his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2023, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At present, he is Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania.
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