Alum Looks to Solve His Next Challenge: Sleep Apnea
01/01/2024
By Karen Angelo
As a young man growing up in India, Suresh Shah’s destiny seemed etched in stone. His father owned a textile manufacturing business and expected Shah to one day take over.
After earning a chemistry degree from St. Xavier’s College in Gujarat, he applied to a textile program at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai. On his application, he added his second choice—plastics technology.
It was a decision that would change the course of Shah’s life.
“As it turned out, I didn’t get accepted to the textile program, but I did get accepted into the plastics technology program,” he recalls.
After seven years of college in India, Shah wanted to study in the U.S. It took a year for him to convince his father to allow him to go. In 1980, he was accepted into the plastics engineering master's program at UMass Lowell. He continued on and earned a Ph.D.
“I had the best five years of my student life at UMass Lowell, which has the best plastics engineering program in the U.S.,” he says. “The M.S. and Ph.D. programs were excellent, with hands-on learning and supportive professors.”
After graduating, Shah received three job offers, but was not sure which one to take.
“Prof. Nick Schott at UML encouraged me to accept the job from General Motors,” Shah remembers. “I will always be grateful for his advice and support.”
“I had the best five years of my student life at UMass Lowell, which has the best plastics engineering program in the U.S.” -Suresh Shah ’82, ’85
While working with development teams at Delphi Technologies, a division of General Motors based in Troy, Michigan, Shah received valuable advice from his director: For his inventions to see the light of day, he should always take on projects that would have a positive impact to the company’s bottom line.
That guidance, combined with his education and ability to solve tough problems, led to a successful 30-year career in the automotive industry. Shah holds 32 patents and other intellectual properties, including trade secrets and work published in defense publications. Almost 50% of his patents are in production—far more than 4%, which is an industrial average, according to the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE).
“I enjoy analyzing problems and finding solutions that make a difference,” he says.
Shah worked on many interior and exterior vehicle components, including doors, lighting, seats, steering wheels and airbag covers.
“These projects led to several game-changing innovations,” he says.
Shah’s accomplishments have earned him dozens of accolades, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from SPE’s automotive division, the SPE International Research and Technology Award and the Michigan Scientist of the Year recognition from the state. In 2021, he was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame by the Plastics Academy—the first inductee of Indian descent and the second from the automotive industry.
He credits his colleagues and mentors for helping him along his career path.
“Success would not have been possible without the support from my mentors and teams of smart engineers,” he says.
No Rest for the Inventor
Despite his patents, inventions and awards, Shah is not resting on his laurels. The retired Delphi senior technical fellow has turned his sights to solving a health issue that affects millions of people: sleep apnea.
“My wife and sisters-in-law were frustrated with their snoring husbands. They challenged me to invent a more comfortable solution for snoring and a better device than the CPAP machine,” says Shah, who suffers from the sleep disorder, in which breathing continuously stops while the affected person sleeps, forcing them to constantly awaken to resume breathing.
Shah dove into the existing research and found that only 40% of people who have sleep apnea use CPAP (which stands for continuous positive airway pressure) machines. These devices can be cumbersome, loud, uncomfortable and intrusive.
So, Shah assembled a team and launched Apnea Tek Medical Devices, a division of Real 3D Polymers LLC. After six years of research, his team developed an oral airflow smart device (unlike the air pressure of CPAPs) that consists of an oral mouthpiece and a compact detachable control unit. The device, which is a modified nightguard that stimulates the tongue to keep it forward, does not need a mask or hose. It is currently undergoing clinical trials.
Now 67, Shah plans to spend more time with Bina, his wife of 41 years, and his adult children Nidhi and Ankur. He also wants to travel more. He continues to lend his expertise within the auto industry by serving on SPE automotive boards and co-chairing automotive conferences. Whenever he meets young engineers at industry events, he advises them to be creative and curious.
“Always ask questions, develop deep listening skills and be diplomatic as you work with team members,” he says. “But the most important thing that you can do is to enjoy what you do.”