Where will you be 10 years from now?

I read an article Secret Tips from Smart CEOs in Sunday 29th April's Times of India which had some women achievers talk about the challenges that they face and how they keep themselves going. These were women who are in their forties and fifties except for one, Sulajja Firodia Motwani, who is just 36 years old.

This set me thinking. I turned 26 this year. Where will I be after a decade? What would I be doing? What would I have managed to achieve by then?

At some point or the other in school we are asked by our friends, teachers and parents "what do you want to become on growing up?" This question has a wide range of answers from wanting to be an engineer, doctor, scientist or astronaut to an actor, vet, lawyer, engine driver or teacher.

Having grown up I've realised that its not just enough to become something. There should be the desire to make a mark, to stand out, to be the best, to do great things, to better oneself.

Its a dream of mine to start a research institute in India which will be on par with places like ICTP, Italy. I would like the focus to be on research using theoretical and computational tools be it in chemistry, physics, biology or medicine. In NCL we are a small Theoretical Chemistry Group. JNCASR, Bangalore opened only a year ago in April 2006 the Centre for Computational Materials Science. Its time an institute catering to theoretical research was set up with the best of facilities, students and teachers with the drive and excitment to use those facilities and finally people with a passion and vision to run it.

Am I aiming too high? One should always do that the reason being that gravity will bring it down anyway. I'd read this somewhere.

I am hoping that in ten years time I would have started working towards this dream. But what about you? Where will you be 10 years from now?