Please consider me for a position on the IDPF board as I think I can bring both a global viewpoint and an understanding of how structure relates to content to the table. I was born in India, and have an undergraduate degree in computer science and a masters in operational research, both from the University of Delhi, India.

After working a brief time with an engineering company, I began to work at Techbooks' India, then a company focusing on typesetting and data conversion for the Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM) publishing industry. As Techbooks grew, my responsibilities also changed, and I headed the R&D efforts, became Director of Technology, and presently am responsible for Content IT solutions, working out of our headquarters office in Falls Church, VA. My current efforts involve integrated and consultative approach with our customers to provide solution within their content value chain that also include creation of solution for digital or ebooks.

In all of this, focus has been on developing tools and working with or improving standards to make content use, re-use, display, and revision better. Our clients run the gamut from elementary education through hard and soft sciences, literature, and corporate communications or training, so we and I have had to learn and work with many different DTDs, CMS or LMS systems, technologies and tagging systems.

I know what works and what doesn't, and more than that, how publishers and authors or subject matter experts feel about the systems they use, from math tagging systems to education and rights-management software and schemas. In this capacity, I think I have much to offer IDPF as it continues to develop the open ebook standard.

Personally, I'm an avid reader, and frankly have found much to be desired in the hardware and devices used to display ebooks. For those of us who have normal vision and mobility, this isn't much of a problem. But for others, the ebook may be the only way to experience the joy of literature or the ability to research material for work. The IDPF's work on Open Ebook combined with it's unique position to evaluate new technologies for display or reading of information makes the board opportunity a reward for any who is honored to be selected.

I ask you to give me that honor.

Samir Kakar
Director of Technology
Techbooks
3110 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, VA 22042