Kandarp Govindlal Oza

Kandarp Govindlal Oza, born July 12, 1942 in Prantij, Gujarat, India, passed away peacefully in his home on December 7, 2025. He was the beloved son of Govindlal Mathurbhai Oza and Shanti “Rama” Joshi. Kandarp’s life journey carried him from kite flying on the roofs of his childhood home in Ahmedabad to the forefront of engineering research and communications technology in the United States, until finally settling down in Santa Barbara. Kandarp spent his childhood on Makeriwad in Ahmedabad, eldest of his siblings, Sudhir, Pankaj, Gira and Pradip, and was surrounded by family, including his parents, grandparents and his Bafoi. He was educated at Diwan-Ballubhai School (Proprietary School) from 1951-1958 and then Gujarat Arts & Science College from 1958-1960 before earning his engineering degree from L.D. College of Engineering in 1963. He developed a love of chess, poetry and Russian literature in his childhood and regularly won chess tournaments and poetry competitions. At the age of twenty-one, Kandarp’s pursuit of engineering led him to the University of California, Berkeley in 1963. There he earned his M.S. and later his Ph.D., researching and writing on the emerging fields of control theory and systems engineering. After completing his doctorate, Kandarp began his professional life as a professor at the University of Oklahoma in 1968 before officially joining Bell Labs in Holmdel, New Jersey. His years at Bell Labs -- from 1969 to 1984 -- were among the most formative and innovative of his career. He later taught briefly at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, during a leave of absence, and eventually moved to Santa Barbara, California, where he worked at Digital Sound Corporation and later co-founded KEtel. In 1990, Kandarp launched Oza Communications Corporation, continuing his lifelong passion for engineering and entrepreneurship. Kandarp’s decades of curiosity and determination were the compass for his life – never making a firm plan but instead letting these traits guide him to a new country, new institutions and new technologies. Kandarp was also deeply devoted to family by always willing to sacrifice for them and to his faith. Kandarp is preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Sudhir and Pankaj. Kandarp is survived by his wife, Daksha, his children, Iva, Sreya and Achal and grandchildren, Nikhil, Kiran, Ravi, Dilan and Layla. His story now becomes memory, carried forward by the family he loved and the friends he made. Jay Mataji. Services will be held on December 19, 2025 at 12pm at Welch-Ryce-Haider Goleta, 450 Ward Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, with light refreshments to be served at 11:30am at Welch-Ryce and lunch to follow after the services at Masala Spice, 1919 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93109.

Kandarp Govindlal Oza

July 12, 1942 - December 7, 2025