Patel is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at UC Los Angeles, with faculty appointments in chemistry and electrical engineering. He is also the Founder, President and CEO of Pranalytica, a Santa Monica based company that is a leader in quantum cascade laser technology for a variety of defense and homeland security applications. From 1993 to 1999, he served as Vice Chancellor for Research at UCLA. Prior to joining UCLA, he was Executive Director, Research, Materials Science, Engineering and Academic Affairs Division at AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Patel received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. In 1988, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. For his seminal contributions to lasers and quantum electronics, he has received many honors including the highest awards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Optical Society of America. In 1996, he received the National Medal of Science. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, and Honorary Member of the Gynecologic Laser Surgery Society and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery. He is a fellow of the IEEE, the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Laser Institute of America, and the Association for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences.