In 1975, he left this job and went to University of Cincinnati, in Ohio to pursue an MS degree in Physics (Solid-State). After getting MS degree in 1977, he joined NCR Corp in Dayton, Ohio, as an engineer; there he did cutting-edge work in developing advanced non-volatile memories. Joining NCR was not a planned career move though. At the University of Cincinnati when NCR needed help Dham was the student in his class who had worked longest in semi-conductors. His leading-edge work on non-volatile memories helped NCR get a patent in 1985 on mixed dielectric process and non-volatile memory device.