He was a God of his subjects

Posted on by

Unfortunately Engineering Professors never get their proper due in life…

Professor G V Loganathan of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering was teaching in a class in the Norris Hall – one of the crime scenes – when the gunman went on rampage.

His colleague Prof Raman Kumar confirmed the news of Loganathan’s death to CNN-IBN.

According to Raman, Loganathan was taking a lecture when the second shooting occurred. He was killed around 0915 hrs (local time), Raman confirmed.

When CNN-IBN contacted a shaken Raman, he was at Lognathan’s residence and said he got the confirmation from the authorities at the University. [Link]

<

p>

If you click on the picture above it will take you to a video clip of reporters in India going into more detail about the Professor.

Loganathan first became a member of the Virginia Tech community in 1982 and has since earned several honors, including the Outstanding Faculty Award, the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Civil Engineering Education. Loganathan has also served the academic community as a member of the faculty senate, a counselor on the honor court, and as associate editor of the Journal of Hydrologic Engineering.

Loganathan received his bachelor’s degree from Madras University, his master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, and his doctorate from Purdue University. [Link]

<

p>I went to “Rate My Professor” to learn about Loganathan from the student’s perspective. Just one rating there:

He is God of his subjects… [Link]

And let him be remembered that way.

90 thoughts on “He was a God of his subjects”

  1. this is my friend’s dad. so this tragedy just hits closer to home. i am also a UVa student so I have many friends and high school classmates who attended V-Tech. As of now, everyone else I know is safe. it reminds us once again how life can change in an instant. i encourage people to attend vigils and show their support. don’t you feel like there is something we could do? but i’m not sure what exactly.

  2. Actually no. Even my parents in India knew of Prof. Loganathan. And his was the first one to be reported everywhere. From Penn State we send our thoughts and prayers to the family. May the Prof be at peace. 🙁

  5. For me, the reason Prof. Loganathan’s death hits so close to home is because he is my dad, or my uncle, or so many others who were part of the IIT brain trust that came to the U.S. by the plane load in the 70s and 80s and became professors at universities across the country. The fact that he is also Tamil puts it even closer to home. I don’t think I ever met Prof. Loganathan, but I’m sure that if I met his kids we would be able to come up with mutual acquaintances in 5 seconds. It would not surprise me at all to find out that my parents actually crossed paths with him at some point. So sad.

  6. May his soul rest in peace. May God give his family strength to deal with this senseless tragedy..

  7. Nothing but respect, sympathy, and condolences to his family. I hear you Sriram, for some of us this could be our grandfather, our uncle, our father… Just as the VATech students could be my classmates. What an awful day in the U.S.

    I don’t mean to be crazy, but could we delete comment #29? Honestly, this is not the time or place, and it is not worth anything to argue about why or why not it is appropriate to honor those who have died so senselessly in this tragedy.

  8. It takes a lifetime to build a brain like that, and only seconds to wipe it away. My thoughts and tears go out to the Loganathan family. Thanks for the reporting, Abhi and ANNA.

  9. I hate it. I really do. Yesterday, I was hoping that the “Asian” didn’t turn up to be “South Asian”. You could read on right-wing blogs, like hungry wolves, debating and daydreaming whether the term Asian could be Pakistani, whether it was once again a case of “sudden jihad syndrome”. I hate the fact that if whites commit such crimes, and they have, then everything is fine. But a south-asian doing it, then we – as a community – need to carry the burden of that low life.

    My heart goes for every victim and their families.

  10. It takes a lifetime to build a brain like that, and only seconds to wipe it away.

    Nice line. Very true too. Too true.

  11. I just hear a moving interview with a Dr. Ishwar Puri on NPR here in L.A. The Dr. is the head of the Engg Sciences and Mechanics at VT. He talked about Dr. Kevin and the Romanian professor.

  12. If anybody care they just showed Mr.Loganathanan picture on Fox News and talked about how he had been at VT since 1982

  13. NDTV showed the late professor’s mother back in TN this morning, and it was heartbreaking, as you would imagine.

    She was saying how she had only spoken to him recently and he had been saying that in two years he might return.

    The reporter then added that the professor’s funeral rites will take place here in the U.S., as per his wishes, and now seven or so of his family members will travel to the States. Two of his family members did not have passports but the reporter said the Indian gov’t was making special arrangements so they could travel right away.

    Their coverage is here.

    In addition, their NY-based correspondent, Sarah Jacob, (who was only recently in Jamaica covering Bob Woolmer’s death and four days ago was at the Indian Americans for Hillary launch) was already in Virginia early today talking to students on campus.

  17. Deepest symapthies to Professor Loganathan and other victims of the carnage.

    When I heard the word “Asian” yesterday, I was praying that it does not turn up to be South Asian. It would have been too easy for the media to spin it and focus on the race and completely skip the whole gun control debate. As it is the race card is being played out quite a bit, with most news outlets reporting the shooter as a South Korean. Per yahoo news he migrated to US when he was 8 years old and was raised in suburban DC. Can someone comment on whether he could have legally acquired a handgun ?

  19. What a nice post. Thanks, Abhi and Anna.

    Condolences to Prof. Loganathan’s family. May the families find comfort and support to cope with this most unfortunate tragedy.

  20. Very well said, Abhi. I am sure his family and students will carry his memory forward. They’re all in my thoughts and prayers.

  21. Dr. Loganathan was my Master’s thesis advisor. He was also a friend and mentor. I am still unable to believe that he is no more. Words escape me at this stage. When we would work late nights, his younger daughter would call him to wish him good night. He is a great teacher and very patient. A humble and kind man. He taught me and countless others Advanced Hydrology and he died teaching that course.

    Hatred is just too expensive.

  22. Hatred is just too expensive.

    Indeed, it is. Your comment brought me to tears. I am so sorry for your loss. What a great man, and that visual of him picking up a phone to hear his child say “Good Night”…it breaks my heart. May his memory be eternal.

  23. Dipesh, Generally, if you are a permanent resident (which the killer was) or a citizen, you can pretty much walk into any gun store and purchase one.

  24. Oh Prashanth! “Hatred is too expensive,” indeed. This must be very difficult for you.

  25. Dr. Loganathan recently received one of VT’s three Wine Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

    http://www.cee.vt.edu/index.php?module=10&item=1&id=1&do=view&news=22

    Here is an excerpt:

    Dr. Loganathan is truly one of the most outstanding classroom educators within the College of Engineering,” said Dr. William Knocke, head of the Via Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. “His selection for a Wine Award this year coupled with the multiple College of Engineering Certificates of Teaching Excellence that he has previously received demonstrates the high degree of commitment that he has to the education of our students. Dr. Loganathan combines a high degree of organization in the classroom, expert knowledge of the subject matter, and a passion for student success into a classroom experience that is among the best that a student can hope to have here at Virginia Tech.

    My prayers are with all the victims of this ghastly tragedy.

  26. My thoughts and prayers are with the Professor’s family, friends, co-workers, students, and former students. And for anyone else who was directly affected in any way by this horrible event who happens to find this post one day please know that all our hearts go out to you. May all the victims’ memories live on forever in peace.

  27. Professor Loganathan is an example to all of us. How he is mourned even by those who never knew him. How we feel the tragedy of his death and the loss to his family, students and society. All the victims deserved better. They will live forever in our memory.

  28. This really hits close to home for me as well; my dad currently is a prof in a small town in SC and so are a lot of his good friends. My mom is a univ reasearcher in Indy. Even middle school students here in Queens were talking about it this morning.

    Prof. Loganathan was no doubt a fine man. My condolescences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

  29. 29:Nada, considering you don’t really know the people at SM, I don’t see how you can judge their intentions. Assume the best. Prof.Loganathan’s death was one of the first to be reported in the media and consequently SM posted about it. It is a sad incident and I am sure everyone here has the deepest sympathies with the families who have lost loved ones. Let us not make this about content and intent. I believe it is very insensitive.

  31. I can’t help but think of the awfullness of this time for the Professor’s family and the families of others who lost their loved ones.Even the shooter’s family must be devastated.

    How does one make sense of a senseless act? How can you keep the faith when faced with Random acts of senseless violence?

    I hope and pray that they find the strength to do so. Prashanth , you really said it “Hatred is just too expensive”

  33. “G.V. Loganathan

    Loganathan was born in the southern Indian city of Chennai and had been a civil and environmental engineering professor at Virginia Tech since 1982.

    Loganathan, 51, won several awards for excellence in teaching, had served on the faculty senate and was an adviser to about 75 undergraduate students.

    “We all feel like we have had an electric shock. We do not know what to do,” his brother G.V. Palanivel told the NDTV news channel from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. “He has been a driving force for all of us, the guiding force.”

  36. “For me, the reason Prof. Loganathan’s death hits so close to home is because he is my dad, or my uncle, or so many others who were part of the IIT brain trust that came to the U.S. by the plane load in the 70s and 80s and became professors at universities across the country. The fact that he is also Tamil puts it even closer to home. I don’t think I ever met Prof. Loganathan, but I’m sure that if I met his kids we would be able to come up with mutual acquaintances in 5 seconds. It would not surprise me at all to find out that my parents actually crossed paths with him at some point. So sad.”

    Ditto.

  37. May his wife, daughters and family gather the strength to get through this time. May his soul rest in peace.

  38. I feel awful about Prof. Loganathan’s death. His wife and children must be so devastated. It’s so hard to cope with the loss of your partner-I keep thinking about his wife, what she must be going through now. And it’s awful to lose a parent- it’s so terrible to think you will never see your father again, you can never again give him a hug. What a senseless tragic event.

  40. This stands as one of the greatest tragedies of this decade in the sacred halls of learning in this decade. One is physically disaramed and open to reason and dialogue in a temple of learning. This is one of the most vulnerable and sacred places in our society.

    This is a great loss to humanity. Teachers are the treasures of a society, like parents, they nuture society. For his family to lose a teacher, a parent and a companion, a terrible loss.

    He will be sorely missed. My condolences to the family and community of Virginia Tech.