Prof V Rajaraman Memorial Lecture

About

Mrs Dharma Rajaraman has supported the establishment of an endowment fund in memory of her husband, Prof V Rajaraman, ex-professor of SERC, IISc. These funds are to be utilized for the arrangement of an annual lecture at the Supercomputer Education and Research Centre (SERC). Any remaining balance following the annual lecture expenses is to be distributed as cash awards to deserving students within the BTech (Mathematics and Computing) program.

Prof Vaidyeswaran Rajaraman, legendary father-figure of Indian computing, passed away on November 8, 2025, at the age of 92.

Prof Rajaraman’s academic career began with schooling in New Delhi during the 1930s and 40s, which coincided with the gaining momentum of the Indian independence struggle. He was strongly impacted by the prevalent Gandhian ideology, and later credited its abiding influence for his return to India from the United States. After completing his bachelor’s degree from St. Stephen’s, the young Rajaraman joined the diploma program in the ECE department at IISc in 1952. Here, he helped build India’s first analog computer, using basic operational amplifiers, under the guidance of the celebrated Prof. Vincent Rideout. Then, after a government-sponsored master’s at MIT in the US, he rejoined Prof. Rideout at Wisconsin for a PhD on Adaptive Control Theory, which he completed in 1961. Prof Rajaraman joined the EE faculty of the then fledgling IIT Kanpur in 1962.

Prof Rajaraman returned to his alma mater, IISc, in 1982. With his visionary planning and a gift from the Indian Government to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee (75th year) of IISc, he transformed the Computing Centre to SERC, a flagship supercomputing facility in India. He was instrumental in bringing major national projects to SERC and introducing research programs as an integral part of the Centre. He made pioneering contributions to computer education in India through curriculum development, institution building, and a set of widely acclaimed textbooks that introduced generations of students to computer science and programming. At the national level, he played a visionary role in conceptualizing and introducing the MCA (Master of Computer Applications) program in India, creating a formal pathway for science and commerce graduates to contribute to the country’s emerging software industry.

Prof Rajaraman received a plethora of recognitions during his illustrious career, notably including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1998.