Arakere Vasudev passed away peacefully on June 28, 2023, at the age of 88 having lived a full and bountiful life. He was beloved by family, friends, students, colleagues and anyone who had the good fortune to meet him. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Karen, their 3 sons, Pradeep, Anand, and Roshan, and their 6 granddaughters, Maya, Levina, Nadia, Lila, Meera, and India.

Vasu was an icon in his family who chose uncharted paths throughout his life and was a shining example of someone willing to take risks and do unexpected things. He often guided his family members and encouraged them to take risks and try new things. Vasu had a gift of seeing the potential in others, encouraging and advising them, providing direction, and doing whatever he could to help and assist them in their endeavors. He had a wonderful memory and gathered information from everyone he met and made connections and introductions between people or events, creating possibilities and opportunities. He was passionate about following through on those things he believed in.

Vasu was born in Bangalore, in 1935 and finished his education in India from Mysore University and the Indian Institute of Science. In 1956 at the age of 21, he made the 26-day journey by ship to the US to pursue a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering, and a minor in Nuclear Engineering, at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. After completing his masters in 1958 he moved to Seattle, Washington where he completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 1963 from the University of Washington (UW).

Vasu loved sports--he loved playing cricket and was a good bowler. While in Seattle, he joined, and became captain, of the fledgling Seattle Cricket Team made up of students from various parts of the world. While at the UW, he was President of the Indian Students Association and was fortunate to welcome various Indian dignitaries visiting the US in the late 1950's and early 1960's such as the Maharaja of Mysore, Morarji Desai, Ravi Shankar, and Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv. He also joined the Cosmopolitan Club where foreign students and American students could mix and mingle. They sponsored various activities and that's where he met Karen, in a ballroom dancing class. They dated for several months and were married in September 1962 in a simple civil ceremony.

After completing his PhD, he worked 2 years in the US:  1 year as a professor at the University of Rhode Island and 1 year at Air Reduction cryogenics company.  He was then offered a position as a professor in India at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur which was a new institution being set up with collaboration from 9 prestigious American universities. He and his wife, Karen, and son, Pradeep moved to India in 1965. He was a young professor and was an immediate hit with the students. He was active in helping to establish the curriculum in Chemical Engineering and was the first to use computer modeling for chemical engineering and held a symposium at IIT/K for that purpose. He helped establish a sports program for students and accompanied the teams to the annual Inter IIT sports meets during his tenure in Kanpur. In the evenings, students would drop by his home just to sit and chat with him, hear stories of his life as a student in the US, and get advice on various topics. He encouraged, mentored, and guided many students in his 5 years at IIT/K. He gave them advice, wrote recommendation letters, and contacted many people on their behalf to give them a good start. This, of course, he continued doing throughout his life for anyone who might benefit.

During those 5 years in Kanpur (1965-1970), 2 more sons were born—Anand in Bangalore and Roshan in Kanpur. In 1970 the family moved to Bombay where Vasu took a position as Technical Manager at Fiberglass Pilkington (FGP). Here he continued to assist students, establishing programs to give them their first job after completing their degrees. He also set up a program for visiting IIT/K faculty to work in industry for a year to gain experience and a business perspective thus continuing to expand the scope of experience for both students and faculty.

The family stayed in Bombay for 8 years, traveling to Bangalore each summer. In 1978, during the State of Emergency declared by then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, Vasu took the decision to return with his family to the US, to Pullman, Washington as President of a startup company to make fiberglass from basalt. After 4 years of diligent work, the company was almost funded but never came to fruition. The family then moved to San Jose, CA where Vasu worked at FMC Corporation and then worked at GE Nuclear until he retired in 1999.

During his life he worked on many projects for the community:

·         He was instrumental in helping to establish the IIT Kanpur foundation as a way for IIT/K alumni to donate back to IIT Kanpur. This was not the norm in India, so he researched what needed to be done to enable this to happen. This effort also helped revitalize the alumni association. He served as the first President of the IIT/K Foundation board of directors.  For several years, he remained very passionate and active in fund raising and other IIT/K alumni activities.

·         Vasu served as President of Kannada Koota during the early years and helped improve the involvement of the youth by including them as members of the team. He also encouraged greater participation in Sports Day events, adding table tennis, as well as other activities throughout the year. He worked tirelessly to ensure the funds were managed judiciously and secured the needed liability insurance to hold the events at various venues.

·         Vasu assisted with the purchase of property adjacent to the Shiva Vishnu Temple in Livermore. There was a short fall in the donations needed to complete the purchase. He worked with 22 people who lent the money needed to enable the purchase to be completed. The money was then paid back over a 2-year period. This process enabled the temple to obtain the residual amount of money needed to purchase the land.

Vasu gave freely of his time, experience, and knowledge to many people. He had such a positive attitude, loved people, and enjoyed helping people connect with appropriate resources. He was loved by all who met him and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.