Alumni Spotlight
Doors Opened Magically for the Varanasis,
Now They Open Them for Grad Students
A great engineering program, fellowship support, and a warm climate with palm trees drew S. Rao Varanasi to California Institute of Technology in 1960. He had just earned his BSME from Andhra University and wasn’t ready to settle into a career in India.
The following year, Usha Shah left the University of Mumbai with BS degrees in chemistry and physics, planning to do her graduate work in significantly colder environs at Michigan State University. Fate intervened in the form of a family friend who convinced her to accept Caltech’s offer of admission and a fellowship in the chemistry program.
When Rao heard about Usha, one of seven women grad students admitted that fall and the first from India, he showed up at registration, offering to guide her through the process. Math study sessions soon followed, the first steps in a life partnership infused with their zeal for science and with educational and career opportunities that seemed to open by magic, though exceptional talent and hard work clearly had a catalyzing effect.
Rao traded sun and palm trees for rain and pines when he entered the UW’s PhD program in aeronautics in 1962, encouraged by former department chair John Bollard. Usha headed north a year later for a doctoral program in organic chemistry. By 1965, they were ready to marry and Rao was close to finishing his PhD, but he felt marriage mandated landing a job, so he deferred his degree until he and Usha could graduate together in 1968.
“I called Boeing about an opening, was told to come for lunch, and they hired me that day,” Rao recalled. After 13 years researching computational and fracture mechanics, he moved to the application side to work on wing design and analysis for the 757. Next, he managed structural technology for military craft such as AWACs. Now he is chief engineer, In-Service Structures and Aging Fleet, for commercial airplanes and a technical liaison with the FAA and European regulatory agencies.
The 1969 economic downturn led Usha to an unconventional postdoctoral position analyzing the composition of oil in marine mammals. “I didn’t even know what a porpoise was,” Usha recalled, “but this open door led to my life’s calling to unite chemistry and molecular biology in efforts to protect marine mammals and fisheries.” Her big break came when NOAA hired her in 1975. She rose in the ranks to become the first woman to direct science and research at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center. She represents NOAA for the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health and on the science panel for the Puget Sound Partnership, and is a UW adjunct professor in Chemistry and Fisheries.
The Varanasis are passionate about education as the path to a fulfilling life and about encouraging students to study the physical sciences, engineering, and math as a solid base for a successful career.
“We love the UW and this country and are so grateful for the training and support we received and the opportunities that opened,” Rao said.
That’s why they created two endowed fellowships for graduate students, in Aeronautics & Astronautics and in Chemistry. “The gift of education is better than the gift of money,” Usha emphasized.
“With the Varanasi Fellowship we can attract exceptional graduate students, which strengthens our research and educational programs,” said AA chair Adam Bruckner. “We deeply appreciate their generosity, particularly at this challenging fiscal time.”