IIIT Hyderabad deeply mourns the sudden passing away of IIITH’s all-time favourite Prof R Govindarajulu this morning.
We are extremely saddened to convey the news about the passing away of our beloved Prof R Govindarajulu earlier today. He has not been keeping very well for some time but was active enough, even planning on a trip to the USA in the summer. He underwent some tests yesterday and was to have more today. Apparently he died peacefully in his sleep, after eating some food last night, talking to his sons in the USA, etc.
Popularly known to everyone as RGR, Prof Govindarajulu was an early faculty member of IIIT Hyderabad and played a significant role in making IIIT a top-class institution that it grew to become. He was by far the most loved and cheered for faculty member of the institute. He was full of energy to teach and full of old-fashioned charm. There is no doubt he cared for every student as an individual, taking care to know about and to guide them. We as faculty members learned much from him also. He taught at the institute even in the M’2020 semester. He will be missed by the students, alumni, faculty, staff, and other well wishers of the institute greatly.
Let us carry the little flame he lit in our minds and collectively in the institute forward with the same passion and keep him in our hearts as we journey forward.
Please join us in remembering his passion for teaching and love for students that characterized him most by sharing your fond memories of him at rgr@iiit.ac.in as we create a digital memorial in his honour.
With a heavy heart,
Prof P J Narayanan
Deeply Saddened after seeing this post. May his soul rest in peace!
Bhargava says:I know Sir from college days in 1980.He’s the most respected person in the college for his character, knowledge and principles. We miss him a lot
Rukmambara babugoud ananthula says:One of my favourite prof., i was surprised when he could recognise me someone from first masters batch, during our 20 yrs celebration in Bangalore. Still remember his morning walks. He will be missed. Will always be present in our thoughts.
Anurag Chitlangia says:Very shocked to learn about the demise of Prof. Govindarajulu. I knew him from NIT Warangal days when I was reviewing their progress of work on a UK funded project. He was a serious member of the team he guided successfully. The last I saw him was when he just joined IIIT-H. Please convey my heartfelt condolences to his family members and colleagues. May his Soul rest in peace.
Dr. E V Raghunath Rao Director (Technical) Retd., ECIL says:Very shocked to learn about the demise of Prof. Govindarajulu. I knew him from NIT Warangal days when I was reviewing their progress of work on a UK funded project. He was a serious member of the team he guided successfully. The last I saw him was when he just joined IIIT-H. Please convey my heartfelt condolences to his family members and colleagues. May his Soul rest in peace.
Dr. E V Raghunadha Rao Director (Technical) Retd., ECIL says:Prof. Govindarajulu was a passionate and full of energy teacher who inspired many students. May this soul rest in peace.
Praveen says:Shocked. My first lecture at IIIT Hyderabad was undertaken by him. Prof Rajulu had an unique way of approaching his subject and his wise remarks throughout the lecture kept us wide awake during the 90 minutes. My heartfelt condolences to the family.
Sarthak Sharma says:Very shocked to know about the demise of Prof. Govindarajulu. He taught me “Advanced Computer Architecture.” Teaching was his passion and he made sure that we really learnt well. He has set a very great standard as a teacher. We muss him! Rest in peace sir.My sincere condolences to all family members.
Dr.Mamatha Samson says:Had a long association for close to 3 decades from NIT Warangal and he supported immensely in my entrepreneurship journey without any second thoughts and offered immense help as and when required. Very rare character to identify now a days.
Suresh says:It’s very sad ans shocking news to hear the sad news. Prof RGR is my guru my senior colleague at REC Warangal and my MTech project guide. Till last day he was my guide mentor and encouraged me always and through out my career at REC W, DOE, CDAC and presently SETS. Well known for his passion in teaching over five decades and no student forget him and the love he shared.
Sarat Chandra Babu says:Individually I miss him and it’s difficult to imagine that he is no more. I still cherish the memory of enacting a drama together where he acted as Arjuna in Krishna douthyam and his role in “Teacher o Teacher’ is a great experience to all.
I pray Lord almighty to give his family to face this severe loss.
May his soul rest in peace
Sarat ED SETS Chennai
Deeply saddened with this news. He will always live in our memories….may his soul Rest In Peace…🙏
Kavita J says:I remember Prof RGR from NIT (then REC) Warangal engineering college days. He was head of Computer Science department. Truly inspiring professor and leader. My deepest condolences to his family and colleagues.
Rajiv Maheshwari says:This is so shocking ! I still remember our meeting with him in Dec 2019. He took me and my daughter, Sruti for lunch that day. He is a big inspiration to all of us and we really would miss him. He was so special for me, especially since he was my BTech project guide at NITW in 1983 and he helped me write our first paper which was published in IETE Student Journal. I was treated as a part of his family. It was a great feeling for me when I joined IIITH has faculty member in 2003 and enjoyed those three years as his colleague. Whenever I visit India, I would visit IIIT to meet him and take his blessings. This is so shocking and can’t belive that is no more !
Sarma NDR Nuthalapati says:Very sad to know the sudden demise of prof R Gobindarajulu
Gummuluru sheila murty says:I am mrs g sheila murty , mother of g v r venugopal , of the 1st iiit batch Abd we respect prof R Govindarajulu a lot. He was liked by all and was a wonderful guide , teacher and person and helped shape his students very well
May his soul rest in peace
Condolences to the family
Deeply shocked my son always mention him great soul
K padmanabhan says:Conveying my condolences to his family and his affectionate students
I studied B.Tech (ECE) at RECW in 74-79. Prof Givindarajulu was in PORL of ECE department. After I left the college he moved to newly created Computer Science department. May his soul rest in peace.
L. Anantharam says:L. Anantharam ITS
Advisor, Department of Telecom ( retired)
Very sad we lost a great scholar
K padmanabhan says:One of the great Professors of RECW in 70’s.
chintalapudi someswrarao says:This is shocking news.I know him from his early years in teaching at Engg College Kakinada.He was a teacher and friend ..more later..A man full of life and an outstanding lecturer..Met him several times later..never saw any drop in his energy…his sudden and early death is so schocking ..Om Shanti and pray his soul attain sadgathi.
BAGS Rama Sarms says:It is very shocking and sad news. I know Prof RGR since our college days in early 70s. A great lecturer/professor and a wonderful human being. Always very active, enthusiastic and motivating. Extremely knowledgeable and a role-model teacher. He always used to be a friend and guide for every student and his departure is a a big loss to the society. I had the fortune of spending 3 days with him, few years back when I was on a committee with him for selecting some senior officers in AP government’s e-governance societies. He was with the same enthusiasm, energy and intellect as he used to be in our college days. No words can fully describe his excellence in every aspect of life. He will be in the hearts of everyone known to him, forever. Pray for his soul to rest in peace. Deepest condolences to family and friends.
I.V Sarma says:…I.V.Sarma, former Director, BEL
Deeply saddened after hearing the sad demise of professor rgovindarajulu garu his support for IIIt when me and Sln Sastry were associated in making IIIT. Such great personalities and professors added lot of value addition to work class institutions like IIIT
D.pardhasaradhirao says:I did my B.Tech. ECE (1977-82) from REC Warangal. Prof. R Govindarajulu taught us Switching Algebra and guided us in our Project. He was very active and enthusiastic. He has pioneered in establishing Computer lab which was the basis for starting the Computer science course at UG level. He was very charming and passionate in teaching. Sad that we have lost such an eminent personality. May his soul rest in peace.
C S N Murthy Retd. Chief General Manager BSNL says:He was my mentor and a friend from 1968, where he taught me at Govt. Engineering College, Kakinada.
B L N Raju says:I’m saddened to hear the news. I remember him fondly. I regret that I haven’t met him after graduating in 2002. His spirit will live on. I thank him for taking some interest in me. He had a funny nickname for me which was oddly apt. We will all miss you Sir.
Rajesh Konda says:I fondly remember Prof RGR during my NITW days. He is a great teacher and an inspiration to many students. RIP !
Uma Vissa says:Deeply saddened after hearing the sad news of zulu sir, My deepest condolences to the whole family. He was a noble person and strength for the entire institution and students community. I still remember his courses and lectures. He used to be full of energy and enthusiasm. Huge loss for all of us. I pray to the Almighty to give strength to his family strength to bear this irreparable loss.
Himanshu Jain says:I am very shocked by the news. He was one of the awesome professor so invested in each and every student’s success and career. He would do what it takes – he would make fun and goad, he would scold them or coach them. He was a very good judge of character – he knew who were not doing homework’s and who were and accordingly manuevered.
Miss him a lot and May his soul RIP.
Nishkala (GDIT 99) says:Prof Govindrajulu was one of the most learned professors in IIIT. He had remarkable memory. We were fortunate enough to be his students. On 20th anniversary I was fortunate enough to meet him and present a momento to him. I was part of the first batch guided by him . Prof govindrajulu will be remembered as a great mentor and one of the founding fathers of IIIT,Hyderabad
Gaurav Jain says:He is very passionate teacher and voracious reader. He used to even describe cover of the book so that it is easy to find the book in the library for the students. His passion for programming languages is unmatched. During our time (85-89) we were dependent on books in library and no internet. I am sure he remains in the hearts of his students for ever.
K Chandra Sekhar Reddy says:Very humble and great personality to be around with. You feel inspired and energetic every time you see him. Cares a lot of every student.
I remember him as a walking digital library. Very fond of his Computer Architecture classes.
May his soul rest in peace.
Uday Gummalla says:Very sad news to hear. He will always be fondly remembered for his witty nature and ability to pull off amazing anecdotes from his memory about anyone! A remarkable educator and a kind, amazing human being above all. He will be sorely missed.
Shailesh Kumar says:May he rest In peace.
I fondly remember Govindrajulu sir for introducing us to Algorithms and Programming languages through first example of GCD (greatest common denominator) algorithm. The reference book sir introduced Dikstra’s “A Discipline of Programming” for our first programming class remains my favorite to this day.
My condolences to sir’s family.
Srinadh says:Hard to believe that RGR sir is no more with us. As students of the early computer science batch at NIT Warangal, we are fortunate that he taught us every semester starting with the basics of computer science. His presence inspired us and his friendliness made us comfortable to talk with his closely. We fondly remember the days during his time at NIT.
Sridhar Kunisetty says:We miss you Sir.
My deepest condolences to his family. OM Santhi!
I recall prof Govindarajuls garu from ECK days🙏🏽 Very energetic and best lecturer 🎉 of the years there. my condolences for his family and friends. May his soul Rest In Peace 💐🙏🏽
Balu - aka Bala Bhaskara Rao Nakka says:It is very sad and also shocking to note that Prof.R. Govindarajulu who was former Head and Senior Professor at CSE Department of REC Warangal has passed away on March 18th, 2021. He also served REC Warangal as Dean(Student Affairs).
Prof. Sriram.G. Sanjeevi, CSE Department, NIT Warangal says:I would like to recall my association with Prof. RGR as he was popularly called. Shortly after I joined NIT Warangal in 1993 Prof.R.Govindarajulu became Head of Department of CSE.
Our Department was small and having a strength of only 12 faculty members at that time and all of us used to relate to one another like a family. As a senior Professor of CSE Department he was a source of Guidance and encouragement to all of us. As one of the founding members of CSE Department, REC Warangal he offered his critical leadership to Department of CSE during early years of the Department. He is noted for his sense of humour and his warm and friendly personality.
I met Prof.R. Govindarajulu more recently in IIIT Hyderabad at Big Data Analytics Conference in December 2017.
His passing away is a great loss to Faculty and Student Community.
I offer my respectful homage to him and my heartfelt condolences to his family members.
May soul rest in peace
Dr DSRMurthy says:I joined REC warangal as faculty when he was head of CSE at RECW in 1988. Very nice person and he was instrumental in forming the CSE department in 1990 at RECW. He loves students very much and always encouraged students work on machines even odd times in the labs. I used to teach MTech Cross migration scheme students during 1990 along with him. He is fri with everyone in our department. Moreover he acted as part popular dramas such as teacher o teacher etc. During 90’s our department strength is only less than 10. He enjoys taking classes and friendly will students and staff.
D V L N Somayajulu Director IIITDM KURNOOL says:My deepest condolences to his family
It was heart breaking to learn that beloved Professor Govindarajulu is no more.
He emphasized on creating a well educated software engineer instead of just a well trained software engineer. I was very lucky to attend many semesters as his student of first batch (1998-2002) in IIIT Hyderabad .
He introduced me to the books of Donald Knuth, Niklaus Wirth, Richard Feynman and taught us C programming, Data Structures & Algorithms, Compilers etc.
We will miss you. RIP
Phani Kandula (GDIT98) says:Have known him since his days in Kakinada as a student and became close to him and his family when my son joined as a student at IIIT HYD. Have been in touch and meeting him whenever he visited Visakhapatnam.
Prof. S Rama Mohana Rao.. says:Sorry to hear his sudden and sad demise. My heart felt Deep condolences to his family.
May his Soul Rest in Peace.Ohm Santhi
Prof. S Rama Mohana Rao(Retd.)AU College of Engg.(A), Visakhapatnam
Very sad news. I met him first when was in my final year of B.Tech program . In just a few minutes of interaction with him I was inspired towards research in computer science. From MIT OCW to the HPC trends I heard from him first. He had amazing memory. A Passionate teacher and a great source of inspiration …I personally miss him. My Deepest Condolences to his family
Dr. G. Vijayakumari. Prof.of CSE, JNTUH says:It is great loss to the Computer Sciene/ Engineering fraternity!!!
Prof Allam Appa Rao says:A gem of a man!!!
I have intimately known Prof Govinda Rajulu for more than 3 decades. A pious man, affectionate husband, doting father and an affectionate friend. I and my wife were shocked to know the news.We met him during his house warming ceremony in Vizag. After that there was a gap and this sudden saddened news. We are very unfortunate to miss him.
May Lord give all the strength to the bereaved family all the strength to bear with his loss though it is very difficult, particularly to his loving wife Mrs Damayanti.
Very sad news. He was truly a great professor who knew how to connect with the students and provided exceptional source of knowledge and guidance. RIP RGR Sir
Ramani Krishnamurthy says:Very sad news. Never expected this. He was a very good professor and such a nice person at heart.
Praveen says:Deeply saddened for the last several days after I heard of the untimely passing of Prof. Govindarajulu. He was my teacher, advisor, mentor and friend. He and his family were very affectionate. He was an great teacher and an exceptional human being. He will be deeply missed. Condolences to his family and pray that his soul rests in peace.
Nagendra Kolluru says:Very sad to read about the demise of Prof. Dr. R. Govindarajulu. He was my advisor when I was pursuing BTech in Computer Science 1986-1990. May God grant his soul nirvana.
Sameer Dubey says: