Thiruvengadam Radhakrishnan at his retirement party in 2012. In background, colleague Govind Gopakumar. Photo by Laurence Miall
One of the university’s most senior and respected leaders, Thiruvengadam Radhakrishnan, passed away on October 9, 2014. He was 71, and celebrated his retirement from Concordia in 2012.
Radhakrishnan, called Dr. Krishnan by his friends and colleagues, was educated in India and came to Concordia in 1974, initially as a post-doctoral fellow. In 2001, he became the Chair of what was then the Department of Computer Science. Under his leadership, the department hired 15 new faculty members, and incorporated software engineering to become what is today the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering.
Radhakrishnan was an extremely active academic, in addition to his administrative duties. He supervised over 80 graduate students, held several research grants, including from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and co-authored three very successful text books in the areas of computer logic and organization, computer architecture and assembly language programming.
Longtime colleague, William Atwood, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, treasures his memories of Radhakrishnan. “He was a bright mind, a gifted teacher, and an unusually fine person,” he says.
In 2006, Radhakrishnan became the chair of the General Studies Unit, the precursor to today’s Centre for Engineering Society. He hired Deborah Dysart-Gale, the current chair, as well as faculty members Ketra Schmitt and Govind Gopakumar, effectively expanding the total departmental cohort from two to five. This was in keeping with his vision of switching focus from communications and rhetoric to the social impact of technology.
Gopakumar, whose current research into urban development, especially in India, encapsulates Radhakrishnan’s vision, speaks of his former mentor fondly.
“He inspired confidence,” says Gopakumar. “He was a great chair to have… He was soft spoken, kind — a gentleman.”
Radhakrishnan leaves behind a loving family: wife Rekha, a son and a daughter, and three grandsons.