The King of Fluids. Dr. L. These are just a few of the names by which Dr. G.V. Loganathan was affectionately known to his students and colleagues. But no matter how they addressed him, they all knew him first and foremost as a brilliant educator.
Born in the southern Indian city of Chennai, the 53-year-old Loganathan began his days as a civil engineer at Madras University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1976, and continued on to get his master's from the Indian Institute of Technology two years later. He then pursued and received a doctorate from Purdue University in 1982 and promptly began his 25-year tenure as a professor at Virginia Tech.
"He was the ideal professor in my mind," said colleague Randel Dymond, associate professor of civil engineering and director of the Center for Geospatial Information Technology. "He gave us a role model to look up to in terms of the way he handled his classes and his students."
Loganathan was known by students and colleagues alike for his high degree of organization and expert knowledge of subject matter.
"He came to class prepared every time," said Todd Hunter, a sophomore civil engineering major. "There was not one class period where he came to class unprepared. He was 100 percent every day."
Loganathan also distributed a genuine concern for the success of his students in the classroom. "He was kind and smiling in doing his best to ensure that every student could follow and understand the materials in class clearly," Juneseok Lee, a Ph. D. student who worked under Logananathan for five years, said in an email.
"He made everything so obvious," Hunter said. "If anyone was confused, he would stop and go over a problem again from the beginning. He made it so that everyone knew what they were doing and why they were doing it."
Loganathan's passion for knowledge was the driving force behind his teaching.
"The best part about Dr. Loganathan's class was that he didn't just teach the class, he learned from it too," Hunter said.
His excellence in the classroom was rewarded with numerous awards and accolades, including receiving four Certificate of Teaching Excellence awards from the College of Engineering (1992, 1996, 1998, and 2001), Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1998, and the 2006 W.E. Wine Award for Excellence in Teaching.
One of his defining characteristics was his kindness and concern towards all of those he encountered. Dr. William Knocke, Head of the Civil Engineering Department, characterized Loganathan in a tribute speech as "a gentle and humble man who treated all he encountered with respect and compassion."
This assertion was personified in Dr. Loganathan by one instance in particular, when colleague Randel Dymond's father was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
"He volunteered to take over my classes immediately," Dymond said. "He was a true giant." Such selflessness and sacrifice was par for the course for Dr. Loganathan.
On the morning of April 16, 2007, G.V. Loganathan passed away; a victim of a tragic event that has left a mark on this campus and all those who call it home that will remain for years to come. However, Dr. Loganathan left a mark of his own. You have to look close to see it, but there isn't any doubt that it's there. It's right in plain sight. Right there, in the hearts and minds of all of his colleagues, in the thousands of students he taught over his 25 years in Blacksburg, and most of all, in his family. It's as complex as the water distribution systems he specialized in during his career, and as simple as a friendly smile or familiar embrace. His legacy will continue on, so long as there is something to be learned, some problem to be solved and some person to help.
While it does, so too will G.V. Loganathan live on, a brilliant educator, devoted family member and friend to everyone possible.
