Rajeev Motwani, Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, passed away on June 5, 2009. He is survived by his wife, Asha Jadeja, and daughters, Naitri and Anya.
Rajeev was a luminary in many academic disciplines. He made fundamental contributions to the foundations of computer science, search and information retrieval, streaming databases and data mining, and robotics. In these areas, he considered questions as philosophical as what makes problems inherently intractable, and as practical as finding similar images and documents from a database. His text book, Randomized Algorithms, with Prabhakar Raghavan, epitomizes this meeting of the abstract and the concrete, and has been a source of inspiration to countless students. He has received many awards for his research; notably, the del Prize, and the Arthur P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship. Rajeev’s academic legacy extends to teaching and advising a large number of students, many of whom have gone on to successful academic careers.
In addition to his academic accomplishments, Rajeev was a legendary figure in Silicon Valley. He was an early investor and technical advisor for many ventures, and mentored dozens of young entrepreneurs. In the words of one of those young entrepreneurs, Sergey Brin, “Today, whenever you use a piece of technology, there is a good chance a little bit of Rajeev Motwani is behind it.”
Please send an email to ashishg at stanford dot edu if you wish to comment and share your personal experiences about Rajeev’s extraordinary life and legacy.
I am deeply saddened to hear about Professor Motwani’s passing away. I had the privilege of reading his work on data streams some years ago and still remember some of the brilliant ideas in them. This is a great loss. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family.
Its very shocking to hear of Rajeev’s demise. I had the fortune of working with him briefly during my initial doctoral days at Stanford. I remember him as very warm, genuinely nice, and always smiling. Very saddening.
I am deeply saddened by this untimely death of a valued colleague and friend. He was a brilliant and extremely productive person with a kind heart. In the Stanford CS department, Rajeev was one of the few people I could always count on to take on a critical departmental project knowing it would be carried out with competance, care, and compassion.
This is a tremendous loss for Stanford CS, for Silicon Valley and for the world.
The times that I visited Professor Motwani’s office to ask his advice on something I had been thinking about, he always came up with a solution before I even had a chance to finish explaining the problem. He was an amazingly talented scientist and mentor. Rest in Peace, Rajeev.
I still remember the day when the thirty of us, new PhD students, sat around him trying to reconcile the awe and colossal image of a man whose textbook everyone read in undergrad with the friendly down-to-earth person sharing jokes with us. I cannot believe he is no longer with us. To lose a shining light at such a young age is an inconsolable loss to the scientific community.
I would like to extend my sincerest condolences to his family, and to the entire Computer Science community that, no doubt, will feel his absence dearly. While Rajeev may no longer be with us, his contributions are immense and timeless, and he will be held in deep regard for years to come.
As a researcher and technologist, Rajeev was brilliant – words could do little justice in describing his immense influence. As a teacher, he was awe-inspiring – carrying with him an equanimity and cheerfulness that remained undisturbed through every lecture. As a student advisor, he was kind and supportive – never impatient or proud (though he may have had every reason to be so). As a supervisor (when I TAed for him), he was trusting and understanding. Most of all, however, his immense stature never came in the way of his friendly, smiling disposition – the same smile that comes to mind with the memory of every encounter with Rajeev. As his contributions are timeless, may his smile be so, ever reminding us of a life well lived.
In the well-suited words of Coleridge:
How well he fell asleep!
Like some proud river, widening toward the sea;
Calmly and grandly, silently and deep,
Life joined eternity.
Although Rajeev and I did not interact too much at Stanford as we were in different departments and fields, I had the great fortune to participate with him on several Ph.D. exam committees. In these exams Rajeev demonstrated his great brilliance and creativity through extremely insightful and poignant questions. When he encountered a hapless student that had not thought deeply about the nuances of their problem definition or solution, he was extremely helpful and encouraging, and I could see just in these short interactions how much of a great mentor he was. During the exam breaks our conversation would meander from research to technology to startups to violin recitals, as our daughters shared the same violin teacher. His pride and joy in his family was tremendous. Rajeev will be sorely missed by his Stanford colleagues and students, by Silicon Valley, and by the scientific community which has lost one of its most brilliant minds. But the greatest loss is for his family, to which I send my deepest condolences.
In our discussions in the department, we always talk about how important it is to have impact. Rajeev had impact. Sergey Brin’s comment in his blog, “Today, whenever you use a piece of technology, there is a good chance a little bit of Rajeev Motwani is behind it” really resonates with me. Rajeev should be very proud of this.
Without Rajeev, our students and I might not have founded our startup Moka5. Rajeev was the one who knew of Vinod Khosla’s deep interest in our research area and connected us together. I wonder how many stories like this are out there.
This is a very sad and terrible loss, I miss Rajeev too.
I remember vividly the last time I met him on July 28 of last year, when he signed off my thesis. It was in his office where we had met every week for five years, and he bid me farewell with his usual calm smile. I felt a bit sad that I was to leave Stanford soon and there was no more such weekly meetings, but I never imagined it’s the last time I saw him.
I deeply regret that I have never fully expressed my gratitude to him. And now I will never have chances to do so. When I wrote acknowledgements in my thesis, I felt it was a formality and just put on some routine words. Now how much I regret about it! How I wish I could let him know that he is the greatest mentor I’ve ever met, wise, sharp and tolerant; and that he is one of the few most important people that shape my life.
Rajeev was my friend, mentor, role model and former boss (Dot Edu Ventures). He inspired me to pursue my Ph.D. here at the University of Edinburgh in entrepreneurship, so that I could someday be just like him! (Yeah, I wish :-)). He was kind, laid back, busy, practical and always willing to help as he was for my new student venture capital fund project here at the University of Edinburgh. I was going to visit w/ him in a couple of weeks. This is a truly sad happening. I just learned about it.
-Michael Clouser, Edinburgh-Stanford Link, former Dot Edu Ventures Associate.
I have met Rajeev only a few times for short conversations but we shared a lot of mutual friends and have heard so much abt his brilliance and generosity both of which are mentioned in all the comments above.
The valley was lucky to have him in our midst. He had a tremendous impact here and will be missed.
Words cannot describe my feelings. Rajeev was a terrific role model to many of us even outside Stanford who knew him many years back. He always had interesting and sound advice for me when I met him at conferences. He will be greatly missed. He was brilliant and generous, always available when I emailed or called him.
Terrible news. Many condolences to the family.
When I moved to California a few years ago and was becoming an early-stage investor, several people suggested that Rajeev Motwani was someone very special. Not surprisingly, when I reached out to him he was very gracious with his time and over the years introduced me to many great entrepreneurs and startups.
The number of very talented people Rajeev influenced has to be in the thousands. When people speak of Silicon Valley, they often mention the headline-grabbing personalities at the big companies, but to me Rajeev personified what makes SIlicon Valley so unique…an openness to new people, a humble brilliance, an intense desire to help creative people realize their goals, a generous and collaborative perspective when it came to getting work done, and an undying sense of optimism.
A very sad loss.
This is real terrible!
I interacted with Rajeev on various TiE forums. Always found him to be very open and responsible.
My condolences to the family.
Rajeev will be missed.
Rajeev was a strong positive force in our department and contributed greatly to graduate education. We will all miss him deeply.
Deep regrets to Prof. Motwani’s family, Computer Science Dept & industry leaders for their loss.
I was neither a student at Stanford nor did I ever meet him. I however read his textbook on Automata Theory for a class many times over because it was a joy to read. I felt the impact of his work when I was a student back in Texas and I feel it even more today here in the Valley where I am employed.
Our discipline of study has lost a true giant. May he rest in peace and my sincere condolence to his family.
This is so sad … I knew Rajeev for many years. There were times when we got together quite often, and years when we seldom met, but I always thought of him as a friend. He was a great scientist, but also a true “mensch”, someone one can always count on for help, advice, and support. Just recently we exchanged e-mails about a conference, ending with the usual — “Let’s get together soon!” but kept postponing, busy, always thinking there is time later. And now there isn’t. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him. My heartfelt condolences to his family.
He was a brilliant researcher and a great professor. And yet the only thing that I can remember right now is that he was a fun, generous, helpful guy who was always willing to sit down and chat for a few minutes. I hope wherever he is, he is still doing it. And I hope there’ll be more people like him in this world to help people like us.
I wish his family well — words cannot express what I feel for them.
I was a doctoral student in theory CS in the 90s and Rajeev helped me get my first startup going and introduced me to some remarkable people through that effort. He was an everyday friendly presence in department, a member of my thesis defense committee and then a friend and advisor to my start up. He was friendly, smart and helpful with a generosity I appreciate all the more now, after seeing how many others he was also so good to.
He is deeply missed, and my deepest condolences go to Asha and the children.
Rajeev was a fantastic professor, a great mentor and a truly helpful individual. I shall remember him not only for his brilliant technical and business acumen but also because he was such a down to earth, approachable and likable person.
I was one of the countless graduate students he helped when the entrepreneurial bug bit me and he was there with help and advise when I came back to school temporarily disheartened. His passing away is a great loss to this world and he will be deeply missed.
My sincere condolences to his family and friends. My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.
~Caesar
Rajeev & I were classmates is St. Columba’s High School in New Delhi some 30+ years ago. Of course he was a brilliant math whiz even back then, but what struck me the most is how vividly I remember how much he used to help me and other classmates understand the complex problems that were a bit beyond our grasp.
He is the one classmate whose career I truly admired more than any other, because he stuck with his first love of academia and helping others, and yet managed to be more sucessful that most who chose to pursue business.
I am truly shocked and saddened to learn of this untimely accident, and my condolences & prayers go out to his family and friends…
Rajeev was always there to help, to chat, to brainstorm; we met almost every time I visited Stanford over the last decade, even if for only a few minutes. He helped , as he helped several others, getting our startup funded, and made several introductions.
It is a tragedy; a great loss to Stanford, to entrepreneurship, and to his family and friends.
I remain in shock at Rajeev’s tragic death. Technology aside — he was the best, kindest, most supportive supervisor I’ve had the good fortune to work for in my 25+ years at Stanford.
Thank you Rajeev, for your confidence in my abilities, trust and encouragement.
I give my deepest and sincerest condolences to his family.
I am deeply saddened by the sudeen death of Rajeev who was an extraordinary personality in computer science. Although I never saw him in person, I know him well through his books. May his soul rest in peace.
My heart goes to Rajeev’s wife and daughters. May they have the strength to tide over the adversity. Amen.
It was really shocking to hear this. Though i have never met him, but his book on randomized algorithms was the real inspiration for me. Sitting thousands of miles in india, i can feel the loss to the whole CS community. My deepest condolences to his wife and daughters.
I am one of the many students who were touched by his teaching. Prof. Motwani was one of the best CS professors at Stanford. His lectures were illuminating, and his passion inspired many.
I remember being so impression by the fact that Prof. Motwani was still active in teaching and research despite his fortune made with Google and many other startups. He inspired me to work out of passion not out of wealth and material gain.
This is indeed a great lost to the world.
I don’t know anything about this person. I just read news and followed the link to this condolence page. Every one said Rajeev was such a nice human being along with brilliant scientist. So I also pay homage to his sudden departure and wish him to Rest in Peace..
A really sad moment but the world will still remember this idol, as humans die the souls never…
This is such a horrible tragedy. Rajeev was on my dissertation committee and I spoke with him many times during my studies. He was of one of those rare people whom you always had to listen to; you might disagree with him, and you might (might!) prove him wrong, but you had to seriously consider what he was saying because he had such keen insight. I am so sad to hear of his passing and send my sympathy and good thoughts to his family.
This is so sad. Back in 1991, Marshall Bern and I often met with Rajeev in his office whenever we go to Stanford from Xerox PARC. We had a small library at PARC, so before the days of Internet, we had to go to the closest library, which is at Stanford. So after checking out books or articles, we would often hangout in Rajeev’s office, discussing nearest neighbor search.
Rajeev was a great man, extraordinarily talented, generous, and patient.
He will be greatly missed.
My heartfelt condolences to the family.
A tragic loss that comes as a great shock.
I was privileged and fortunate enough to spend time with Rajeev while at IITK, living in the same hostel and playing volleyball together. We would occassionally run into each other here in the bay area and he always had a smile and welcoming presence that was uplifting.
As a PhD advisor, Rajeev has greatly helped me develop my approach to research and scholarship. He impacted me in ways big and small, some of which I realized only years after becoming a professor. I will miss him dearly as a brilliant scientist, genuinely nice fellow and my academic parent.
My deepest condolences to Asha, Naitri and Anya.
I am deeply saddened by this news. Rajeev was a fantastic person. His insights and mentoring have been invaluable to me as they have been to many students in Stanford’s InfoLab. Thank you, Rajeev!
My heartfelt condolences to Rajeev’s family.
Father of google……..
Professor Motwani was my undergraduate advisor and has helped me tremendously in choosing my career path and interests. He was one of the kindest and smartest people I’ve ever met. It’s extremely tragical what happened to him and I wish to offer my deepest condoleances to his family.
I am very sad to hear about this. This is a tremendous loss to computer science.
Such a tragic loss. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.
He was a brilliant man, so friendly, encouraging, and so very helpful. I was fortunate to take several of his graduate courses at Stanford, and he also served on my thesis committee. I know he has had a lasting impact on my life and on the lives of countless others. He will be deeply missed.
It’s still hard for me to believe what happened even three days later. I was fortunate and honored to have the chance to interact with Rajeev during my Stanford years. He was always calm and with a smile. I also appreciate his recent help and encouragement to my work. He will truly be missed.
I cannot even begin to express the shock and great sense of loss I am feeling. I am still trying to come to terms with the reality of this.
I feel extremely fortunate to have had Rajeev as my PhD advisor. He was a wonderful advisor — always very flexible and willing to let his students work at their own pace, while making sure that things are
going alright and providing guidance when needed. One of the several striking features of Rajeev’s research was his ability to translate real life problems into clean, well-motivated abstract questions (that he would promptly pose to his students). He was for me an eternal source of fresh problems and great ideas, a source I could tap into whenever my own ideas dried up (and was planning to, just last week). It is impossible to come to terms with the fact that I am never going to do this again. Rajeev had an unmatched clarity of thought and perceptiveness that was evident not only in doing research with him but also in the invaluable advice he gave me about career choices and life in general.
In addition to being a great mentor for his students, he was an exceptional teacher, always knowing exactly the right words to convey complex ideas. He would typically start class off with an interesting example or two to motivate the problem, and would invariably manage to keep the class engaged through the most intricate series of arguments. Even after having taught the same class for fifteen years, he would still take time to prepare for it meticulously, something which I found truly inspirational.
Rajeev took on many diverse roles: teacher, entrepreneur, advisor and friend, and filled them all as only he could have. His passing will leave an impossible-to-fill void among all those whose lives he touched.
‘m deeply shocked , i had recently studies his works on Automata theory . its a great loss , my deepest condolences to his family and friends.
‘m deeply shocked , i had recently studied his works on Automata theory . its a great loss for the progress , my deepest condolences to his family and friends.
I am deeply saddened by this news. Great loss to computer science research and silicon valley
My deep condolence to his family. Not a student of stanford, i know Motwani through his books. I really learnt a lot from his books and feel very sorry for his loss.
May his soul rest in peace.
Its a Shock and Great loss to computer science research and silicon valley
I do not know him personally but through his books and mentions by our faculty at IITK. I, a person who does not know him personally, felt shocked and disheartened with the news, I cannot imagine what his dear ones and the family are going through.
My deepest condolences for the family. May he rest in the peace.
Very sad news. It is a great loss to computer science. Nobody can take the Motwani’s place in Computer science. The computer science will never forget the contribution of Motwani’s.
My heartfelt condolences to Rajeev’s family.
May the departed soul rest in heaven!
Wow! this is a big loss for the academic world, industry and last, but not least, his family. Though I never really read his work, I was fully aware of his impact on the valley.
I wish peace and resilience for his family. May the impact he had on the world be a proud part of the family forever.
Hearing the death of Dr Motwani remind me this
Kabir, an Indian saint, said, “When you were born, you were crying and everybody else was laughing. When you die, you should be laughing and everybody else should be crying.”
Find the juice in life. Wherever you find it, enjoy it and offer it back to the Supreme Reality.