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G.V. Loganathan

G.V. LoganathanMonica Tiburze remembers the class she took in water resources engineering, taught by G.V. Loganathan, as being quite challenging and difficult.

She also remembers that Loganathan, a professor of civil engineering and environmental engineering, won the award for faculty member of the year — voted on by engineering students — multiple times.

"Year after year, he won that award, even though he taught a hard class," Tiburze said. "He was all about educating us. I remember him always being very open and supportive and willing to work with you if you were stuck on something, and making sure you understood."

Loganathan, 51, died Monday in Norris Hall during his advanced hydrology class. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Loganathan received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in India and earned his doctorate at Purdue University. He was a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech. Last year, he was one of three recipients of the Wine Awards for Excellence in Teaching on the Virginia Tech campus.

Loganathan also won the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, an outstanding faculty member award and certificates for teaching excellence from Virginia Tech.

"I don’t think he had a mean bone in his body," Tiburze said. "He always said hi, always had a smile for you…

"I’ve been out of school for a while, and I have the hindsight to see that he really was one of the best professors in the department."

She said she still uses the information she learned from Loganathan.

"I still remember the things he taught me… He had so much valuable research and was such an asset to the faculty and was so important in the development of so many good engineers. It’s just such a shame that nobody else is going to benefit from his experience."

— Paul Woody, Media General News Service

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