Surya V. Rao

Saint Joseph-Surya V. Rao, died April 2, 2006, of heart failure. Born July 3, 1922 in Peddapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India. He earned a degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in 1944 and began working for Babcock & Wilcox in London, UK, while training in Boiler Engineering, in 1951 he was assigned a post in India until 1956. From 1956-1975 he worked for Atomic Energy of India eventually earning the position of Chief Project Engineer of Rajasthan Atomic Power Project. In 1970, he was promoted to Director of all power projects in India. Additionally, from 1973-1975 he was Managing Director of Bharat Pumps and Compressors. He took voluntary retirement in 1975 and moved to Canada and worked as a nuclear scientist for CanAtom. In 1980, he joined NUS Corporation in Bethesda, MD. From 1983-1985 he worked in the recovery efforts of the Three Mile Island accident. In 1986, he worked for American Electric Power in Columbus, OH, and retired in 1991 and moved to Medfield, MA where his second daughter had settled. He worked as a consultant for International Atomic Energy for 2 years and finally retired for good in 1997. He had been spending time visiting his children during the intervening years. He had been visiting his eldest daughter for the past 7 months. He is survived by his wife, Kamala, by three daughters, Usha Tumuluri and her husband Prasad of Saint Joseph, MI; Ramaa Rao and her husband Jagganath Chirravuri of Medfield, MA; and Uma Challa and her husband Nagesh of Saratoga, CA; his son, Shanker Rao and his wife Sona of Ottowa, Canada, and five grandchildren: Prashant Tumuluri, Suma Tumuluri, Varun Chirravuri, Sneha Challa, and Bhavna Challa. Memorial donations may be made to the United Nations Children’s Fund, information can be found at http://www.unicefusa.org. Friends may send the family a condolence message at www.starks-menchinger.com.