4 ms·

Rajeev Motwani, Google founders' professor and early investor, dies

115 points by ciscoriordan 17y ago

dlg 17y ago
I'm on a plane that's about to close its doors so can't write more, but what a great guy. In school, I used his Randomized Algorithms books which was great. I met him randomly, but he helped us meet the ultimate acquirers of our startup and gave us a bunch of great ideas about algorithms, software, and who to meet. Invaluable for two kids who had just moved to the valley. Wish I could have worked with him more--was actually hoping to on the next startup.
lacker 17y ago
Rest in peace.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
voberoi 17y ago
This is insane. I took his class on Automata and Complexity Theory (cs154.stanford.edu) two years ago, and I have friends who came out of the final exam for the class only a few hours ago. I remember really enjoying this class, despite not having much of a knack for deeply theoretical CS. I was introduced to the concepts behind automata, turing machines, deterministic and nondeterministic computing, decidability theory, NP-completeness, and so on. I enjoyed this class entirely because of the way he taught it -- he took great care in the precision, concision, and clarity of his lectures. What a deeply talented, smart, and clearly influential individual. My condolences go out to his family and friends.
Eliezer 17y ago
At any time, in any place, no matter how healthy you are, you can die. So I'm going to say it again, and keep on saying it, because I get so tired of hearing news like this: SIGN. UP. FOR. CRYONICS. NOW.
- frisco 17y ago
  Not here, Yudkowsky. Not right now.
vaksel 17y ago
how old was he? How come you don't see the guy's age listed in any of the stories covering this?
- evgen 17y ago
  I chatted with him on several occasions over the past ten years or so and would probably have guessed him to be in his late 50s. He was one of the really nice guys out there and will be sorely missed.
- sankoz 17y ago
  In India, generally B Tech degree is completed when the student is aged 21. Since he did it in 1983, he should be 47. Just a guess.
- arjungmenon 17y ago
  He was 45. (according to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajeev_Motwani http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajeev_Motwani)
davepeck 17y ago
Randomized Algorithms is one of those books that frustrated, challenged, and ultimately enlightened me. I have at least one friend who I know worked closely with him and always had kind words to say. A sad loss.
sown 17y ago
Death awaits us at every corner of life. Tomorrow is Saturday. So, go out, hug a friend, enjoy a good meal, dance with a partner, love someone you love because you never know when death lurks in the shadows.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
sev 17y ago
I am humbled by his achievements and academic work. Sad to see such an influential figure leave us. A tragic loss for us all.
ajju 17y ago
A cousin of mine met him just by chance while visiting Stanford to check out the grad school last year. Prof. Motwani was more than happy to sit down with him for almost an hour and give him career advice. Being so open and helpful to strangers while being so successful is a rare trait and a sure indicator of greatness. May his family find the strength to get through this tragedy.
nebula 17y ago
Sergey Brin's tributes: http://too.blogspot.com/2009/06/remembering-rajeev.html http://too.blogspot.com/2009/06/remembering-rajeev.html
NobodyImportant 17y ago
That's really sad. R.I.P.
erlanger 17y ago
Very sad news. What exactly happened? I read that it was a "swimming pool accident" on Wikipedia, but none of the sources verified this.

115 points by ciscoriordan 17y ago

dlg 17y ago

I'm on a plane that's about to close its doors so can't write more, but what a great guy. In school, I used his Randomized Algorithms books which was great. I met him randomly, but he helped us meet the ultimate acquirers of our startup and gave us a bunch of great ideas about algorithms, software, and who to meet. Invaluable for two kids who had just moved to the valley. Wish I could have worked with him more--was actually hoping to on the next startup.

lacker 17y ago

Rest in peace.

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]

voberoi 17y ago

This is insane. I took his class on Automata and Complexity Theory (cs154.stanford.edu) two years ago, and I have friends who came out of the final exam for the class only a few hours ago. I remember really enjoying this class, despite not having much of a knack for deeply theoretical CS. I was introduced to the concepts behind automata, turing machines, deterministic and nondeterministic computing, decidability theory, NP-completeness, and so on. I enjoyed this class entirely because of the way he taught it -- he took great care in the precision, concision, and clarity of his lectures. What a deeply talented, smart, and clearly influential individual. My condolences go out to his family and friends.

Eliezer 17y ago

At any time, in any place, no matter how healthy you are, you can die. So I'm going to say it again, and keep on saying it, because I get so tired of hearing news like this: SIGN. UP. FOR. CRYONICS. NOW.

frisco 17y ago
Not here, Yudkowsky. Not right now.

vaksel 17y ago

how old was he? How come you don't see the guy's age listed in any of the stories covering this?

evgen 17y ago
I chatted with him on several occasions over the past ten years or so and would probably have guessed him to be in his late 50s. He was one of the really nice guys out there and will be sorely missed.
sankoz 17y ago
In India, generally B Tech degree is completed when the student is aged 21. Since he did it in 1983, he should be 47. Just a guess.
arjungmenon 17y ago
He was 45. (according to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajeev_Motwani http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajeev_Motwani)

davepeck 17y ago

Randomized Algorithms is one of those books that frustrated, challenged, and ultimately enlightened me. I have at least one friend who I know worked closely with him and always had kind words to say. A sad loss.

sown 17y ago

Death awaits us at every corner of life. Tomorrow is Saturday. So, go out, hug a friend, enjoy a good meal, dance with a partner, love someone you love because you never know when death lurks in the shadows.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

sev 17y ago

I am humbled by his achievements and academic work. Sad to see such an influential figure leave us. A tragic loss for us all.

ajju 17y ago

A cousin of mine met him just by chance while visiting Stanford to check out the grad school last year. Prof. Motwani was more than happy to sit down with him for almost an hour and give him career advice. Being so open and helpful to strangers while being so successful is a rare trait and a sure indicator of greatness. May his family find the strength to get through this tragedy.

nebula 17y ago

Sergey Brin's tributes: http://too.blogspot.com/2009/06/remembering-rajeev.html http://too.blogspot.com/2009/06/remembering-rajeev.html

NobodyImportant 17y ago

That's really sad. R.I.P.

erlanger 17y ago

Very sad news. What exactly happened? I read that it was a "swimming pool accident" on Wikipedia, but none of the sources verified this.