The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has renamed its Department of Physics and Optical Science in honor of longtime faculty member Ishwar Aggarwal. This follows a gift from Aggarwal and his wife, Shail, which will support doctoral students and strengthen the department’s research capacity, including scholarships for students.

The university said the naming marks the first time a sitting professor has endowed an academic department at UNC Charlotte. Aggarwal, whose career has spanned more than five decades, credited teamwork and collaboration for many of his professional achievements. He said his family’s emphasis on education and the scholarships he received throughout his own education influenced the decision to support students through the family’s gift. Aggarwal joined UNC Charlotte in 2011 after a career in industry and at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. At the university, he established the Ultra High Energy Laser Optics program. He was also the university’s first professor to be named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

A pioneer in optical materials and devices, Aggarwal has 104 U.S. patents and more than 500 peer-reviewed publications.

Brij and Sunita Agrawal are longtime Sugar Land residents and philanthropists whose generosity has made a lasting impact on healthcare and education in the Greater Houston area. Originally from Chhattisgarh, India, Brij moved to the Houston area as a teenager and went on to earn a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering. He has since built a diverse business career and currently serves as President and CEO of the VKC Group, which operates more than 150 restaurants across Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Together, the Agrawals have combined business success with philanthropy focused on healthcare, education, and community development. The Agrawals’ commitment to giving back extends well beyond this gift. In 2022, they contributed $1 million to the University of Houston at Sugar Land to support state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and advanced manufacturing research, and the university’s ground-floor auditorium now bears their name. They have also previously supported medical initiatives at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital. As Sunita Agrawal has expressed, their philanthropy reflects a deep sense of gratitude, a desire to give back meaningfully to the community that shaped their personal and professional journey.

In June 2026, Brij and Sunita Agrawal donated $5.5 million to support healthcare services in Texas, marking the largest philanthropic gift ever made to St. Luke’s Health-Sugar Land Hospital. The donation was made to expand clinical programs at the hospital and help establish a new Primary Care Community Clinic in Sugar Land, a suburb of Houston. In recognition of their contribution, the hospital renamed its main patient tower and pavilion the Agrawal Family Patient Tower and Pavilion.

Mani L. Bhaumik rose from poverty to become an eminent scientist who played a key role in developing the laser technology that paved the way for Lasik eye surgery. He was born in a remote village in West Bengal, India, and as a child slept on rags in the thatched-roof mud hut he shared with his parents and six siblings.Life was made even more precarious by the struggle for Indian independence going on around him: Bhaumik’s father, a freedom fighter, was often away and spent time in prison for his revolutionary activities. But Mani Bhaumik’s dreams of a brighter future gave him the determination to obtain a good education, and his prodigious curiosity led him to become a scientist.

Studying under renowned physicist Satyendra Bose, he earned a master’s degree at the University of Calcutta. In 1958, Bhaumik became the first student to earn a doctorate, also in physics, from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Bhaumik came to UCLA in 1959 “with $3 in my pocket,” he said, on a Sloan Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. The people of his village raised the money for his airfare.

In 1961, Bhaumik joined Xerox Electro-Optical Systems as a laser scientist. He later served as director of the laser technology laboratory at Northrop’s corporate research laboratory. In 1973, he announced the conclusive demonstration of the world’s first efficient excimer laser, a form of ultraviolet laser now commonly used for high-precision machining and for cutting biological tissue cleanly without damaging surrounding tissue.

Bhaumik is a fellow of the American Physical Society and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and, in 2011, the Indian government awarded him the prestigious Padma Shri for distinguished service in science and engineering. As a member of the UCLA Physical Sciences board of visitors, Bhaumik has witnessed declining funding for scientific research from state and federal government, particularly in the field of theoretical physics. With previous donations to UCLA, he established the Mani L. Bhaumik Presidential Chair in Theoretical Physics and supported the work of a research group led by physics professor Zvi Bern.

In India, Bhaumik’s rags-to-riches story has inspired generations of young people. He established the Mani Bhaumik Educational Foundation to support high-achieving Indian students and donated land for the proposed Bhaumik International Center for Advanced Research at the Indian Institute of Technology. 

A $3 million gift from Bhaumik in 2025, will fund a postdoctoral fellows recruitment program in UCLA’s physics, astronomy, chemistry, and biochemistry departments.

Jay is an accomplished entrepreneur, having founded a series of successful companies, including AirDefense, CipherTrust, CoreHarbor, SecureIT, and Zscaler, now a public company as of March 16, 2018.

 Jay has a history of introducing visionary innovations to market that address the demand for securely enabling emerging technology trends, such as the Zscaler global security cloud for distributed and mobile enterprises. Jay’s considerable work in the security technology sector has made him a trusted advisor for many enterprise CIOs and CISOs.

 Jay leverages more than 25 years of security industry expertise, including engineering, sales, marketing, and management experience with leading organizations, such as IBM, NCR, and Unisys. Prior to founding Zscaler in 2008, he founded and led AirDefense, a wireless security pioneer, before its acquisition by Motorola. From 2000 to 2006, Jay founded and led CipherTrust, the industry’s first email security gateway, before its merger with Secure Computing. He also founded and led CoreHarbor, a managed ecommerce solution, before it was acquired by USi/AT&T. In 1996, Jay founded and led his first company, SecureIT, the first pure-play internet security service, before it was acquired by VeriSign in 1998.

Jay has been honored as an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year (Southeast USA),” an Information Week “Innovator & Influencer,” an SC Magazine “Market Entrepreneur,” an IIT BHU “Distinguished Alumnus,” and a Goldman Sachs “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.” He earned his MBA in Marketing, MS in Computer Engineering, and MS in Industrial Engineering—all from the University of Cincinnati. He earned his Bachelor of Technology in Electronics Engineering from IIT BHU Varanasi. Jay has completed the Executive Management Program from Harvard Business School.

Chaudhry, along with his wife Jyothi, have pledged a $4 million gift to the University of Cincinnati.  It will provide scholarships for approximately 150 students starting in fall 2025,

Both born and educated in Mumbai, India, Drs. Jayashree and Vinod Jivrajka pursued medical careers before making their way to the United States, where they would each leave a lasting mark on American healthcare. Vinod began medical school at age 17 and came to the U.S. to work at hospitals in New Jersey and Kentucky, before eventually settling in Southern California after attending a conference in Los Angeles and falling in love with the region. He completed a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, where he also served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine, laying the foundation for a distinguished career as an interventional cardiologist. Jayashree, a dedicated internist, built her own practice in the Los Angeles area, sharing Vinod’s deep commitment to patient-centered care.

The entrepreneur in Vinod drove him to think beyond the exam room. He founded AppleCare Medical Enterprises in 1996. Under his leadership as President and CEO for more than 20 years, AppleCare Medical Group grew from 500 members in 1996 to over 100,000 in 2016, with more than 400 primary care physicians and 450 specialists under contract. He also founded Episource LLC, a healthcare technology company that became one of the nation’s largest platforms for risk adjustment coding and analytics. Throughout it all, Jayashree remained a steadfast partner, anchoring the family’s medical mission with her work in internal medicine and her shared passion for expanding access to care. The Jivrajka Family Foundation, founded in 2024, reflects the couple’s lifelong commitment to medicine and service.

In a landmark act of philanthropy, Drs. Jayashree and Vinod Jivrajka, proud parents of three UCLA alumni, pledged $2 million to establish the Jivrajka Family Foundation Chair in the Division of Cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, with a focus on cardiovascular disease prevention in South Asian and other high-risk communities.

As physicians trained in India who built their careers in America, the couple described the gift as a full-circle moment, investing in the next generation of clinicians and scientists working to prevent the very diseases they have spent their lives treating. The gift was announced in February 2026.

Anil Kochhar is an Indian-American business executive and philanthropist, serving as vice chairman and co-founder of Outcomes Health Info Solutions. Rooted in the textile industry, his career and values have been deeply shaped by the legacy of his father, Prakash Chand Kochhar, who journeyed from Punjab, India to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1946 to study textile manufacturing at what is now North Carolina State University’s Wilson College of Textiles — becoming only the second Indian student ever to enroll there.

Alongside his wife, Marilyn, Anil has dedicated significant resources to honoring that legacy through a series of major endowments at Wilson College, including the Prakash Chand Kochhar Dean’s Chair Endowment, the Prakash Chand Kochhar Endowed Faculty Fund, and the Prakash Chand Kochhar Graduate Support Endowment. These gifts support faculty recruitment, graduate research, student development, and the overall mission of making the college accessible and excellent.

In May 2026, Anil and Marilyn Kochhar made headlines with a remarkable act of generosity: at the Wilson College of Textiles commencement ceremony, they announced they would pay off the final-year education loans of all 176 graduates in the class of 2025–26.

“We hope that all of you leave today not only with a degree but with greater freedom to pursue your goals, take risks, and build the lives you’ve worked so hard to achieve,” Kochhar told the graduating class — embodying the spirit of opportunity his father first crossed an ocean to find.

Indian American engineer Manmohan Singh Kalsi and his wife Marie-Luise Schubert Kalsi donated $4 million to the University of Houston to support engineering research and education. The gift to UH’s Cullen College of Engineering will establish two endowed professorships, a faculty research fund, graduate fellowships and a seminar series in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

The gift builds on the Kalsis’ longstanding ties to the University of Houston. Kalsi earned both his master’s degree and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from UH, where the late professor Gabriel Fazekas played a major role in shaping his career.

In 2014, the Kalsis established an endowed professorship at Cullen College in Fazekas’ honor. During his graduate studies, Manmohan conducted research on hydrodynamic rotary seals under Fazekas’ mentorship, work that helped shape his later career in valve and sealing technology.

The Kalsi Faculty Research Fund will support emerging research, while endowed and current-use fellowships will help recruit outstanding graduate students. The Kalsi Seminar Series will bring internationally recognized researchers and industry leaders to campus for collaboration and knowledge exchange.

*This information was derived from an Article published by The American Bazaar.

Jasvant Nagindas Modi’s life traces a remarkable arc from a modest upbringing in Godhra, a small town in the western Indian state of Gujarat, to a career of success and service in the United States. The son of a schoolteacher and raised in a large Jain family rooted in discipline and faith, he studied medicine at B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad before immigrating to the United States in the mid-1970s. He eventually established himself as a respected gastroenterologist in Los Angeles and later expanded into healthcare management, acquiring and operating long-term care facilities across Southern California. Dr. Meera Modi, born in Wankaner, India in 1949, earned her medical degree from Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, a courageous choice at a time when India had very few medical colleges open to women.

Dr. Meera Modi went on to become one of the top Family Medicine specialists in Los Angeles, owning private practices in the city while raising two children and supporting her husband through every stage of his career. Together, the couple built a legacy of healing guided by their deep Jain values. Driven by those values, they actively promote Jain principles through philanthropic initiatives focused on healthcare and education, and have acquired and currently manage four hospitals providing compassionate care to the communities they serve.

Together, Dr. Jasvant and Dr. Meera Modi have contributed more than $30 million to philanthropic initiatives across the United States, Europe, and India. Dr. Jasvant Modi has pledged totals of $13 million to establish Jain Studies programs at colleges and universities across the United States, coordinated through the Vardhamana Charitable Foundation, which the couple founded. In October 2023, he was honored with the Ahiṃsā Award from the Institute of Jainology at the UK House of Commons, and in February 2024 was conferred an honorary Doctor of Literature from Sumandeep Vidyapeeth in Vadodara. 

A $1.5 million pledge from Jasvant and Meera Modi will establish UCLA’s first endowed professorship in Jain Studies and Religions of South Asia, the Bhagawan Abhinandan Endowed Chair. The gift, announced in October 2025, reflects the Modis’ longstanding commitment to advancing Jain studies alongside fellow community philanthropists at institutions across the country.

Raj Nooyi, a recipient of the 2017 UTA Distinguished Alumni Award and a former supply chain management executive, spent more than 40 years in the manufacturing industry, where he focused on designing, developing and implementing business solutions to improve supply chain operations and advance product innovation in Fortune 500 companies. He was also the former interim CEO of Plan International, a global child rights and humanitarian organization. Currently, he serves as vice chair of the UTA President’s Advisory Board.

Indra Nooyi is the former chair and CEO of PepsiCo, a position she held for more than a decade. She joined PepsiCo in 1994 and rose to become Chairman and CEO from 2006 to 2019, overseeing a Fortune 50 company with operations in more than 180 countries. Under her leadership, PepsiCo’s annual net profit rose from $2.7 billion to $6.5 billion, as she guided the company through major acquisitions, international expansion, and industry-leading innovation,  making her the first woman of color and immigrant to helm a Fortune 50 company.

She was the architect of PepsiCo’s strategic redirection, called Performance with Purpose, which successfully created long-term profitable growth while leaving a positive impact on society and the environment. In 2022, they established an endowment to support the Vanguard Leadership Development Program at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School, aimed at inspiring cadet candidates to become lifelong students of inclusive and inspirational leadership.

In February 2025, Indra Nooyi and Raj Nooyi donated $1 million to Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery to establish the Raj and Indra Nooyi Cancer Research Fund which will support pioneering research aimed at reducing the toxicity and burden of breast cancer treatment.

Amita Jain and Niteen Patkar have donated $1.35 million to the University of California, Berkeley, establishing two permanent funds for Hindi education and graduate study. The couple gave $850,000 to create the Usha and Santosh Jain Endowment for Hindi Language Instruction. They also contributed $500,000 to establish the Usha and Santosh Jain Endowment for Graduate Students, an amount that UC Berkeley will match. The gift is the largest in the history of Berkeley’s Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies. Both funds honor Jain’s parents, Usha and Santosh Jain, who came to Berkeley from India in 1960. While Santosh pursued a master’s degree in engineering, Usha studied Asian studies and began working as a teaching assistant. That opportunity grew into a 44-year career teaching Hindi at the university.

The additional resources will expand access to Hindi language instruction for both heritage and non-heritage learners while fostering a vibrant intellectual and cultural community. The Jain and Patkar family’s philanthropy will help train the next generation of Hindi scholars, advance research in related disciplines, develop innovative teaching materials, strengthen academic partnerships with institutions in India and around the world, and bring distinguished lecturers, artists, and visiting scholars to campus.

Combined, the two endowments will provide permanent support for the Hindi program Usha helped establish over her long career. The new language instruction endowment is designed to protect Hindi teaching from changing financial conditions and expand access to the program. The graduate student fund will support future scholars working in Hindi, South Asian languages and related fields. The endowments will also help develop teaching materials, strengthen academic partnerships with institutions in India and other countries, and bring visiting scholars, lecturers and artists to campus. The funding is expected to support research and a broader intellectual community around Hindi language and literature.This milestone gift was the culmination of months of collaborative conversations between the couple and UC Berkeley faculty. 

*Information shared here was gathered from both UC Berkeley and the American South Asian Network

Vijay Ramakrishnan’s journey to becoming a physician began with his father, a doctor trained in India, who arrived in the United States in 1975 with little more than a pocketful of coins. His father eventually established a radiology practice in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, the small town where Vijay was born and raised. Growing up surrounded by medicine, Vijay absorbed both the science and the spirit of service that defined his father’s work. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke University in 2001 before completing medical school, a residency in diagnostic radiology, and a fellowship in interventional radiology, following his father’s footsteps with remarkable precision. His two brothers also became physicians, making medicine not just a career but a family calling. Praveena, who grew up in Dubai, joined Vijay in building their life together in rural Virginia, and today she is well accustomed to small town life, bringing her own warmth and steadiness to every chapter of their shared journey.

Vijay now practices as a radiologist in Abingdon, Virginia, where he reads imaging studies and performs image-guided procedures. His connection to Duke University has remained one of the most enduring threads of his professional identity. Together, Vijay and Praveena have built a life grounded in the conviction that medicine is more than a profession,  it is a vehicle for community service and intergenerational responsibility.

That conviction recently found its fullest expression in a landmark act of generosity. In April 2026,Vijay and Praveena committed $3 million to support patient care and physician training through Duke’s radiology programs, including a $2 million innovation fund for advanced imaging equipment and a $1 million endowment for resident education in the Department of Radiology.

In recognition of their support, the Radiology Suite on the first floor of Duke Medical Pavilion has been named in their honor. For the Ramakrishnans, the gift is deeply personal,  an expression of gratitude to those who shaped them, and a message to their three children about what it means to live a life of purpose. 

Driven by a passion for contribution to children, Omaha natives–and high-school sweethearts, Shikhar and Kristin, developed the Saxena Family Foundation. Shikhar, is a cardiologist, and the owner/Co-CEO of Milan Laser, a national laser hair removal company. Kristin, practiced as a pediatrician with Boys Town Pediatrics before becoming Chief Medical Officer for Milan Laser.  She stepped down from her position at Milan in 2020 to dedicate her time growing the Saxena Family Foundation and other philanthropic endeavors.

A new healthcare center under construction at the southeast corner of 42nd and Farnam streets in midtown Omaha has officially been named the Shikhar & Kristin Saxena Health Center, following a significant leadership gift from local physicians Drs. Shikhar and Kristin Saxena. The building’s naming recognizes the contribution made by the couple through their charitable organization, the Saxena Family Foundation, alongside additional support from the local donor community.

Shikhar seeks projects and partnerships that allow him to accomplish big projects and see how many lives are impacted. He enjoys working with local leaders who have made something successful by working hard and striving toward a mission. He remains focused on being a good human being while believing in living life to the fullest and creating the life you want. Shikhar is dedicated to the education and overall wellbeing of children.Kristin’s vision is to grow the Saxena Family Foundation to support causes that improve children’s lives in our community. She would like to see the foundation grow in size and scope to take on larger and more impactful projects. Her ultimate goal is for the foundation to be a force of good in Omaha.

George Mason University will rename its Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to the Anil and Anupama Sharma Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, in honor of Northern Virginia entrepreneur Anil Sharma and his wife, Anupama Sharma, recognizing the couple’s commitment to education, entrepreneurship, and expanding opportunities for future generations.  The naming recognizes a philanthropic gift from the Sharmas that will help transform the center into a leading hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration, strengthening the university’s role in supporting students, startups, and the region’s innovation economy, the school said on Thursday.

Anil Sharma is the CEO of 22nd Century Technologies, one of the nation’s largest privately held government contracting firms. Sharma came to the United States from India in 1997 with $100 and the determination to build a future in a new country, founding 22nd Century Technologies later that year. What started as a roughly $2 million IT consulting business has grown into a company with more than $400 million in revenue and over 6,000 employees, and more recent reporting puts the firm’s value at roughly $600 million with more than 6,500 employees, making it one of the most notable entrepreneurial success stories in the Indian American community. The company provides IT systems integration and software solutions primarily to the public sector, supporting the nation’s digital transformation and critical infrastructure.

The investment will enable the center to expand beyond individual programs—including the Patriot Pitch Competition, the Honey Bee Initiative, and the SOAR Initiative—to become an integrated platform that connects students, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry partners. University officials envision the center serving as a catalyst for innovation by fostering mentorship, collaboration, and the creation of new ventures that strengthen the regional economy.

*Information from The American Bazaar was used to help craft this bio.

Chitra and Panneer Selvam are distinguished faculty members whose scholarly contributions and dedication to higher education have earned them deep respect within the academic community in Arkansas. Their work reflects a steadfast commitment to advancing knowledge, fostering intellectual growth, and upholding the highest standards of academic excellence.

With a shared passion for research and teaching, Chitra and Panneer Selvam have played an instrumental role in shaping the academic experiences of countless students and colleagues alike. Their ability to bridge rigorous scholarship with genuine mentorship sets them apart as educators of exceptional caliber.

As valued members of Arkansas’s academic landscape, they continue to make meaningful contributions that extend well beyond the classroom — enriching their institution, inspiring their peers, and leaving an indelible mark on the students fortunate enough to learn from them.

In August 2025, Chitra and Panneer provided a $1 million gift to the University of Arkansas to support faculty excellence and expand research opportunities in the high-impact area of computer modeling and computational mechanics. 

Niraj S. Shah grew up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the son of immigrants from India, whose grandfather ran a steel manufacturing business in India making pots and pans, and whose father worked as a mechanical engineer at General Electric. From an early age, Niraj displayed an entrepreneurial instinct, running a lawn-mowing business, a paper route, and a baseball trading operation before finding his calling in technology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cornell University in 1995, where he met his future business partner Steve Conine. In 2002, the two co-founded Wayfair, which grew into the largest home retail website in the world. Jill Shah, equally entrepreneurial, founded Jill’s List, a leading online platform for integrative healthcare practitioners, which she sold to California-based MINDBODY in 2013.

Under Niraj’s leadership, Wayfair grew into one of the largest online retailers of home furnishings in the country, netting $12.2 billion in revenue in 2022. Beyond the boardroom, Niraj has served as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and on the boards of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, while Jill has channeled her entrepreneurial energy into community impact, serving as President of the couple’s philanthropic foundation.

In 2017, Niraj and Jill founded the Shah Family Foundation, with a focus on education and healthcare initiatives. Jill leads the foundation’s day-to-day work, approaching philanthropy with the same entrepreneurial lens she brought to business. The couple looks for organizations that address unmet needs, do something better than existing efforts, or offer a breakthrough that could be exponentially powerful. The foundation has partnered with organizations including About Fresh, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Project Bread to bring long-term, transformative change to Boston’s communities, with a particular emphasis on improving school food programs and the physical and mental well-being of every child. 

In February 2025, A generous $10 million gift from the Shah Family Foundation to Massachusetts General Hospital has established a new Center for Comprehensive Healing to promote and nurture whole person health at Mass General and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Manu Shah’s American dream first took shape in India in 1957, standing in food subsidy lines as a 12-year-old boy, the ninth of nine children, marveling at U.S.-imported goods and the generosity they represented. After earning an engineering degree from the University of Bombay, he pursued graduate studies at Purdue University, where he and Rika worked hard to adapt to their new country. In 1975, Manu and Rika migrated to the United States from India with a dream to establish a company that would generate employment, forge alliances, and treat people as family. They founded MS International (MSI) in the basement of their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with Rika managing the company’s early operations while raising their two young sons. 

The Shahs built MSI into a successful organization with $2.8 billion in revenue, supporting the livelihoods of over 3,000 employees worldwide. The company’s growth was driven by a willingness to reinvent itself, pivoting from granite monuments to premium countertops, quartz surfaces, porcelain tiles, and luxury vinyl, sourcing materials from dozens of countries. MSI now employs thousands, and its biggest customer is Home Depot. Manu has since retired from day-to-day leadership, handing the CEO reins to his sons Raj and Rup, though he remains deeply engaged as a mentor, coach, and what he good-naturedly calls his company’s “Chief Giving Officer.”

Manu and Rika established the Sarva Mangal Family Trust, “let all be happy” in Sanskrit, over 20 years ago, with compassion as their driving force. Their philanthropy spans healthcare, education, and community empowerment across the United States, India, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Most recently in August 2025, the couple made the largest outright cash gift to Providence St. Jude Medical Center to establish the Shah Happiness Center for Cardiovascular Health, expanding advanced cardiac services for Orange County communities. 

The University of North Texas will name its College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics after Anuradha and Vikas Sinha, an Indian-American couple who donated $20 million to expand the university’s AI and analytics programs. The new Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics will serve as an academic hub for AI development, intelligent systems, and data analytics, bringing together disciplines including cybersecurity, data science, health informatics, and library science under one roof.

The gift will fund six permanent endowments covering college leadership, student scholarships, endowed professorships, entrepreneurship and incubation, and advanced research into emerging technologies. UNT said the college will also function as a university-wide hub connecting faculty and students across disciplines through shared infrastructure, collaborative research, and industry partnerships.

Vikas and Anu Sinha immigrated from India after earning civil engineering degrees from Sri Venkateswara University, later completing graduate studies at Florida Atlantic University; Vikas went on to Northwestern and earned his Ph.D. from UNT in 2023. He now serves as vice president of Broadcom’s Mainframe Software Division and has sat on UNT’s College of Information Leadership Board since 2023. This $20 million gift builds on the couple’s growing relationship with UNT, following a 2024 donation that established the Sinha Department of Data Science and a 2025 gift that created the Sinha Innovation Lab for Data Science.

*Information shared here was sourced from an Article published in India Abroad.