Professor G.V. Loganathan

G.V. Loganathan, 51, was a professor of civil and environmental engineering specializing in hydraulic networks and water resources systems analysis and design.

He was born in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and attended Kanpur Indian Institute of Technology before moving to the United States in 1982 to study for his Ph.D. at Purdue University.

An Indian television station quoted his mother as saying "He was a very good student and always topped his class."

"It's a terrible shock," said the mother, who was not named. "He rang two days ago and said he planned to move back to India in the next couple of years."

Relatives told the Indian news station NDTV 24/7 that Mr. Loganathan was teaching a civil engineering class when the gunman came into the classroom and commenced shooting. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, one of whom is a student at Virginia Tech, according to the broadcast reports.

Indian publications said Mr. Loganathan had expressed the preference to be buried in Virginia if something happened rather than have his remains returned to India. His parents and other relatives were making plans to come to the United States to perform last rites.

The current president of ITT Kanpur, Sanjay Dhande, described Mr. Loganathan as a friend. Speaking on Indian television, he said he was "a very simple person, a very modest, a very family oriented person who was doing his duty, giving a lecture."