Malur Narayanaswamy Srinivasan

Malur Narayanaswamy Srinivasan passed away Wednesday, September 27, 2023. Services will be Friday, September 29, 2023 at 1PM at Grace Gardens Funeral Home.

Dr. Malur Narayanaswamy Srinivasan’s life was one of dedication, determination, and kindness. His was a life of devotion to God and family, and one of great professional achievement.

Srini was the son of Mysore and Leela Narayanaswamy, born on 4 November 1940 in Prayagaraj, India. He was the youngest of three children, who included Hari, his brother, and Devi, his sister. Also known as Papanna to his elders, he grew up in Bangalore and was highly intellectual and a very avid reader. He made superlative academic achievements and earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science, and he received the Jawaharlal Nehru award, which allowed him a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Birmingham. He stayed on at the Indian Institute of Science for 20 years and achieved the rank of full professor.

On 1 July 1971, he married Lavanya Janardan. In April 1974, he was father to Priyadarshini, and in April 1976 to Abhayasimha. Srini doted over his children and his family was the center of his life.  Desiring the best opportunities and life for his children, his dream was to emigrate to the United States. Against great odds and after numerous setbacks, he was resilient and persistent, and he realized this dream in September 1983. He jettisoned a secure future and prestigious position in India for a fresh start in America, at Texas A&M University in College Station.

He would later move to Lamar University in Beaumont, where he was on faculty for 20 years as Professor and served an extended tenure as Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, with focus on Materials Science. Dr. Srinivasan has served as advisor to many PhD scholars and Master of Science diplomates, many of whom would go on to make valuable contributions to the field of materials science and would be his lifelong friends. His work has resulted in over 50 publications in materials science, and in 2012, he served as editor of a textbook in this field, “Science and Technology of Casting Processes.”

Srini and Lavi raised two successful children.  He was immensely proud of his children and was elated to be a grandfather of four. From childhood through his seventies, he was a dedicated owner of three dogs, Cooper, Suman and Kannan.  In his younger years, he played tennis with encouragement from his father, and his interest in the sport was constant. Throughout his adulthood, he rigorously practiced yoga daily; twice daily, he would recite prayers without fail and he was a staunch devotee of Lord Lakshmi Narasimha.

After retirement in 2016 and 48 years in profession, he maintained the same devotion, determination and absolute kindness, with his professed goal to be useful to his family. Despite health-related hardship, he directed all his effort, with meticulous organization and resolve, to the wellbeing of his wife of 52 years and to assisting his children. Dr. Srinivasan was grateful for life and family and grateful to God. He was an exemplary teacher, father, and husband; he was a beloved man who did much to better his world.

Funeral Service

Cremation