Nearly 100 members of the University community attended a commemoration ceremony Friday afternoon to honor the lives and research of two doctoral students murdered at the on-campus Edward Gay Apartments on Dec. 13.
Friends and colleagues of Chandrasekhar Komma and Kiran Allam spoke of their personal relationships with the slain students and their research endeavors. During the ceremony, awards were named in the victims’ honor and an endowed live oak tree was also announced.
Matthew Gilbert, a biological sciences doctoral student, spoke of his daily coffee break with Komma. Gilbert described his friend and coworker as a gentle, spirited man. Gilbert shared pictures of Komma atThanksgiving dinner and praised Komma for his ability to accept people regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds.
Vasmi Boyapati first met Allam in a science course two years ago. Boyapati said when he considered dropping the course, Allam reached out and tutored him. Boyapati described Allam’s “everlasting smile on his face” and said Allam found happiness in seeing others contentment.
During the ceremony, the biological sciences and chemistry departments announced the creation of both the Chandrasekhar Komma Award and the Kiran Allam Award.
Both will be awarded annually by the departments to an international student embodying the spirit and ability of the doctoral students to teach and research. The monetary award will be for the recipients’personal use and will include a plaque with the respective victim’s picture and explanation of the award.
Andy Maverick, chemistry department chairman, announced the endowment of a live oak tree in Allam and Komma’s honor. The tree is located outside the Life Sciences Annex, and a certificate noting theendowment was mailed to the victim’s families in India.
Graca Vicente, chemistry professor, worked with Kiran for more than three years. Vicente shared a presentation of Allam’s research, dealing with the synthesis of new drugs to treat brain tumors.
Wayne Zhou, associate basic sciences professor, met Komma in spring 2004 when Komma worked as a teaching assistant for one of Zhou’s courses. Zhou explained Komma’s research studying the three-dimensional shapes of proteins and how they bond with enzymes.
The commemoration was filmed and a copy of the video will be mailed the victim’s families in India.
Only two sketches of four possible suspects in the murders have been released by the LSU Police Department. A multi-organization task force continues to meet daily, but no significant leads or progress in the case has been made public.
More than three months after the double homicide, no suspects have been arrested.
A plaque honoring the victims and depicting their faces described the views of Komma and Allam held by their peers. “As scientist, you helped us learn about the world,” the plaque reads, “As friends, you helped us learn about ourselves.”
—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]