As a boy in India, Anil Rajvanshi often found himself at the train station intently observing locomotives and dreaming.
“I just would stand in front of this huge steam engine and be mesmerized,” recalled Rajvanshi, Ph.D. “I thought that the best thing in the world would be an engine driver. And then I found this guy carrying a can of oil and he was lubricating the pistons. So I thought he was even better than the driver.”
Like many children destined for engineering, he would take things apart in the house and put them back together again. Often.
“Right from the beginning, I was very fascinated by engineering,” he said.
These days, the 1979 University of Florida mechanical engineering graduate has merged his fascination with the mechanical with the demands of sustainable energy. After a short teaching stint at UF after graduation, he declined lucrative job offers in the United States and returned to India with an eye on making a difference.
Make no mistake, this Gator engineer has made a huge difference in his home country. An author of eight books, he won the prestigious Padma Shri award – one of India’s highest civilian honors — in 2022 for his pioneering work in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and rural technology.
Since 1981, he has served as the director of the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in Maharashtra, India, with his wife, fellow Gator graduate and agricultural scientist Nandini Nimbkar. He holds seven patents and, among many other endeavors with NARI, invented e-rickshaws, clean energy lanterns and biomass gasifiers that convert agricultural waste into usable energy.
Ther couple’s deep ties to UF continued to be a family affair, as their daughter, Noorie Rajvanshi, earned her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from UF in 2011. Like her parents, she met her husband, Navin Goyal, at UF. He graduated with his Ph.D. in pharmacy in 2010.
In 2014, Rajvanshi returned to campus for a commencement address after he won the heralded UF Distinguished Alumni Award.
“You know,” he said, “I got one of the highest awards given by the government of India, but the UF alumni award was a really a major thing.”
In the following Q&A, Rajvanshi explains more about this love for UF, India and making lives better.
Your bachelor’s and master’s degrees are from the Indian Institute of Technology. Why UF for your doctorate?
I was very interested in solar energy. In 1974, it was a very new thing, and I did a lot of research in those times. I found out that Erich Farber was a professor [at UF] who did a lot of hands-on work. Solar energy was just coming up in United States, but most of the people were doing theoretical work. I wanted to do hands-on work. Besides, Florida had great weather and a lot of sun.
Not only did I get a great education, but I worked under a great pioneer and also found my wife at UF.
Why did you return to India after UF?
A lot of big honchos in Silicon Valley were my friends, and they always said what a fool I was to go back because I would have been a chairman of a very big corporation and this and that.
I think it was just madness and arrogance that I would change India. There is no other explanation. India is a very ancient country, and it did not change — and it can never change — but it changed me. It really detoxified me; I just can’t explain. There must have been a yearning because even when I was in UF, I would write very big articles on how whatever I learned, I can use it to make a difference in India.
I never said I’m going to change the world. I just said that I’ll do something that will make me happy. It’s not only my engineering, but I also write a lot on the interaction of spirituality and technology.
What did you enjoy most about your time at UF?
It was one of the happiest times of my life, really. I was interacting with all different
departments — physics, material science, chemistry, medical science. I just had the desire to gain a tremendous amount of knowledge.
In fact, all the librarians became my very dear friends
Gainesville was a beautiful place. We got married there. In fact, my mother was not very happy because you’re supposed to get married in India, and I didn’t believe in that. I said, “You know, we have our American friends, and we’ll have the marriage here.”
What pulled you toward renewable energy work?
I did my Ph.D. in solar energy. When I came back to India, I said, “In the rural areas, what is available?” It’s the sun and biomass and wind. These are all renewable energies, and I must utilize them to solve the problems and create better conditions. In research, when you do something and you are successful, it shows a new path automatically, and then you just keep on following it.
What makes you proud?
Well, I think I have discovered some truths, and I am proud of spreading those truths and inspiring youngsters wherever they are. The youngsters are the future of this world, whether they are in India or United States
If I can inspire some of them, that gives me the greatest satisfaction, and I will feel very proud.