It is with deep sorrow that we note the passing of our colleague, Dr. Kanagalaghatta R. Rajashankar, long-time Associate Director of the Northeastern Collaborative Access Team (NE-CAT) at Sector 24 of the Advanced Photon Source. Dr. Rajashankar passed peacefully in his sleep in the early morning of May 22nd, 2019, after an extended battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Suma, and two daughters, Medha and Manasvi.

Raj completed his undergraduate studies from LB College in Sagara, India, followed by a Masters in Physics from Manasagangotri, Mysore (India), and a Ph.D. in Physics from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Immediately following his doctoral degree, Raj was awarded the Humboldt Fellowship from Germany where he worked at DESY in Hamburg. He currently was working for Cornell University, NY and was the Associate Director for NE-CAT at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory.

In addition to being a scientist, Raj had several hobbies which were very dear to him. To name a few, he loved classical music, literature, electronics, building anything, etc. To top this list was his excellent sense of wit and humor which was his inherent quality.