UD alumnus Rama Marda established the Rama Marda ’72 Graduate Scholars Fund to honor his experience at the University and to help others Rama Marda, a UD graduate alumnus, recently made a transformational gift to the Graduate College Rama Marda’s first flight was from his home in India to the United States. Fueled by his sense of adventure and a research assistantship that covered his tuition and living expenses, Marda was on his way to beginning his journey as a graduate student in the University of Delaware’s College of Engineering. “The funding from the research assistantship was a major factor in my ability to come to the University, and I had a wonderful experience with professors, meeting new friends, doing research, but also connecting outside of the classroom,” said Marda, class of 1972. “At the time, I was fascinated by aerospace engineering — just a few years before in 1969 a man had landed on the moon — and I was given this opportunity to work with Professor M.I. Young on studying helicopter rotor blades. I am so thankful to UD and the professor for the assistantship, and I am very grateful I can pay it back in some […]