DR. MUDUNDI RAMAKRISHNA RAJU June 24, 2025
Dr. Mudundi Ramakrishna Raju, retired scientist and Fellow of Los Alamos National Laboratory, passed away on June 24, 2025, in his hometown in India. His funeral was conducted with full state honors in the presence of family, friends and community leaders.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mrs. Subhadra Devi Raju, whom he loved and admired deeply. Dr. Raju leaves behind a lasting legacy of pioneering research on radiation cancer treatment as well as an impressive record of humanitarian work.
Dr. M.R. Raju graduated with a PhD in nuclear physics from Andhra University, India, followed by a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Radiation Biophysics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital and a research position at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Dr. Raju joined Los Alamos in 1971 when the Laboratory started a cancer treatment program at Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility, later renamed the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). He investigated negative pi-mesons and conducted comparative radiobiological studies of all nuclear particles being considered for cancer treatment. He spent nearly 35 years studying applications of nuclear physics to cancer therapy, published more than 125 research papers and a book titled “Heavy Particle Radiotherapy” on the subject. He was selected to be a Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow in 1981 and went on to chair the Fellows committee.
Driven by a deep desire to employ his knowledge to help rural cancer patients in India, Dr. M.R. Raju and Mrs. Devi Raju, established the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Trust for healthcare and childhood education in 1974 in his hometown. The couple returned to India in 1992 to manage the center directly. In 2005, then President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, himself a renowned scientist, visited the center to inaugurate the radiology department. Between 2004 and 2012 alone, the center treated nearly 3,000 cancer patients, mostly women, for free.
A local organization called Society for the Advancement of Rural Poor (SARP) was established in Los Alamos by friends of the couple to support the trust’s work in India. In 2013, the Government of India awarded Dr. Raju the title of Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor in the country. Dr. Raju also received the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize in 2024. While the health center closed due to difficulties in finding doctors and replacement equipment, the trust continues to run a preschool in his hometown.
Dr. M.R. Raju and Mrs. Devi Raju loved Los Alamos and Northern New Mexico where they returned every year to visit friends despite their failing health. Mrs. Devi Raju served for many years as the executive chairman of Self Help, Inc., helping refine its mission to help Northern New Mexicans help themselves. Dr. Raju exhorted those around him to serve local communities in Northern New Mexico, particularly the pueblo communities.
Dr. M.R. Raju, center, with Self Help, Inc., Director Diane Smogor, left, and longtime friend Connie Pacheco. Courtesy photo
The couple loved children and delighted in their innocence, wonder and curiosity. They wholeheartedly believed the adults could learn a great deal from young children. When a teacher lamented that his students were not learning well, Dr. Raju retorted that he was not teaching the children well. Dr. Raju was not fond of using academic achievements to measure children, or for that matter adults. Convinced that the world must emphasize kindness and empathy over bookish learning, Dr. Raju established the Devi Raju Citizenship Award in Los Alamos Schools. The award is given each year to a select number of students in each class (up to and including middle school) who display kindness and humanity towards others.
Dr. Raju was a philosopher, a fervent Gandhian and an ardent humanitarian who strived to make the world a better place. When Dr. Raju, a Hindu by birth, was asked if he was Christian, he replied, “I am trying to be one every day.” He might have said the same thing if he had been asked if he was Hindu. That simple reply encapsulated the entirety of Dr. Raju’s worldview of kindness and oneness.
Dr. M.R. Raju and Mrs. Devi Raju are fondly remembered and deeply missed by all their friends in Los Alamos.
Dr. M.R. Raju, left, and community friends, going clockwise, Ed Jacobson, Larry Deaven, Pastor Nicole Raddu Ferry, Addie Jacobson, Jim Bradbury and Don Casperson discussing the plan for the Devi Raju citizenship award in 2022. Courtesy photo