Aneal Krishnan ’02
Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania
“I trained as a soldier and a singer,” says Aneal Krishnan ’02, whose MIT experiences as a cadet in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and as a performer in the Chorallaries a cappella group each, in its own way, shaped his path in life.
Aneal says that inspired him to make a gift that supports Undergraduate Research Opportunities for ROTC students at the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies and names the dressing rooms in the new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building.
The son of immigrants from India, Aneal attended MIT on an Army ROTC scholarship, graduating with degrees in management and in electrical engineering and computer science. He went on to be awarded the Bronze Star for his service as an infantry captain in Iraq and then built a successful career in the investment field.
Currently, he is founder and CEO of Prosper Northeastern Pennsylvania, a nonprofit organization that promotes regional economic growth. He and wife Svetlana have two young children.
Says Aneal: “MIT changed the arc of my entire life.”
How his MIT ROTC training prepared him for Iraq: “This was the first conflict where technology placed real-time satellite, drone, and sensor data in the hands of individual soldiers. My MIT education helped me quickly grasp the technology’s significance, apply it to mission outcomes, and teach others to do so as well.”
On naming the new music building’s dressing rooms: “I can remember all the times I would be waiting to go on stage, trying to calm those nerves, and then getting out there and rocking it. I hope my name on the door has some sort of telepathic communication to the next student who’s down there trying to do the same thing.”
Help MIT build a better world. For more information, contact Liz Vena: 617.324.9228; evena@mit.edu. Or visit http://giving.mit.edu.
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