After Kamala Harris, who lost the US Presidential election, the spotlight has turned to Usha Chilkuri Vance, 38, wife of Vice-President designate JD Vance. She has a Chennai connect as well.
The Guntur-born Usha Vance, who will be the first Indian-origin woman to become the Second Lady of the US, has a family connection with the country’s premier institution, Indian Institute of Technology – Madras.
While her father, Radhakrishnan was a B Tech graduate in Mechanical Engineering from the institution in 1977, her grandfather Rama Sastry had served on the IIT faculty when IIT-M was founded decades ago. In fact, Sastri had been the Head of the Physics Department for three terms, IIT-M sources said.
Besides teaching Physics, Sastry had received a special award from the then Chief Minister K Bhakthavatsalam and another award for his concept of raising best vegetable gardens, the sources said.
“We are proud that the family of the US second lady is associated with the IIT-M. We are feeling very happy and very proud,” IIT-M Director Prof V Kamakoti said.
Further, he said Sastry had been the Head of Physics Department from 1959 to and 1962. Again, he served in the same capacity for two more terms between 1967 and 1975 and 1979 and 1980.
When the family migrated to San Diego in the US, Usha, a Gates Scholar, pursued law at Yale after her graduation in Cambridge.
She met Vance, 39, Ohio senator, at Yale while studying law and got married in 2014 at Kentucky, said to be solemnised by a Hindu priest. She practices law and Vance himself has admitted that she is not a Christian. He had said that she is more brilliant and accomplished than him.
The interfaith couple has three children: sons Ewan and Vivek, and daughter Mirabel.