Who was Saketh Sreenivasaiah? IIT Madras graduate found dead in US after four days missing

Who was Saketh Sreenivasaiah, the 22-year-old IIT Madras graduate found dead in California?

A 22-year-old Indian student, Saketh Sreenivasaiah, who had been missing in California since February 9, has been found dead, India’s mission in San Francisco said on Sunday.

Originally from Tumakuru in Karnataka, Sreenivasaiah was pursuing a Master’s degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His body was later recovered by local authorities near Tilden Regional Park.

From Karnataka classrooms to global research

Sreenivasaiah completed his schooling in Karnataka before entering one of India’s most competitive engineering tracks. He graduated with a BTech in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2025.

During his undergraduate years, he worked with the Polymer Engineering and Colloid Science Lab, first as a Young Research Fellow from September 2023 to August 2024, and later as an Undergraduate Researcher from September 2024 to May 2025.

He also worked as a Young Research Fellow at Unilever between September 2023 and June 2024, and completed a Research and Development internship at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories in Hyderabad from May to July 2024.

Academic interests and ambitions

On his LinkedIn profile, Sreenivasaiah described himself as, "I'm a Masters student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at UC Berkeley, with an undergraduate degree from IIT Madras. I'm passionate about deep-tech innovations in soft and active materials, semiconductors, and advanced materials."

At University of California, Berkeley, he was enrolled in a Master of Science programme scheduled for 2025–2026, focusing on advanced materials and emerging technologies.

Leadership beyond academics

Apart from research, he actively participated in student initiatives at IIT-Madras through E-Cell. Over two years, he served as Associative Executive from February 2022 to April 2022, Executive – Development & Associations from May 2022 to May 2023, and Head, Growth & Strategic Initiatives from June 2023 to March 2024. He also served as a student legislator in the Department of Chemical Engineering from April 2024 to May 2025.

Friends and classmates described him as academically driven and deeply engaged in innovation-led projects.