After serving many years as a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Department, Ashok Ramasubramanian was appointed as Union’s dean of engineering in fall 2023. He has been working at Union for more than 18 years and lives in Niskayuna with his wife, who is a nurse at Ellis Hospital. They have two kids, in 6th grade and 10th grade, in the Niskayuna school district.

“My wife and I like contradancing, and we are trying to get our kids interested,” he said.

Ramasubramanian is also passionate about the environment and is very active with local efforts to protect and champion the natural world. He is a member of the Conservation Advisory Council of Niskayuna, where he initiated and led the town’s Natural Resources Inventory. He also serves on the Schenectady County Environmental Advisory Committee and is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy.

“Research indicates that time spent in nature is really good for us,” he explained. “It’s such a precious resource that needs to be preserved in an unspoiled manner for future generations.”

Ramasubramanian moved to the U.S. from India in 1996. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.). He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis prior to joining Union College.

FIRST APP YOU LOOK AT IN THE MORNING:
I try to minimize the time I spend on my phone. There are no social media, news or email apps on my phone. I do look at the calendar app sometimes in the morning to see what’s coming my way that day.

WHAT ARE YOU READING?
I am a *huge* Agatha Christie fan. I am re-reading (for like the 1000th time) some of my favorite Ms. Marple novels. Currently, I’m re-reading the classic mystery, “Body in the Library.”

WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING?
We are a somewhat unusual family. We have no television in our home, and we do not have any subscription to Netflix, Hulu, Prime video or anything similar. We do have a subscription to Willow TV and I use it to watch cricket on my home computer. Currently, I am watching the Ashes test match series between England and Australia. The matches are played over five days and are great fun to watch.

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU RECEIVED:
Fake it ’till you make it. (It’s actually in scripture! The Bible says, “Act as if ye have faith, and faith shall be given to you.”)

ONE SKILL YOU WISH YOU HAD:

I really wish I could swim (sigh). I grew up under challenging circumstances in India and missed the chance to learn swimming as a kid. I tried several lessons as an adult, and I have mostly failed. Also, I wish I were better at dancing. I am improving here, though!

THREE DINNER PARTY GUESTS (living or deceased):
My grandmother. Her simplicity is an inspiration to everyone in our family. She was a spiritual being, if ever there was one. Abraham Lincoln. He is one of my favorite people. He solved problems at the spiritual level rather than at the intellectual level. And Pope Francis - another one of my favorite people. His simplicity and humility are extremely appealing.

LITTLE KNOWN FACT ABOUT YOU:
In my other life, I am a professional storyteller. I have been featured many times on “The Moth Radio Hour” and I run storytelling workshops. I write papers and grant applications, too, and am one of those people who really like writing grants.

I also ran for elected office recently (and won). I was elected to a Town Council seat in Niskayuna. After feeling very vexed and asking questions – like “Why didn’t they do that?” and “Why did they do that?” -- I decided to become the “they” and try to make meaningful changes to benefit our residents. The campaign was exhausting and took time away from family, but it was the right thing for me. I really hope to bridge some of the intense political divides. During the campaign I knocked on more than 1,000 doors, and I knocked on all doors irrespective of party affiliation (or no affiliation at all). It was the most meaningful aspect of the campaign for me. My term started on January 1, and I am eager to start working for our residents.

FAVORITE UNION MEMORY/EXPERIENCE:
The day I got the call that I got the job as a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering. I was in St. Louis doing my post-doc and that call made my day. Union is a wonderful place -- the sort of place where blood pressure levels are reduced.

ONE THING YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT:
Winter. I am sure other seasons have their charms, but my heart belongs to winter. I really like to (downhill) ski. My favorite places are Gore and Whiteface. But my love for winter is deeper than that. The peace and depth of winter can only be described as spiritual. At least for me, other seasons bring joy on an intellectual level, but winter goes much deeper. It deepens my spiritual connection to the divine.

WHICH LIVING PERSON DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
I can pick some famous public figures. But that would not be an honest answer. The person that I most admire is my wife. She is super awesome.