Prasad Tadepalli Oral History Interview, September 5, 2016

ST: OK. My name is Sravya Tadepalli and I'm here with Prasad Tadepalli on September 5th, 2016, at our home in Corvallis, Oregon. OK, so to start off, where and when were you born?

PT: I was born in a place called Machilipatnam in India. It's about 16 miles from where I was...where I grew up later.

ST: And when were you born? You can just say the year.

PT: 1959.

ST: OK. And what were your parents' names? Also, you don't have to look at the camera.

PT: What's the question?

ST: What were your parents' names? You don't have to look at the camera.

PT: Oh. My father was Bhaskar Rao and my mother's name was Vasundhara.

ST: OK. And when and where were your parents born?

PT: I think my mother was born in the same town I was born, Machilipatnam. My 00:01:00father was born in another place called Kosuru.

ST: OK. And do you know when they were born?

PT: No.

ST: OK. So can you tell me a little bit about your family, like your parents, brothers, sisters. Where you are in order of your siblings?

PT: I'm the oldest of three kids. My sister is three years younger than me and my brother is about six years younger than me and we all grew up in the same place until I left for college. My sister only studied up to the...she didn't graduate from the high school. I think she studied until 10th class. And same with my brother.

ST: OK. So what were your lives in India like? Do you want to share a couple of memories?

PT: We had lot of fun. We had a lot...my father had five brothers and five sisters so we had lots of cousins. They used to visit us sometimes and we used to visit them. Those were the happy days when we all meet. And as kids, we loved to play with each other and I also liked to go to my grandpa's home, on my mother's side, which was in the same town I was born in. And they have a nice house. And I used to like them, like being there.

ST: So do you remember anything about your extended family that you want to share? Or do you know anything about your extended family or your family history 00:03:00that you want to share?

PT: Yeah. So my extended family...like I said, we had large family from my dad's side, and from my mother's side...my mother had two brothers and one sister. When I was growing up as a kid, my mother's side, they didn't have any kids yet. So I mostly enjoyed interacting with my cousins from my dad's side. We...they used to be in a different village. At least one of my cousins used to be only two miles from my place, so we were pretty close. But my other cousins were about five miles to ten miles. But when we meet we used to have fun. And...actually one of my cousins used to go to the same college that I went to 00:04:00so he used to...which is in our town...he used to come by bike and take me with him. I used to sit on the bike and we used to ride to the back of the school.

ST: Do you want to talk about Anjaneyulu Kodali?

PT: Yeah, he was my grandfather. And he was kind of a...he was a role model for me. He was very politically active person. And I knew him...I did not know my other grandfather because he died before I was born. So he was kind of only...grandfather of me that I knew. He used to be a scholar and he had lot of books in their house. That's why I used to kind of...read them and enjoy him. He is also kind of funny, he used to crack good jokes. And he had lots of friends who used to come and they used to have political debates. I used to just sit and listen.

ST: So you might want to mention that he was...

PT: He was a freedom fighter, so he went to jail a few times. And when he went to jail, my mother used to be the one who kind of took care of the family because she was the oldest of the family. And yeah, he was...he participated in politics even after independence and he used to have lot of friends from the political side of things.

ST: OK. So in terms of your education, what was your education or your school like in India? What subjects did you study?

PT: Yeah. I liked my high school. I don't remember learning a whole lot in my elementary school which was 1-5 grades. We used to have at least one good teacher. I learned a lot from him. But otherwise I don't remember much because it was one room, one hall school. Everybody in all grades used to sit in the same room. And some kids used to sit on the kind of floor-bench. Bench which is almost two inches tall. And other kids...the fifth graders used to get a higher level bench, a regular bench. But the school used to be very noisy. There are only two teachers for about two hundred students or so. They're all in the same room. So it's just very hard to focus attention and...we didn't have any school 00:07:00materials. It's just the teacher talking and people just...not paying it much attention. But high school was good. There are good teachers and I learned quite a bit from my teachers and also by...just by reading.

ST: OK. So what is your current occupation?

PT: I am a professor in Oregon State University. I teach computer science and do research.

ST: And why did you choose to become a computer science professor?

PT: Because computer science is fun!

ST: Why is it fun?

PT: Computer science combines the ideas of mathematics and science and engineering, so it's a very unique field. Everything boils down to computer science in the end because we need...we need sophisticated mathematics. And 00:08:00mathematics only deals with objects that can be analyzed and understand which is sometimes not possible because the real world is very, very complicated. We cannot have elegant mathematics to explain everything. So computer science kind of borrows ideas from mathematics, but it also has this amazing tool, which is a computer, which can be used to simulate the consequences of a model. So you can build a model and you can...because we cannot try to understand it without computer, it's too complicated. We can use the computer to analyze the consequences of that model and look at the results. And then we can see whether our model is right or wrong, change the model, again run some simulations. That's the science side. On the engineering side, of course, we all know that computer science is essential to make modern tools like...from television to 00:09:00cell phones to work. So you really cannot avoid computer science. You can avoid using computers in any case and if you want to understand how those things work, you need to understand computer science.

ST: OK. So then, is there anything else you want to share about India and living in India?

PT: Yeah. India is a very complicated and very diverse country. It has amazing talent but unfortunately a lot of people get all the benefits of the society, so there is a huge gap between poor and rich and there is a huge gap between the educated and uneducated. There is a caste-based differences. There are 00:10:00linguistic differences. There are differences between people who live in the villages and the country and in the towns and cities. They have very different opportunities. So it's...it's a huge and diverse place but it's also a lot of fun.

ST: So with that, when did you move to the United States?

PT: OK. I moved to United States in 1982, around January.

ST: And what made you come to the United States?

PT: I had a job. I came as a programmer. And they sent me here on an assignment.

ST: OK. And what was it like to move to the United States for you? What were 00:11:00some of the cultural differences or other things you had to adjust to?

PT: Yeah. It's...in the beginning it was a little difficult because...I went to a place in Maine called Madison. I was working there for only a couple of months. It was very cold and because it's a small village, we did not really have any other Indians there or any other Indian shops or Indian restaurants. So we just had to learn everything from scratch. How to cook and how to get by with what we get in the grocery stores. But then after we moved to New York in a couple of months of..things are very different. It's a big city, and everything 00:12:00is almost available. We have friends there. So I did not really feel any homesick after I went to New York.

ST: OK. What sort of things were going on in the U.S. politically or culturally when you moved here?

PT: Yeah, it was...at the time of Reagan, there was a lot of...as I guess, always, lot of...diverse views about things going on at that time. I remember that there was a huge demonstration against nuclear weapons and nuclear power. I was in New York at that time so I participated in that demonstration in Central Park. That was huge and I didn't see anything like that before and I was 00:13:00actually surprised that there were so many people and yet it was very peaceful and fun event.

ST: OK. So what were some of things you liked about the United States and what were some of the things you didn't like?

PT: Yeah. I mostly liked what I saw. I guess I guess I did not think much of the United States before coming to the United States so I didn't have a lot of expectations. But I was impressed by the fact that in a city like New York, every culture is represented. There are people who can speak Chinese or who can speak all kinds of languages and you can get everything that you would like. 00:14:00And...there are things like muggings and robberies and things like that, but fortunately I did not experience any of those, so I had reasonably good life.

ST: OK. What...OK. So when you moved here, did you ever face prejudice from Americans based on the fact you were Indian or that you were an immigrant?

PT: There wasn't...not much, but...except for maybe one incident that I didn't directly experience any prejudice. I once had a...wanted to rent a house with my friend and we talked to the landlord, he said, "OK, come to my house. Here is 00:15:00the address." And we went there, and then he kind of changed his mind after seeing us. I think part of the problem was that my friend had an accent, and he thought that, OK, he was probably talking to Americans. And he was surprised to see us show up there and he said. "No, we didn't have a house." We told him that we just talked to you, and he said that, "Oh, are you calling me a liar?" and then he yelled at us and throw us out of his lawn.

ST: OK.

PT: I knew that was racist right then. But I just wanted to avoid trouble so I went back.

ST: OK. With that, why did you decide...so after working in New York, how did you end up in Corvallis eventually? What brought you here?

PT: Yeah, after working in New York, I decided that my job was not very fun. I 00:16:00wanted to do something more interesting than I was doing, which was just programming, so I decided to work on my PhD. I went to...I first went to University of Massachussetts at Amherst. I joined their PhD program. But after one year, I decided that...I don't have a good research interest with the professors who were working there. So I moved to, again, Rutgers University which is almost one hour from New York City, where I found a good advisor and I did my PhD there. After couple of years, working with my advisor in Rutgers, my advisor decided to move to Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. And he invited me to come there, so I went with him, in 1986, I believe, to Pittsburgh. So I 00:17:00graduated from Pittsburgh in 1989--

ST: Wait, you graduated from Carnegie Mellon?

PT: No, I got my degree from Rutgers, but I was in the...CMU as a kind of visiting student. I was there, I got paid from Rutgers, but I was working with my advisor in CMU.

ST: So what was the experience like going to school here?

PT: Yeah, it's very different because the school...I found that the courses here are much harder than what I was used to. I could not take more than two courses...I took three courses the first term and I learned that three courses are very hard to do justice. So from the next semester I only took two, and that 00:18:00gave me lot of time to do research and I enjoy doing research. And I mean I graduated in 1989, I applied for various jobs and...I got an offer from Corvallis...and I visited here and I liked the place. And I also was going to get another job in industry, but I wanted to work in a university, so I decided to come.

ST: So what was Corvallis like when you first moved here?

PT: I think that Corvallis...they are...at that time was probably a little less populated. And...they didn't even have an Indian restaurant at that time. They didn't have an Indian grocery store. But otherwise, it's kind of similar. So we have...maybe fewer students, but there are...there's a big enough community. 00:19:00There are lots of Indians even at that time. It's a very small Indian community compared to now. But they used to be pretty close and I was kind of impressed with how nicely the...both the students and the faculty and other community people are working together.

ST: OK. What was the Indian community like at the time you moved here?

PT: Yeah, so, I think I already answered a little bit. So the Indian community is a little bit smaller. But they are also very active in terms of celebrating functions and trying to involve the students. For example, there was an India assocation and some of the community members are also participating in the association events. And they had an election and all the community Indians are 00:20:00also there at the election.

ST: OK. So how has the Indian community changed from then till now?

PT: I think the kids have grown up. So...we did not have lot of Indian kids who were raised here at that time. Now there are more of them so there is a mix of generations, who...people who came very early, who are older, whose kids grew up here, got married, and had kids themselves. So in that sense there is a more diverse population. There are also people from possibly different parts of the country. And there are more people...and there are people from university and 00:21:00also other people who worked in HP used to be the dominant thing. But now there are also other software people who work in smaller companies.

ST: OK. So what did you like about Corvallis when you moved here and what were some of the challenges of living in Corvallis?

PT: I liked the fact that it's a small town. That you can walk around. I did not buy a car until 1993, so that was about four years. I just managed to walk and bike and it was very nice that way. There was no crime, there was no need for a car. Because it's a small town, you basically know lot of people. It's basically very nice life because you can go walk in the park without effort. I used to 00:22:00enjoy hiking and I still do.

ST: What were some of the challenges of living in Corvallis?

PT: Yeah, the challenges are that...again, it stems from the fact that it is a small town. And if people who would probably like to have more active nightlife for example, it may be disappointing. And there are no things like Broadway shows, lot of entertainment other than going to a movie. That may be limiting to...especially, people who are young and unmarried. Yeah, I did not feel it that much. But if you're not very busy at work, then it's possible that you 00:23:00might get bored.

ST: OK. So how has Corvallis changed from then till now as a whole?

PT: Yeah, Corvallis has probably not changed that much in character, but...maybe there are...there are definitely more people. More houses. There is a little bit more of everything. But fundamentally, it's almost the same. The population has grown a little bit. And like any other place, the technology has kind of taken over. Now you see lot of people walking around with smartphones and things like that. And that's not probably very unique to Corvallis. Otherwise, Corvallis is 00:24:00kind of...I feel it's the same thing.

ST: How do you think the country has changed from how it was when you first arrived?

PT: Yeah, the country has changed in the sense that it has become much more diverse. It's also...I guess 9/11 events have changed the country in a very significant way. Now there is a lot more apprehension about...others, the minorities, and there is also...growing number of minorities, which probably is creating a lot of tension between people who are afraid of minorities and people who are minorities themselves and who are sympathetic to other kinds of people. On the positive side, electing Obama is something that I would not have guessed 00:25:00would happen so quickly. I remember one of my friends commented that someone who is called Dukakis would never be U.S. president. He would have been really surprised that somebody called Obama became president.

ST: OK. So when did you become a U.S. citizen and how was it like becoming a citizen and voting for the first time?

PT: Yeah...I became a citizen in...

ST: I remember.

PT: Where?

ST: 2004. I remember going.

PT: Thank you. Yeah, that's when I became the U.S. citizen. We did not really feel the need for a long time because we were doing fine without being 00:26:00residents--without being citizens. Yeah, we...I guess, the only thing that would really matter is that we could not vote. And it was nice being able to vote. I mean...I think we voted for Clinton...the first year that we became...yeah.

ST: Did Clinton run? 2008?

PT: It was 2004. I--no. Yeah, no, sorry, yeah, that's not Clinton.

ST: No, you didn't vote in the 2004--

PT: Yeah, yeah, that's true. We probably voted for Kerry.

ST: No, but it was after the Kerry election.

PT: 2004?

ST: Yeah, because you definitely became citizens--you remember voting for Kerry? I thought it was later.

PT: No, Kerry was in 2004, right?

ST: Yeah. Oh, you voted in that election?

PT: Yeah.

ST: Oh, OK.

PT: Yeah, we voted at least one election with Bush and Kerry. We didn't vote in Bush-Gore which was 2000 election.

ST: So what made you want to become citizens?

PT: Oh, basically the...our green card was expiring, so we had to do either one or another. Either renew the green card which probably could not have been done, that was the last time. So we had to get the citizenship.

ST: Oh, OK. OK. So what change or impact do you think you had in terms of your work or community involvement or anything like that?

PT: Can you repeat the question?

ST: What change or impact do you think you had in terms of work or something 00:28:00special you think you accomplished?

PT: Yeah, so I guess my proudest accomplishment is really to graduate students who could then go on and become professors. I had two of my students become professors. Maybe the only other achievement I can say is just...my research and teaching. I...I do research in artificial intelligence and we did some interesting research that I'm proud of and that's a collaboration with other people. I enjoyed collaborating with my students and my colleagues.

ST: OK. Do you want to talk about any of your research?

PT: Well, OK. So I work in an area called artificial intelligence. And one of the things we do there is try to develop programs that can learn from experience. So the...the technical kind of thing that we do is to teach a computer how to play a game and show some examples and have the system figure out how to play it. And a lot of what I have done is more theoretical work which is kind of laying foundations of some of the algorithms behind this kind of work. So it's...one might say that...the dream kind of thing would be the computer to be able to learn without someone sitting there and programming 00:30:00it...like for example, Siri or computer that won Jeopardy competition for example and had to be programmed laboriously. But the ideal dream would be to be able to just teach the computer rather than program the computer.

ST: OK. So what moments in either world or American history were most significant in your life or had an impact on you?

PT: Yeah, probably the most significant event in American history during my time is the 9/11 attacks. I can't say it had a huge impact on me, but it definitely had a huge impact on the country's psyche. I think everybody thought America was kind of invincible, but everything changed from that moment on. There is more of 00:31:00a fear and insecurity which is kind of unfortunate. There are also at least hints of xenophobia and suspicion of the foreigners. I haven't personally experienced any of this but it's kind of obvious in the politics today. And of course there is a lot of...reactions against such things and I hope that we will get back to a more stronger and more self-confident vision of America.

ST: OK. So how do you think you were changed by Corvallis or the United States? What do you think your life would have been like if you hadn't come here?

PT: Yeah, definitely, it would be very different if I had not come here or if I had not lived here. I learned that...I was fortunate enough to have great colleagues and great opportunity to do whatever I liked. In terms of research, I had great students. I was able to learn from other people and try to do my best which would have been difficult if not impossible in India. Life is much tougher in India. One has to be much more hardworking and more dedicated to work to achieve the same results from India because the environment is not conducive to 00:33:00just doing productive research because there are a lot of things which one needs to spend time on. So I'm very lucky in the sense I was given lot of opportunities and... including great people I had a chance to work with. That would not have been possible without being here.

ST: OK. How do you think you were personally changed by living in Corvallis or the U.S.?

PT: I was exposed to more...diverse backgrounds. I could learn about people from different countries. And because computer science and electrical engineering at least at the graduate level is very diverse, we had to deal with different kinds 00:34:00of people, people of different capabilities and genders and ethnicities. All that had influence on me. I learned better how to talk to people of different backgrounds, not be afraid of people with different cultures. So I think I really enjoyed and learned a lot from everybody.

ST: OK. To finish off, what are some of the best memories you've had in Corvallis?

PT: Yeah, I think the best memories of I had was giving...having my kids, like you and Soumya. That is something that is a very joyful event. Other than that, I enjoyed...having...for example, my students graduate. That is a very pleasant experience. And whenever I had grants, I enjoyed getting grants and doing research that was kind of getting papers accepted. Yeah, those are the events that are not like...one short things but they happen over time. So...we are kind of...everyday experiences which are pleasant, small, joyous.

ST: So is there anything else you want to share?

PT: No, I think Corvallis is a great place because of it's diversity. And...everybody is so welcoming and nice and I hope that it remains that way for a long time.