Nepalese grad student sees better future for homeland through Rice experience

BY DWIGHT DANIELS
Special to the Rice News

Suman Khatiwada sees himself as more than a Ph.D. candidate in engineering at Rice -- he’s an ambassador to the U.S. from Nepal.

Almost every day he finds himself educating people about his tiny South Asian homeland, describing the political strife, poverty and stunning geography of the landlocked nation between China and India.

“The most refreshing thing about being here -- especially being on the Rice campus -- is the friendliness of the people. They want to understand the world and really value people from other nations. My experience here has generated great respect for the vision of America,” he said.

Khatiwada knows he is among a fortunate few from Nepal who get the chance to study abroad and with that comes responsibilities. “An underdeveloped country like mine desperately needs educated and experienced people to do what I am doing and at some point return to give something back to their motherland,” he said.

While Nepal remains among the poorest and least-developed countries in the world -- as much as a third of its population lives in poverty -- it has worked in recent years to develop its tourist economy, thanks to the presence of a few of the world’s tallest peaks drawing visitors. Yet it remains technologically backward, lacking in infrastructure and plagued by political instability.

Khatiwada can’t do much about that for now except study and work hard at Rice in the demanding discipline of materials science.

“What I would eventually like to do is to teach young people in Nepal about science and engineering and to try to shape progress and development in all fronts of society there,” he said. “I believe doing that can really make a huge difference in the lives of my people.”

Khatiwada credits his parents for his determination to achieve. “My father and mother lifted themselves up through hard work from very early in their lives. They are determined to see their children do well,” he said. “I have a great desire to pay my parents back, if not through money, at least through the satisfaction that their child has achieved something meaningful.”

He remains close to his family through phone calls and e-mail. “I have to call my mother at least twice a week or she worries,” he said, flashing an engaging smile. “Yes, it’s frustrating to be away from my family for such a long time. I’ve missed lots of festivals, celebrations and weddings. But, at the end of the day, I know the sacrifice will be worth it.”

--Dwight Daniels is a science writer at Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering.