A letter received this week from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) brought an unexpected and deeply emotional moment for the family of a late MIT alumnus.
Addressed to his father, the letter revealed that an MIT graduate and former NASA scientist had made a donation to the MIT Class of 2011 Scholarship Fund in Basant Vivek Sagar’s memory.
The rare and profoundly moving gesture served as a reminder that Basant’s influence at MIT endured long after his passing in 2017.
Who was Basant Vivek Sagar?
Sagar was an Indian‑born student and scholar whose remarkable achievements and legacy continue to be honoured years after his untimely passing.
He was from Bihar and overcame significant educational and economic barriers to become one of the very few from his region to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, one of the world’s most prestigious technical universities.
A full scholarship enabled him to pursue his undergraduate studies there, making him the first, and at the time, the only person from present‑day Bihar to achieve this milestone, according to Dexterity Global.org
Basant’s talents and promise were recognised internationally from a young age. At just 14, he was selected as a student scientist by NASA, an achievement that also earned him honorary membership in the Planetary Society. During his formative years, he self‑taught advanced mathematics and science, steadily rising to global academic prominence, a journey that served as inspiration for many young people in India and abroad, as per Dexterity Global.org
After graduating in 2011, Basant worked in fields ranging from science to technology and research. The then‑President of MIT acknowledged the depth of his impact on the Institute and its people after his passing , words that have resonated with his family and the broader academic community.
Family expresses ‘profound gratitude’
Basant’s brother took to X to express profound gratitude. “My sister, my father and I share this with profound gratitude to MIT and to the super human beings MIT produces. Like most, I am still in awe of bhaiya and the countless lives he touched,” his brother wrote online.
My father received a letter from @MIT Boston this week sharing that an MIT alum (former @NASA scientist) has donated to the MIT Class of 2011 Scholarship Fund in memory of my late brother, Basant Vivek Sagar, who graduated from MIT in 2011.
— Sharad Vivek Sagar (@SharadSagar) December 19, 2025
This is extremely rare and deeply… pic.twitter.com/kicgRS0T42
The family shared that such memorial donations are uncommon, particularly when made by fellow alumni years after graduation, underscoring the depth of impact Basant had on those around him.
