Indian American alumni of the University of Maine, Rajendra “Raj” Singh and Neera Singh have pledged $3.5 million to support scholarships for Maine students and to establish the Singh Chair in Applied Innovation.

The announcement was made on May 13, 2025, by University of Maine Foundation President and CEO Jeff Mills during the Foundation’s annual luncheon honoring members of the Charles F. Allen Society. The Society recognizes individuals and families who have committed to supporting the Foundation through their estate plans.

“Raj and Neera are insightful philanthropists and have been working with foundation Senior Director Pat Cummings to develop a plan to meet their philanthropic goals to support excellence in the Maine College of Engineering and Computing,” Mills said. “We are happy to have the Singhs here as honored guests to publicly thank them for their thoughtful generosity.”

According to the university, $2.2 million of the pledge will endow the Rajendra Singh and Neera Singh Family Scholarship. This scholarship will support students enrolled in the Maine College of Engineering and Computing, with a preference for graduates of Maine high schools who demonstrate academic merit and financial need. Recipients will be recognized as Singh Scholars.

The remaining $1.3 million will establish the Rajendra Singh and Neera Singh Family Chair in Applied Innovation. The position is designed to enhance curriculum across disciplines in both traditional and emerging areas, equipping students to bridge innovation and commercialization.

“The University of Maine granted us scholarships to pursue graduate school, which helped us to come to the United States,” said Neera Singh. “UMaine people introduced us to this great country of ours. Maine has a very special place in our hearts.”

“Raj and Neera Singh are visionary leaders, creative innovators and generous benefactors,” said Joan Ferrini-Mundy, president of the University of Maine and its regional campus in Machias. “Their pioneering work in the telecommunications industry helped revolutionize wireless cellular technology worldwide. The Singhs’ gift reflects their deep commitment to expanding access to high-quality, transformative education and research at their alma mater.”

The Singh Chair is established in honor of John “Vet” Vetelino, emeritus professor of electrical and computer engineering, who played a key role in recruiting graduate students from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur to UMaine. Vetelino has advised more than 60 master’s and doctoral students and secured over $25 million in science and education research funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and other organizations. He also received 25 NSF education grants supporting undergraduate involvement in advanced research. Vetelino was named Distinguished Maine Professor in 2008 and became a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2010.

“Raj and Neera have an extraordinary ability to conceptualize and commercialize new technologies,” said Vetelino. “At the time we recruited them and their peers in the 1970s as graduate students, UMaine was launching our nascent research programs, which led to UMaine’s current status as an R1 research-intensive institution today.” 

Raj Singh earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1975, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from UMaine in 1977, and a Ph.D. in wireless communications from Southern Methodist University in 1979. Neera Singh also graduated from IIT Kanpur with a degree in chemical engineering. She began her graduate studies at UMaine on a scholarship and completed her master’s at Kansas State University, where Raj began his academic career as an associate professor.

The couple later developed software to streamline radio tower interference calculations for cellular networks. This research led to the formation of Lunayach Communications Consultants LLC and, eventually, Tecom Ventures, a Miami-based private investment firm. Internationally recognized in the wireless technology sector, the Singhs received honorary doctorates from UMaine in May 2024. Neera Singh was inducted into the Wireless History Foundation Hall of Fame in 2022.

“I grew up in a small village in [the State of] Rajasthan [in] India,” said Raj Singh. “We had no running water, electricity, television, radio or newspapers. [But] we did have an elementary school that my father started. 

“Maine was the first stop for me in our great country,” he added. “UMaine professors John Vetelino and Steve Mittleman guided me to work with my strengths to conceptualize new ideas and connect the dots. With my education, I went on the journey of life to start many businesses together with my wife, Neera. This would not have been possible without the foundation [that] the University of Maine provided us. We will forever be grateful to Maine.”

“The Singhs treat UMaine students and faculty like family and have remained close with their UMaine mentors and classmates,” said Giovanna Guidoboni, dean of the Maine College of Engineering and Computing. “They value broad access to education for rural students like themselves and applied research and development as a path to uplift society.”

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