Binoy Varughese
P-8 International Indigenous Program Manager, Boeing Defense, Space & Security. '93 Graduate
As Binoy Varughese stared out the window of the airplane bringing him from a small town in India to a new life in America, his life's dream took shape: to become an aerospace engineer and understand the function of an aircraft. "I wondered how such a mass could take off and fly so smoothly, and how it was possible that 300 passengers could breathe and move normally at 35,000 ft above ground."
Shorty after touching down on the runway, Varughese, who emigrated with his parents and brother, took his first step toward finding the answers by enrolling at RCC to learn English. Six years later, with a bachelor's and master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute under his belt, Boeing Commercial Airplanes offered him a job.
Varughese recalls his time at the College, "Starting a new life in this country was extremely hard! I remember the first day going to RCC to talk to the financial aid advisor about my dream. Everyone at the College encouraged me." He still keeps in touch with Sheila Goldstein, Coordinator of English Skills and Professor of English as a Second Language, who remembers Binoy as always being on time for an 8:20 a.m. class. "Most of all, he took the advice that was given in response to his papers."
Varughese joined Boeing in 1997 and worked in a number of Boeing organizations, including Engineering, Business Development, and Marketing. Varughese also teaches at Green River Community College, where he interacts with several students with backgrounds similar to his. "I know what I went through when I started my life in the U.S. My teaching job is a way of giving back all the blessings I received."
A lifelong learner, Varughese also earned a master's degree in Airline Management from Embry-Riddle and a Master of Business Administration from Seattle University. He has completed his PhD in Air Transport Management from Cranfield University in England. He is the author of several papers and holds two patents, awarded in 2003, for a system method and a computer program for accessing electronic information. Most recently, he won the "2007 Boeing Company Special Invention Award."
Varughese lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Neena, a physician from India, and their son, Jonathan.
