Alumni Awards

Alumn WISCONSIN A Rajiv Batra MS’83 into the unknown and cofounded his first company, VitalSigns Software. Within two years, it was acquired by a larger services provider, and soon after, Batra joined Peribit Networks, Inc., as its first employee and vice president of engineering. Peribit Networks, which built cutting-edge WAN (wide-area networks), was acquired by Juniper Networks in 2005. In 2005, Batra cofounded Palo Alto Networks, a multinational cybersecurity company that offers advanced firewalls and other web-security tools. “The good entors I had taught me that if you’re going to do something, you want to be among the best in the world,” he says. “Otherwise, what’s the point of putting in so many hours?” Ten years later, Batra stepped back from an active role with the company to travel with his wife, Ritu, and they’ve visited more than 50 countries. Jeff Green Alumni Award WISCONSIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATIO

Distinguished Alumni Award The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Since 1936, Wisconsin Alumni Association has been presenting the awards to the most prestigious graduates of UW–Madison for their professional achievements, contributions to society, and support of the university.

UWMajor: Computer Sciences Cofounder of Palo Alto Networks

“Providing the best education is the best thing you can do for future generations.” Batra serves on the boards of the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association. He is a past chair of the UW–Madison Computer Sciences Board of Visitors, has sponsored research and a chair, and has made contributions to the new Computer, Data, & Information Sciences building. In recent years, he’s also gotten involved in promoting cybersecurity education by sponsoring scholarships, a professorship, and chairs at his undergraduate alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, and has helped aspiring entrepreneurs from India make connections in Silicon Valley. “Providing the best education is the best thing you can do for future generations,” he says.

Within six months of arriving on the UW campus from India, Rajiv Batra knew he’d made the right choice. “Academically, the UW was miles ahead of what I was learning in India at the time,” he says. “It was a quantum leap in quality of education, with knowledgeable professors and advanced courses.” A welcoming host family and a helpful department also made it easy for Batra to thrive. After 15 short, intense months, he completed his degree and fielded multiple job offers. He moved to Beaverton, Oregon, to join the first computer network team at Tektronix, a manufacturer best known for electronic measurement tools. After stints at Hewlett Packard, Sequent, and SynOptics, Batra gravitated toward smaller, newer tech start-ups. He also met fellow engineers who were becoming entrepreneurs, and in 1996, he took yet another leap

Bryce Richter, University Communications

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