Dr. Swamy N. Kandadai , devoted husband, father, brother, uncle, and grandfather, passed away peacefully on Friday, February 20, 2026, surrounded by his family. Born in Andhra Pradesh, India and overcoming many hardships, he completed his PhD in Chemistry to begin his science career at Nagpur University in Nagpur, India. After being awarded the National Young Scientist Award by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he transferred to a faculty position at Hyderabad University. He married his wife in 1974, and the two traveled to London, England for a research fellowship before returning to India. They immigrated to the United States in 1980, where he began another research fellowship at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. In 1985, he then joined IBM in Kingston, NY as a computational chemist, where the family lived for 20 years. Since 2008, they have been living in Fishkill, NY, where he continued to work for IBM in Poughkeepsie until his retirement in 2018.

Dr. Kandadai was a joyful person, with a constant smile on his face, and loved good jokes. He enjoyed his daily walks with his neighbors. He was an excellent gardener with a bountiful vegetable garden that supplied almost all their produce for the year. He found joy in gardening, home repairs, and spending time with his family and friends, for whom he loved making homemade pizza. A doting grandfather to his only grandson, he also loved his grand-dogs. He was fiercely independent, and enjoyed daily yoga and exercise. He was an active member of the Hindu Samaj of Wappingers Falls and the Hudson Valley Indian Cultural Association, both of which provided him with long-term friendships which helped form a local extended family.

He is survived by his loving wife and partner of 52 years, Radha, his daughter Padma Kandadai and her husband Saumit Pande, of Cambridge, MA, his son Venkatesh Kandadai and his wife, Laura Kandadai of Philadelphia, his grandson, Aditya, and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the ALS Association, I Am ALS, or to your local Hospice Services in his memory.