A computer scientist, Motwani was an expert in data mining — using complex computer algorithms to dig through vast data bases to find nuggets of useful information.
As a professor at Stanford University, Motwani mentored two special students: Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Motwani, Page, and Brin co-authored a paper about a data-mining project to rank the usefulness of pages on the World Wide Web, which enabled the creation of “a novel search engine called Google.” Google co-founder Brin said “Today, whenever you use a piece of technology, there is a good chance a little bit of Rajeev Motwani is behind it.” Motwani was found in his backyard pool, the apparent victim of an accidental drowning, on June 6. He was 47.