Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has proudly announced the launch of Institute Chair Professorship in respect and remembrance of the late Professor Anand Swarup Arya.
1 September 2020, today, marks the first death anniversary of Professor Anand Swarup Arya.
The launch of the Institute Chair Professorship has been in support of the financial support provided by Mrs. Kaushalya Devi Arya, his wife, and children Arun, Poonam, Anjali, and Anshuli.
The idea is to encourage future generations with the Dr. Arya’s professional contributions.
Born on 13 June 1931, Dr. Arya hailed from village Ambehta in the Saharanpur District of the State of Uttar Pradesh in India.
After finishing his basic education, he joined the University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee) and obtained B.E. (Civil engineering) in 1953 and M.E. (Structural Engineering) in 1954.
Later, he became a part of the university as a faculty, and later moved on to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA in 1959 where he obtained his Doctoral degree in 1961.
Dr. Arya came back to the university after completing his Ph.D. He gained prominence for his work of establishing an interdisciplinary department of Earthquake Engineering. This helped him move to the position of Head of Earthquake Engineering Department in 1971, became Pro-Vice-Chancellor in 1988 and continued to work well beyond his superannuation in 1989 as an Emeritus Professor.
He left for the heavenly abode at the age of 88. He was known for contributing to the nation actively till his last stage of life.
The world of engineering acknowledges Professor Arya as a raraavis whose important contributions in the fields of structural engineering, earthquake engineering and disaster mitigation and management gained him the title of a legendary person in his lifetime.
He served IIT Roorkee for 36 years and gained the reputation as a teacher par excellence.
His students will always remember him for the vital lessons in Dynamic Analysis and Design of Structures ranging from small to multi-storeyed buildings, arched and shell structures, bridges, dams and atomic power plants.
IIT Roorkee will celebrate Dr. Arya’s memories and contributions always. Anand Swarup Arya Institute Chair Professorship will encourage generations of faculty and students to come.
The Chair Professorship announcement event was made through video-conferencing and it was attended by his family members, the faculty of IIT Roorkee, his hundreds of admirers, colleagues, professionals and students all over the world.
