Rare Distinction for UA Engineering Regents Professor
Regents' Professor Chandrakant S. Desai of the civil engineering and engineering mechanics department has been made a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Distinguished ASCE members are recognized for their eminence and worldwide reputation of outstanding leadership and research activities in engineering, and are elected by the ASCE board of directors.
The honor is second only to becoming ASCE president. Fewer than 200 of ASCE's 146,000 living members have been made distinguished members, and only 601 have been similarly honored in the 159 years since the society was founded.
"I am happy to be recognized with such an honor," said Desai, who will be formally inducted as a distinguished member Oct. 20 at ASCE's 141st annual conference in Memphis, Tenn. "This honor is also a tribute to many interdisciplinary contributions made by the civil engineering and engineering mechanics department at the UA," Desai said.
Major Influence
Specifically, Desai is being honored for his seminal contributions to the field of interdisciplinary geomechanics. Particular note was made of his innovative approaches to modeling and computational mechanics, and his development of new lab test devices. The honor also recognizes his work in establishing an international association and two international journals, and for educating prominent civil engineers.
Desai is regarded as an outstanding teacher at all levels. In addition to the many graduate students he has advised, he has participated in and promoted special mentoring programs for undergraduates and high school students. He has received a number of awards for his dedication to and excellence in teaching.
During his almost 30 years at UA, Desai has advised about 50 doctoral and 50 master's students, and his students have gone on to be highly successful in the public and private sectors. Of particular note are the many PhD students he has advised who have gone on to teaching positions worldwide and who have become eminent university chaired professors and administrators.
Examples include 1982 PhD graduate Musharraf Zaman, chaired professor and associate dean for research at the University of Oklahoma's School of Civil Engineering & Environmental Science; and 1991 PhD graduate Dinesh Katti, a professor in the department of civil engineering at North Dakota State University, who has served as associate dean of research and department chairman.
A Life of Service
Desai shares his considerable experience with other faculty members. "I have enjoyed collaboration in research and use of the unique laboratory facilities with younger members and colleagues at the UA," he said. He served as head of the civil engineering and engineering mechanics department from 1987 to 1991.
Desai is an innovative and visionary leader in research, and according to the Science Citation Index, he is among the most highly cited civil engineers and geomechanics researchers in the world. His outstanding and original contributions earned him in 1989 the title of Regents' Professor at the University of Arizona.
A hallmark of Desai's work over the years, which continues to this day, is his seminal contribution in research and teaching, and professional service in establishing conferences and technical journals that underpin many engineering disciplines. Through his publications -- about 20 authored and edited books, about 20 chapters in books edited by others, and more than 310 journal and conference articles -- he has created a substantial body of work to the benefit of the engineering profession. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Geomechanics, and has put in many years as chief editor of the International Journal of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics. Desai also established the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, and its triennial conference.
Over the years, Desai has received much national and international recognition, recently including the 2009 Nathan Newmark Medal awarded by the Structural Engineering Institute and Engineering Mechanics Institute, and the 2007 Karl Terzaghi Award by the Geo-Institute of the ASCE. Desai is unique among his peers in receiving such ASCE awards, some of the most prestigious the ASCE can confer.