Friday, October 17, 2014

My Sabbatical

My Sabbatical- 2003: Dr. M Muthusubramanyam, MASCE, Ph.D. (Purdue), M.S. (Northwestern), M. Tech. (IIT-Kgp), B. E.
   

Though I was disappointed when my Alma mater (College of Engineering, Guindy/Anna University; Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur)  and my previous employer (School of Architecture and Planning/Anna University) either did not respond or responded belatedly expressing their inability to accommodate me, I was overwhelmed by the response and invitations I got from several leading universities where I had no prior contacts, including one from Auckland, New Zealand!

I finally split my program among the three institutions as detailed below, spending about six weeks in each, besides visiting several others.  I spent most of my time giving invited lectures on my recent project (Highway Subsurface Drainage Construction), on the current project of Computer Graphics, or about engineering education in the United States.

In all the institutes I visited, I was impressed by the educational facilities, infrastructure and the research accomplishments.

Here, I have attempted to mention some of the highlights of my visits, together with  links to other pages where more details and pictures can be viewed.

The first Institute to extend their welcome was the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, (IIT-K)  India where I was given a Visiting Faculty position for three months.  However, I spent with IIT-Kanpur from March 4 to April 16.  My six weeks at IIT-K were very educative.  I participated in activities ranging from accompanying freshmen class on their field visit to see some civil engineering projects, through reviewing the senior design projects to lecturing and giving research consultations to graduate students.  It was here that I could sit and develop about 50% of my Computer Graphics Applications.  I have so far identified about a dozen civil engineering design applications from the sub-disciplines of transportation engineering, traffic engineering, geotechnical engineering, surveying and structural engineering, and have developed instructional material on how to solve these graphically, using computer graphics.  I am looking for more application possibilities.  I shall gladly send my powerpoint presentation on the Computer Application Examples if you contact me by email at professor_muthu@yahoo.com.

On my travel south from IIT-K, I visited the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) where I earned my first Masters in Regional Planning, the Gayathri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering (GVPCOE), Vishakapatnam, and the National Institute of Technology, (NIT) Warangal. 

I was visiting 
IIT-Kgp after exactly 40 years of my graduation.  I spent two days visiting the Transportation Engineering faculty.  I had a very good discussion with Dr. Pandey, Professor of Tranaportaion Engineering, as well as some graduate research scholars here.
I enjoyed my two days visit at GVPCOE, when I had the opportunity to see some of the senior design projects, and visiting with the top administration and faculty.  I found there is a growing interest among current generation there to pursue undergraduate engineering education in the US. 
I visited NIT upon invitation by the Head of the Civil Engineering Department there, who happens to be one of my former students when I taught in Chennai in the early 60s!

At Bangalore University, I was attached to the Centre for Transportation Studies (CENTRANS).  Besides giving guest lectures to Civil Engineering class, I had several meetings with the research scholars.  My visit to Bangalore University was completed with my being honored as a Guest of Honor in the Civil Day Activities.  I addressed the gathering and stressed the value of participating in ASCE Chapter activities and the importance of developing team spirit and professionalism. 

At Crescent Engineering College, I gave a series of four lectures to the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Class.  I was also requested to address the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Students Club of this college, as a part of the inauguration of their activities for 2003-2004.  

I was invited by the United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI) to give a lecture on Engineering Education in the United States on Feb. 28, 2003.  

Other Colleges/Organizations where I visited and/or gave invited talks:

1. 
BMS College, Bangalore
2. 
R.V. College, Bangalore
3. 
Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research (Deemed University), Chennai
4. 
Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore
5. 
Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam
6. 
Jaya Engineering College, Thiruninravur
7. 
Indian Geotechnical Society, Chennai Chapter        
8. 
Highway Research Station, Chennai
9.  Indian Society of Instrumentation Engineers, Chennai Chapter


Monday, May 3, 2010

About M Muthusubramanyam

I and my wife Veda have been residents of Roswell, GA, USA since mid-2005 after I retired as Professor of Civil Engineering, at Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, Alabama. I hail from India, migrated to the USA in 1977, and have lived in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oregon, Texas, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and Alabama (in that order) before moving to Georgia.

My daughter lives in Roswell, with her husband and two children. My son is married and lives in Oregon with his wife and a son.

We are first-generation immigrants; all our folks are still in India.

My first and only book to be published is "Where there is a will ....".  I started as a series of blog entries in 2006 at the request of my daughter-in-law.  Many of my friends, relatives, and colleagues thought and expressed the idea that it would be a good idea to publish it as a book. My professional life experience was like a roller coaster.  I felt the knowledge of how I pursued my dream with perseverance would be of benefit to persons starting their careers, especially the new immigrants from abroad. 

This book is autobiographical by nature, but the emphasis is on my journey from the age of 39  to 65.


M Muthusubramanyam  

About Me

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I and my wife Veda are residents of Roswell, GA, USA since mid 2005 after me retiring as Professor of Civil Engineering, Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, Alabama. I hail from India, migrated to USA in 1977, and have lived in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oregon, Texas, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Alabama (in that order) before moving to Georgia. My daughter lives in Roswell, with her husband and two children aged 7 and 4. My son is married and lives in Oregon with his wife and a son. We are first generation immigrants; all our folks are still in India. M Muthusubramanyam Dec, 2010 (Written: December 2010)

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