TRIBUTE TO LATE PROF

	Thomasonian RUAA NEWS LETTER
Special Issue	Editor : A.K. Mathur	Febuary 2001
RUAA Executive Committee 2000-2001 Er. H.S. Agrawal President Prof. D.V. Singh Working President Prof. R.N. Agrawal Vice President Prof. A.K. Mathur Honorary Secretary Dr. Renu Bhargava Joint Secretary	Prof. N.C. Nigam - A Doyen of Technical Education passes away
	Condolence Message
Members Prof. V.K. Goel Prof. S.C. Handa Dr. Arun Kumar Er. R.C. Sharma Ar. Divya Kush Dr. S.K. Ghosh Dr. Vipul Prakash Er. Anurag Agarwal Col. H.B. Karki(Nepal) Editorial Board Prof. Prem Krishna Prof. A.K. Mathur Dr. Vipul Prakash Dr. S.K. Ghosh	I am deeply grieved to learn the sad news of passing away of Prof. N.C. Nigam, Chairman, AICTE, former Vice Chancellor, University of Roorkee, Vice Chancellor, Goa University, Director, IIT, Delhi, on 6th Feb. 2001 at New Delhi. The news of his untimely demise, has plunged the entire Roorkee University and its alumni, into deep gloom. He was an outstanding alumnus of 1958 batch with brilliant achievements throughout his career. He died in harness while performing duties in the service of the Nation till the very last hour on the last day. His contributions to the various Institutions and University of Roorkee in particular, were very significant and far reaching and will be long remembered. The void created by his passing away can not be filled. I, in my personal capacity as well as President of Roorkee University Alumni Association, offer solemn condolences to the bereaved family at this difficult hour of their grief and pray to Almighty god that the departed soul may rest in peace. H.S. Agrawal	With profound grief I learnt about the untimely and unexpected demise of Prof. Navin C. Nigam, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education and former Vice Chancellor of University of Roorkee. Prof. Nigam was a renowned Engineer, an able administrator and an illustrious Alumnus of the University fo Roorkee. His passing away has created a great void in the area of technical education in which he was playing an active and distinguished role. The Roorkee University community, which holds Prof. Nigam in high esteem. feels a deep sense of loss. I have known Prof. Nigam since 1955, our student days. I have had the pleasure of associations with him for the last fortysix years which I found academically and professionally very enriching and enjoyable. I, therefore, have a very deep feeling of a personal loss. On behalf of the University of Roorkee, the Roorkee University Alumni Association and on my personal behalf, we offer our heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family of Prof. Nigam. May his noble soul rest in peace. D.V. Singh

Prof. N.C. Nigam, an eminent educationist, researcher, academician and a renowed administrator passed away on Feb 6th, 2001 in New Delhi. A doyen of Structural and Earthquake Engineering, Prof. N.C. Nigam was a rare combination of a world renowed academician and extremely popular administrator. He was an outstanding alumnus of 1958 batch with a brilliant career. His death in harness while performing duties in the service of nation has created a void which can never be filled.

Prof. Nigam was born on Jan. 1st, 1937. After obtaining his B.E. Degree in Civil Engineering in 1958, he obtained his Master's Degree in Engineering Mechanics from Purdue University, U.S.A. in 1964 and Ph.D. Degree from California Institute of Technology, U.S.A. in 1967.

During the period 1969-82, Dr. Nigam was a member of the faculty in the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at I.I.T. Kanpur. He held the posts of Head of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Dean, Research and Development and Deputy Director at I.I.T. Kanpur. Dr. Nigam was the Founder Director of Thapar Corporate R&D Centre, and the first Director of Thapar Institute, Patiala (1982-89). During 1989-94, he served as the Director, I.I.T., Delhi. He was the Vice Chancellor of Goa University during 1995-96.

Dr. Nigam was the Chairman of the Research Council of the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, and a member of the Governing Bodies of CSIR, TIFAC, and ERNET - India. He was a member of the Central Board of Railway Research, India. He was the President of the Association of Indian Universities during 1997, President of Indian Society of Earthquake Technology during 1997-98, and Vice President, Indian National Academy of Engineering during 1994-98.

Dr. Nigam received the Wisitex-92 Award for his contributions towards application of Science and Technology to national development, Institution of Engineers (India) recognised him for eminence and contribution to engineering profession at the 13th Engineering Congress in 1999. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award - 1991 of the California Institute of Technology.

He was the Vice Chancellor of University of Roorkee for three years from Oct. 1996 to 1999 and was re-appointed for the second term in 1999, however within few months he was elevated as the Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education, New Delhi., where he served till the last.

He was instrumental in streamlining the working of administrative and academic functions of Roorkee University. He took number of innovative steps, in restructuring the Undergraduate and Postgraduate academic programmes, introduction of new programmes like M.B.A., M.C.A. and M.Des.,

He visualised and created Vision 2020 document and spelt the following mission for the University:

"Build on the glorious traditions of the past 150 years of service to the nation and pursue the goal of remaining one of the leading centres of teaching, research and extension in Engineering and Technology through total commitment to excellence in every endeavour. Preserve the tradition of instilling our students with the strength of character, self-confidence, and leadership in engineering management".

The University is currently busy in implementing the various recommendations proposed in VISION 2020.

His family includes Mrs. Shashi Nigam (Wife), a Postgraduate in Psychology from Lucknow University. She was the Chairperson of "Hiteshi Shiksha Kendra, Kanpur and President of "School for Deaf, Roorkee". Tanya (Daughter) - a Physics Graduate and Ph.D. in Micro Electronics from Belgium. Presently working in Bell Labs New Jersey , USA. Interested in Bharatnatyam and Odissi Dance. Amiya (Son) - a Mathematics Graduate and Masters in Computer Application. M.B.A. from University of Applied Science, Germany. Presently working with Arthur Anderson Business Consulting, Germany. A keen sportsman. Peter (Son-in-law) - Graduate in Electrical Engg. from Belgium. Currently pursuing Ph.D. at Princeton, U.S.A.. An avid cyclist & painter. Minal (daughter -in-law) - Graduate in Computer Engineering from Pune University, currently working with Arthur Anderson Business Consulting, Germany.

Welcoming President of India on the occasion of release of Postage Stamp to commemorate the Sesquicentennial Year