Purdue News
Purdue NewsNovember 7, 1997
Kumares C. Sinha, director of the Joint Highway Transportation Program and head of transportation and infrastructure systems in the School of Civil Engineering, has been named the first Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering.
"A distinguished professorship recognizes outstanding performance in teaching, research and service, and it is the ultimate peer recognition for faculty," said Robert L. Ringel, executive vice president for academic affairs. Purdue now has 40 distinguished professors.
Edgar and Hedwig Olson, West Lafayette , established an endowment for the civil engineering professorship. Edgar Olson, who received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Purdue in 1951, is chairman of the board and past president and owner of Kettelhut Construction Inc., Lafayette. He also is a past chairman of the Purdue President's Council. Hedwig Olson also is a Purdue graduate, receiving her master's degree in bacteriology in 1954.
Sinha received his doctorate in transportation engineering from the University of Connecticut and has been on the Purdue faculty since 1974. He was a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980. He is internationally known for his work in transportation systems analysis and evaluation, infrastructure economics and management, and urban planning and policy analysis.
Sinha is particularly credited for being a pioneer researcher in the area of maintenance of transportation facilities. His research has addressed such issues as trade-off relationships between maintenance and reconstruction, effectiveness of various maintenance activities, optimal level of maintenance, and user cost responsibilities for rehabilitation and maintenance. His research and professional work have had significant influence on the current research and understanding of transportation infrastructure management in the United States and abroad.
Sinha has developed and taught several graduate and undergraduate courses at Purdue and has supervised more than 150 graduate student and undergraduate research projects. He has written or co-written more than 300 technical publications and has received numerous awards for his technical contributions. He also has been active in transferring technologies in less developed countries through his work with the World Bank and other international organizations.
Sinha also oversees the Joint Transportation Research Program, a multimillion dollar cooperative research program between Purdue and the Indiana. The state established the program in 1937 to conduct research and extension activities in highway transportation, including the study of highway materials; the economics of highway design, construction and maintenance; and traffic safety issues. The program also has expanded to include research on nonhighway systems.
The trustees also approved a new associate degree in building construction management for Purdue North Central at Westville.
Graduates will be trained in various technological applications in entry-level project planning, design and management positions in the building construction industry. In addition to technical core courses, students will complete communications, composition, and mathematical and physical science to prepare them to progress in their employment or continue their studies to earn a bachelor's degree in construction management or a related field.
Source: Kumares Sinha, (765) 494-2211
Writer: Amanda Siegfried, (765) 494-4709; e-mail, amanda_siegfried@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A color photograph of Kumares Sinha is available from the Purdue News Service.
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