LOS ANGELES: Dr Jitendra K. Mehta, founder of Group M Engineers in Los Angeles, has just established a chair for over 120K at IIT Mumbai. The Chair is in Structural Engineering and will benefit that department and institution.
Mr Mehta selected IIT-Mumbai because this is where he graduated from in 1963. After that Jitu attended University of California at Berkeley and obtained an M.S. degree in structural engineering in January 1965.
The exact name of the chair at IIT Mumbai is Jitendra K. & Meena J. Mehta Chair Professor of Structural Engineering. It will initiate new academic programs and consolidate existing programs. It will initiate and provide expert guidance in R&D programs supported by government agencies and by industry. It will improve interaction with industry through consultancy work and continuing education programs.
According to the terms, IIT Mumbai shall identify a suitable person from within IIT Mumbai or from outside, for appointment to the Chair Professorship in accordance with the procedures laid down by the Board of Governors of IIT Mumbai.
Relevant Experience
Mr Mehta has over 40 years of structural engineering experience in California. It covers both commercial and residential facilities of many different types. His residential design experience ranges from single-family homes to multi-story apartments over concrete parking structures, and mixed-use buildings.
His commercial design experience includes shopping centers, offices and large industrial buildings. He has been responsible for the design of more than 2,000 buildings consisting of concrete, post-tensioned concrete, wood, and steel construction. Mr. Mehta has extensive experience in the field of retrofitting existing structures, investigation, and expert testimony.
In the year 1992 Jitu purchased a vacant lot in Chatsworth, Calif. – a Los Angeles suburb – located about 30 miles north-west of downtown Los Angeles and designed and built his dream home.
Jitu has been very active locally in promoting Indian cultural activities such as inviting Indian artisans – poets, authors, musicians, to his home and promoted their work by holding small in-house concerts. Also, in 1981 Jitu was instrumental in starting a Gujarati Association, now known as San Fernando Valley Gujarati Association.
In 1999, Jitu along with some of his friends helped establish an endowment at UCLA known as Sardar Patel Award Association which presents a yearly cash award of $ 10,000.00 to the best doctoral dissertation on India at all U.S. universities. The Ph. D. dissertations are reviewed by a team of UCLA professors who are proficient their respective fields. Currently Jitu serves as the president of Sardar Patel Award Association.
In 1968 Jitu Married Meena Chokhawala, a niece of then education minister of the State of Gujarat and a former mayor of Surat. They have three children – Manish, Minal and Jatin.
India Post News Service
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