Anand Swarup Arya (1931-2019) was an Indian

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

, known for his expertise in the soil and foundation engineering and earthquake

disaster management Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actua ...

. He is a former chairman of the

Bureau of Indian Standards The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standards Body of India under Department of Consumer affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government ...

(BIS) Committee on Earthquake Engineering and a recipient of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Sasakawa Disaster Prevention Award of 1997. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

awarded him the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, the country’s fourth-highest civilian honour, in 2002.

Biography

Arya was born in a small

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

village of Ambehta in

Saharanpur district Saharanpur district is the northernmost of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state, India. Bordering the states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and close to the foothills of Shivalik range, it lies in the northern part of the Doab ...

on 13 June 1931 and secured his graduate degree (BE) in civil engineering and master's degree (ME) in Structural engineering (1954) from University of Roorkee (present-day

Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT- Roorkee or IIT-R) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India. It was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in 1847 d ...

). Joining the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

in 1959, he secured a doctoral degree in 1961. He started his career as a member of faculty at the University of Roorkee where he served for 36 years till his superannuation 1989. During his career, he rose in ranks to become a professor and the head of the department of Earthquake Engineering and finally, the Pro-vice chancellor of the university. After his retirement, he was made the Emeritus Professor of the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

Legacy

As the head of the faculty of Earthquake engineering at IIT Roorkee, Arya started many courses in the subject at the institution as well as other institutions in India and founded an interdisciplinary Department of Earthquake Engineering in the IIT. His contributions are reported in the development of new methods and structural designs suited for small and larger buildings, bridges, reservoirs and atomic power plants. He has conducted training classes in structural designing in India as well as other countries such as Yugoslavia, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Afghanistan and Nepal. Arya is one of the founders of the Indian Society of Earthquake Technology, along with the renowned engineer,

Jai Krishna Jai Krishna was an eminent civil engineer from India with specialisation in earthquake engineering. He served University of Roorkee for many years and rose to become its Vice Chancellor. Early life Jai Krishna was born on 27 January 1912 ...

. He has guided 71 research scholars in their master's and doctoral studies. He has served as the director of the International Association of Earthquake Engineering during 1977-80 and 1980–84 and has been a consultant to United Nations agencies such as

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

United Nations Human Settlements Programme The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settle ...

(UNCHS) and United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) as well as the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. He is a former chairman of the ''Committee on CED 39 on Earthquake Engineering Codes'' of the

and a sitting member of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA). He has been National Seismic Advisor of the

United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries Poverty reduction, eliminate poverty and achieve Sustainable development, sustainable economic growth and Human development (economics), hu ...

(UNDP) sponsored Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction Programme and headed the National Seismic Zoning Committee. Arya has published three books, ''Guidelines for Earthquake Resistant Non-engineered Construction'', ''Masonry & Timber Structures Including Earthquake Resistant Design'' and ''Earthquake Disaster Reduction: Masonry Building, Design, and Construction'' on structural design and earthquake-resistant construction techniques. He is also the founder of Anand Swaroop Arya Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Roorkee school. In this school, he wants the students to gain knowledge of Indian culture and sacraments. He has also co-authored ''Design of Steel Structures'' along with J. L. Ajmani and ''Response of Arches Under Earthquake Excitation'' with S. K. Thakkar.

Awards and honours

Arya is an elected Fellow of the

Indian National Academy of Engineering The Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) was founded in 1987. It consists of India's engineers, engineer-scientists and technologists covering the entire spectrum of engineering disciplines. The academy is registered under the Socie ...

(INAE) and the

Institution of Engineers (India) The Institution of Engineers (India), the IEI, is a national organization for engineers in India. It is the world's largest multi-disciplinary engineering professional society. It has more than one million members in 15 engineering disciplines ...

. The

awarded him the annual research award, ''Khosla National Award'', in 1980 and he received the ''Jai Krishna Award'' of the Indian Society of Earthquake Technology in 1982. The ''FICCI award'' of the

Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla a ...

reached him in 1986, followed by the ''National Design Award'' of the

, the next year. The

honoured him with the ''Sasakawa Disaster Prevention Award'' in 1997. The

included him in the 2002 Republic Day honours list for the

, India’s fourth-highest civilian award. The National Institute of Disaster Management, an autonomous body under the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

, awarded him the ''Disaster Mitigation Award'' in 2006.

Bibliography

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References

External links