Prof. B.L. Dhoopar

About

Prof. B.L. Dhoopar
(1933-2016)
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Late Prof. Bhushan Lall Dhoopar was born on 4th June 1933 at Khaur, Dist: Attock, West Punjab (now in Pakistan). He obtained the Bachelors degree (BSc Eng) in Mechanical Engineering from IT-BHU in 1957 and immediately after that, joined the same Department as a Lecturer. While teaching at IT-BHU, he was on study leave to complete the MTech degree from IIT Kharagpur in 1961. He joined the Mechanical Engineering Department of IIT Kanpur in 1963 as a Lecturer. Subsequently, he became Assistant Professor in 1968, Associate Professor in 1970 and Professor in 1973. Before becoming the Associate Professor, he was on study leave to complete his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley in 1970.
After joining the Institute, Prof. Dhoopar was very active in the formulation of the academic programs and setting up the laboratories of the Mechanical Engineering Departmental in particular and of the Institute in general. His contribution to the formulation of a core course on Engineering Design and a 3-course sequence on Mechanical Design is very significant. Prof. Dhoopar was a very dedicated teacher. He taught both UG and PG courses in the areas of Solid Mechanics and Vibrations and UG courses on Design. Even though he was a strict disciplinarian inside the class-room, he was very friendly with students outside the class room. Many students (even from other departments) used to approach him for guidance about their academic as well as personal problems.
Prof. Dhoopar worked in the area of vibrations and composite materials. He guided several PhD and MTech students and published regularly in journals and conference proceedings, both international and Indian. He was an active member of the Indian Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ISTAM) and its President during the year 1987.
Prof. Dhoopar contributed significantly to the senate proceedings of the Institute in his capacity as the Senate Coordinator, Senate Parliamentarian and Chairperson of important Senate Committees like the Educational Policy Committee, Rules Committee, Honorary Doctorate Committee etc. He held some of these positions on more than one occasion. He was the Head of the Department during 1978-1980 and the Dean of Student Affairs sometime later. From 1980 till 1993 (when he retired from the Institute), the Departmental faculty often looked upto to Prof Dhoopar for advice in steering the Department in the right direction.
Prof. Dhoopar was very active socially both within the Campus as well as in Kanpur City. He helped several staff members of the Campus.
After retirement, he was the Chairman, Board of Governors of NIT Kurukshetra and Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Prof. Dhoopar was a man of principle and sacrificed his personal comforts for the sake of his principles. He passed away at 8 PM on 6th November, 2016. He is survived by his wife and three sons. Institute mourns this loss of our esteemed colleague.