Sudhir Mehta, associate vice president for academic affairs – international, died unexpectedly on Aug. 8 in India. He was 59.
In recent years, Mehta had worked extensively with exchange programs between NDSU and India, including agreements with Ansal Institute of Technology in Gurgaon, India, and the International Institute of Information Technology in Pune, India.
“Words cannot express the loss that NDSU has suffered with the passing of our colleague and friend,” said Evie Myers, vice president for equity, diversity and global outreach. “He will be fondly remembered for his passion for NDSU and for promoting NDSU around the world. The growth in the number of international students here at NDSU and international collaborations is due in large part to the vision and tireless efforts of this great man.”
Mehta joined the NDSU mechanical engineering faculty in 1984, and was named associate vice president in 2002. He previously was a lecturer and assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, India, and an assistant engineer for Tata Consulting Engineers in Bombay.
“While he was a professor here, Dr. Mehta was highly innovative and helpful in looking for ways to improve teaching,” said Craig Schnell, provost and vice president for academic affairs, noting that Mehta helped develop NDSU’s Personal Response System for classroom activities and the pedagogical luncheon program. “He was always helping young faculty in their teaching. His innovation went on in the international area, and our model for international projects proved to be tremendously successful.”
Mehta earned his bachelor’s degree at IIT, his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at State University of New York at Buffalo and his doctorate in mechanical engineering from IIT.
Mehta was a fellow of the American Society of Engineering Education. He received many honors at NDSU, including 2002 Blue Key Distinguished Educator, 2002 Faculty Lectureship Award, 2000 Peltier Award for Innovative Teaching and Apple Polisher Award in 2001 and 2003. He also received the Hewlett Packard Award for Excellence in Lab Instruction and was named the Carnegie Foundation North Dakota Professor of the Year in 1997.
He is survived by his wife, Manju, and his son, Yogin.