The Ashok And Kumkum Pandit Family Endowment
Purpose
Provide an annual award to one senior and one junior in the Civil Engineering program. (GF000185)Description
Students must be juniors or seniors and have a 3.5 or greater cumulative GPA. Should have been selected as a Student of the Year. Should have fulfilled at least some of the following criteria: Exhibited leadership in student organizations, and/or athletics, and/or ROTC; Participated in internships or co-op programs; Conducted volunteer work; Participate in research projects.
History
Ashok Pandit obtained his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India in 1973; his master’s degree in Water Resources Engineering from Clemson University in 1976; and his Ph.D. from Clemson University in 1982.
He has been serving at the Florida Institute of Technology since 1998. For three years (1998-2000), Ashok was a Professor and Program Chair of Civil Engineering; then, from 2000 to 2016, he was a Professor and Department Head of Civil Engineering; from 2016 to 2018, he was a Professor and Department Head of Civil Engineering and Construction Management; and since 2018, he has been Professor and Department Head of Mechanical and Civil Engineering.
In addition to teaching, his research activities “focus on simulation of contaminant transport in subsurface media using numerical and physical models, saltwater intrusion, hydrological modeling, and stormwater management.” Moreover, he is active in STEM education and outreach and recently received an NSF STEM grant to grow STEM education to students from Community and State Colleges.
Professor Pandit has also organized successful week-long Engineering Summer Camps since 2009 for 9th to 12th graders who are interested in engineering. During this camp, students learn about MATLAB, AutoCAD, Fusion 360, and Pro Engineer, plus they witness laboratory demonstrations and conduct well-design experiments in different fields.
