Kumares Sinha, the Edgar B. and Hedwig M. Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering at Purdue University.

After more than 50 years of transforming global transportation education and research worldwide, Purdue University professor Kumares Sinha is retiring from the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering. The Edgar B. and Hedwig M. Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering and member of the National Academy of Engineering celebrated his retirement on Nov. 19 with colleagues, former students and collaborators from around the world.

Sinha joined Purdue in 1974 after earning his PhD in transportation engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1968 and teaching at Marquette University for six years. His decision to come to Purdue was influenced in part by his advisors' connections to the university.

“It is difficult for me to think of the school without Kumares since he has always been here for us over my 28 years at Purdue,” said Rao Govindaraju, the Bowen Engineering Head and Burke Distinguished Professor of the Lyles School. “With his network of connections and worldwide impact, there is hardly anyone who does not know of him in the field of transportation engineering. His 'legend' status comes partly because he has achieved more than what would be needed to become distinguished in two lifetimes.”

Over six decades, Sinha's career has taken him from remote roads in Bangladesh to consulting projects spanning China, Nepal, Ukraine, Yemen and beyond. His contributions to civil engineering research and practice are wide ranging.

Career highlights and research contributions

Sinha served as head of Purdue's transportation program for 20 years, broadening the field beyond traditional highway engineering and placing it in the larger context of infrastructure systems.

“As head of the area for 20 years, I led efforts to place transportation in the broader context of infrastructure systems,” Sinha said. “My contributions to civil engineering research have involved efforts to consider societal impacts of transportation projects over their life cycles.”

He served as the director of the Joint Transportation Research Program of Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Transportation for 15 years and pioneered the integration of transportation asset management techniques to determine the optimal timing and intensity of maintenance for pavements, bridges and other facilities on a life-cycle basis, work that has had far reaching implications for how transportation agencies worldwide manage their resources.

“As a strong researcher, mentor and educator with an international reputation, he has raised the profile of our transportation program and our whole School, for that matter,” Govindaraju said.

Samuel Labi, now a professor of civil engineering at Purdue and one of Sinha's former PhD students, recalls a moment from class that shaped his approach to engineering.

“It was during a class in fall 1996 related to intelligent transportation systems. Professor Sinha had just lauded a student for her work that developed a clever solution for solving a technically challenging problem. But he reminded the class that we should seek not only solutions that solve a given problem in its immediate need but more importantly solutions that are optimal in the long term, often in terms of outcomes related to society and the environment. This was before the subject of sustainability became mainstream in our field. That stuck with me.”

Global impact through World Bank consulting

For more than three decades beginning in the 1980s, Sinha served as a consultant to the World Bank, visiting countries across Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe. His work ranged from expressway planning in China and India to construction of rural roads and bridges in Bangladesh.

Some years ago, Sinha found himself on a remote road in Bangladesh, contemplating the challenge of building infrastructure in areas with alluvial soils and rivers prone to frequent flooding, one of many remote roads the transportation engineer traveled during his career.

He developed a resource base for considering environmental and ecological impacts of land transportation, helping to assess the sustainability of projects in the World Bank's largest investment portfolio.

“Transportation is the backbone of economies,” Sinha said. “Unless you have transportation, you don't have much.”

His expertise in sustainability and economic feasibility of transportation investments became the foundation for a book he co-authored with Labi, who praised his mentor's foresight on sustainability issues.

Professional leadership

Sinha played leadership roles in professional societies including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), where he chaired both the Highway and Urban Transportation Divisions and was a founder and president of the Transportation and Development Institute. For more than 30 years, he led training and education programs through the International Road Federation, reaching highway engineers and planners across continents.

“Professor Sinha has served ASCE for several decades, founding new initiatives including institutes, award programs and conference series,” Labi said. “Such examples of lengthy and deep dedication are rare in this era.”

Teaching legacy and student achievements

Over his career, Sinha advised 50 PhD students along with numerous postdoctoral, master's and undergraduate students. His former students now include a former prime minister, four ministers of transport, a senator, two university presidents, several heads of national and state transportation agencies, and four members of the National Academy of Engineering in the U.S. and two other countries.

“I have had tremendous pleasure in working with my students and seeing many of them enter public service,” Sinha said. “I take comfort that they are making an impact in people's lives.”

“Being a student of Professor Sinha was both a privilege and a challenge,” Labi said. “It was a privilege to have the honor of working with one of the best minds in the profession. However, that privilege came with a heavy price: as his student, I felt the pressure of living up to expectations professionally and personally. Professor Sinha made his students feel engaged and inspired to improve not only themselves but also the society in which they live."

Labi's perspective evolved after becoming a colleague. “After becoming a professor, I became even more aware and appreciative of the contributions and sacrifices he constantly made for his graduate students, his faculty colleagues and his professional organizations.”

Nadia Gkritza, also a professor in the Lyles School and one of Sinha's former students, recalls advice that has stayed with her throughout her career.

“Work smart like a swan, not like a duck,” Sinha would tell her. “While a duck splashes and drinks a lot of water just to reach a piece of bread, the swan simply and gracefully picks it up with its beak.”

“He’s been a mentor, advisor and father figure to so many of us, guiding with wisdom, generosity and patience,” Gkritza said. “Watching how he guided me as a student inspired me and gave me confidence to pursue an academic career.”

As a mentor and researcher, Sinha's approach left lasting impressions. “He was knowledgeable and experienced, with expertise in the field and a willingness and ability to share his knowledge and experience,” Labi said. “As a researcher, he was always approachable, nonjudgmental and an active listener to research ideas and perspectives. As a mentor, his empathetic, trustworthy and honest nature made him effective in providing candid, honest and constructive feedback.”

Looking ahead

Though Sinha is retiring, he plans to continue using the same office and, he hopes, the same parking space at Purdue.

“On my retirement, I look forward to continuing to do most of the things that I do now, although I will be off the payroll,” Sinha said with characteristic humor.

When asked what advice he would give to young faculty members, his response reflects the values that have guided his career: “Think about the societal impacts your work can make. And remain actively engaged in professional and community service.”

“Professor Sinha's long career at Purdue is evidence of his stability and loyalty to the university where he provided outstanding contribution in terms of teaching, research, service to the university at various levels and the West Lafayette community,” Labi said. “His students have graduated to become important contributors to the overall Purdue mission as professors at Purdue and elsewhere, and as industry partners at domestic and international locations.”

“He will always be an inspiration to me and many others, a true role model,” Govindaraju said.

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