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Interview with Vijay P. Singh, Ph.D., D.Sc., P.E., P.H., Hon. D.WRE

June 2010

Professor Vijay P. Singh, Ph.D., D.Sc., D. Eng. (Hon.), Ph.D. (Hon.), P.E., P.H., Hon.D.WRE, F. ASCE, Hon. Member AWRA, is the inaugural Caroline and William N. Lehrer Distinguished Chair in Water Engineering and Professor of Civil & Environmental, and of Biological, and Agricultural Engineering at Texas A&M University. Professor Singh has been recognized for four decades of leadership in research, teaching and service to the hydrologic and water resources engineering profession. Singh's contribution to the state of the art has been significant in many different specialty areas, including hydrologic science and engineering, hydraulic engineering, water resources engineering, environmental engineering, irrigation science, soil and water conservation engineering, entropy-based modeling, and mathematical modeling.

Dr. Singh has been the recipient of 56 national/international awards from professional organizations. He is a recipient of the Arid Land Hydraulic Engineering Award (2002), Ven Te Chow Award (2005), Torrens Award (2009) and Norma Medal (2010), all given by ASCE. He was awarded the Ray K. Linsley Award for outstanding contributions to surface water hydrology and the Founders Award of AIH. He has been awarded two honorary doctorates one by University of Waterloo, Canada; and the other by the University of Basilicata, Italy. He is a fellow of ASCE, AWRA, IE, ISAE, IWRS, IASWC, and IAH; a member of AGU, IAHR, IAHS and WASER. He is member/fellow of 10 engineering/science academies.

Vijay has been licensed as a Professional Engineer (PE) for thirty-seven years and has been a life member of ASCE and a Fellow for fourteen years. He has also been licensed as a Professional Hydrologist (PH) by the American Institute of Hydrology since the inception of AIH. Dr. Singh became a Diplomate of AAWRE in 2005 and in 2008, he was elevated to the Honorary status unanimously by AAWRE Board of Trustees.

Professor Singh has volunteered his time and resources to a variety of charity work in the U.S. and abroad. Most significantly, he has founded and supported on his own a school to provide almost free secondary education to poor rural children in India. For his charitable and public service work, he was nominated for the Hoover medal, given by the professional societies to recognize an individual for outstanding contributions in civic and humanitarian service.

Professor Singh shared his thoughts on his transition of moving from India to North America, his love of teaching and research, and his passion and vision for his school and their future with AAWRE in this interview.

We know that you were born in your native country of India in a town called Nagla Vishnu village in the Agra District in India. Can you tell us more about this region and what was your upbringing like?

VS: When I was born Nagla Vishnu was a small village consisting of about 100 houses and having a population of no more than 400. Everyone knew everyone else. The village was inhabited mostly by farmers and some others who were engaged in farm-related service activities. Now the village is much bigger with a population of about 1500 and its inhabitants are not all farmers.

The village is situated in the Yamuna River basin, about 35 kilometers south of Agra-the city famous for Taj Mahal. The village and the entire area thereabout is agricultural, and land is very fertile. My father was also a farmer and my family is still engaged in farming. My upbringing was rural-we had no electricity, no running water, no roads, no telephones, no television, no radios, no hospitals, no newspapers, and no modern facilities or conveniences that one can think of. The life was simple and gravitated around people and animals. I enjoyed my childhood years very much and have fond memories. We had no school in the village when I was a child.

I was therefore tutored privately up to third grade. This was also for several of my contemporaries. For fourth and fifth grades, I had to go to a government school and pass the District Board Examination, a government requirement, in order to be able to move on to the next grade. The school was located about 3 kilometers away from my village so I had to walk 6 kilometers each day, for there were no roads and there was no other mode of transport. It may sound hard, but it was not all that bad. Four of my class mates and I used to walk to school each day and we used to have a lot of fun walking through fields. I do not recall if anyone of us ever missed any class-missing classes was unheard then. The teachers those days were demanding and we all used to work really hard. Or else we would be severely punished. Fortunately, I never gave any opportunity to any of my teachers to punish me.

The teachers were genuinely interested in us and wanted us to do well in school. After passing the fifth grade, I got admitted to the sixth grade at S.M.D.D. Inter College located about 2 kilometers away from my village. Thus, my walking dropped down to only 4 kilometers a day which was like a piece of cake. I went to this school up to 12th grade. This was the only school within a radius of about 15 kilometers and was considered as one of the best amongst schools in rural areas of Agra. The quality of education was quite good, even by modern standards. My parents, like parents of other children, wanted us to do nothing but study and do well in school. Unfortunately things deteriorated quickly.

We know that you earned your Bachelors degree in Engineering and Technology with emphasis on Soil and Water Conservation Engineering at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology in Pantnagar in India. What interested you about engineering and how early on did you know that you wanted to study engineering?

VS: When I was growing up, my parents made the decision as to what I should study. This is the way it was for all students in India. Even now this is pretty much the case, especially in rural India. Partly the reason was that most of us did not know what we wanted to study and what the options were. Our knowledge base was primarily what we developed in school which was pretty limited and the teachers themselves had limited knowledge of the outside world. The other reason, of course, is the social structure in India in which parents or elders make decisions and others follow without questioning. Those days the brightest students used to go to engineering. In my case, my parents wanted me to become an engineer and this is how I went to study engineering. Of course, I have never regretted becoming an engineer.

You later moved to North America to attend University of Guelph in Canada for your masters before earning your Ph.D. in Hydrology from Colorado State University in the U.S. And later earning your D.Sc. from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. How was the path like for you in your formal education and can you describe what it was like for you in your transition to move to Canada and the U.S.?

VS: The Pant University of Agriculture & Technology (PUAT) at Pantnagar (formerly U.P. Agricultural University) was the first university in India established on the American Land Grant pattern in collaboration with the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The system of education was also the same, except that we had three trimesters a year and we had very few holidays. In other words we went to school almost 11 months a year. There were several professors from UIUC who were working as advisors at PUAT. Indeed one of my first courses, Engineering Orientation, was taught by Professor Hay from UIUC. Coming from a rural background with a limited knowledge of the outside world, studying at PUAT under professors most of who had their education in the U.S. or the U.K. was a steep transition for me. Engineering education itself was manageable-indeed it was quite enjoyable after the first semester-the difficulty was emotional and being more than 400 kilometers far away from family. Nevertheless the education at PUAT was good and I took advantage of the opportunity I had.

At PUAT, because of the presence of American professors and the type of Indian professors there, there was a lot of encouragement for going abroad, especially the U.S. and Canada, for further studies. Many of my seniors who I came to know well went to the U.S. for graduate studies. From my childhood years, I was always drawn toward books and higher studies and PUAT provided the right kind of environment. In the first year of my engineering program itself I decided that I would pursue graduate work if I would get an opportunity. Thus, in my final year I started applying for admission to several universities in Canada and the U.S. Fortunately, I was awarded admission and assistantship by several universities but I chose the University of Guelph for two reasons. First, I thought I should go to Canada for my M.S. degree and then to the U.S. for my Ph.D. degree. In this way, I would be able to see two countries before returning to India upon completion of graduate degrees. Second, the University of Guelph had one of the largest programs in hydrology and water resources in Canada.

Coming from India to Canada was quite a transition and a cultural shock. The education was not difficult and in fact it was easier than at PUAT in India. My problem was that I missed my family too much. Being a vegetarian, it was difficult to find any kind of food those days and doing the cooking was the only option. In India I never did kitchen work and did not even know how to warm water, let alone cooking. In any event, slowly I managed to learn Indian cooking and I always enjoyed milk and fruits so it was not that bad. Studies were my primary goal and they left me little free time to worry about other things. But weekends and nights were always difficult-it is when I missed my family the most.

Moving from University of Guelph to Colorado State University was a smooth sail, since I learned a great deal about the Canadian way of life which was not significantly different from the American way of life. And I wanted to get a Ph.D. degree under a famous professor from a known university. My nearly four years of stay in Fort Collins was most enjoyable.

After several years of working in academia, I realized that in the British system of education D.Sc. is a degree which is a post Ph.D. degree. However, to get this degree, one must be associated with a university in the British system. Professor David Stephenson from the University of the Witwatersrand (UW), Johannesburg, South Africa, and I had been friends for some years. We worked together on offering short courses at UW and I became linked with UW. A few years later, I wrote a thesis and submitted it to UW. The thesis was examined by 8 expert examiners from around the world and was approved. This is how I received a D.Sc. from UW in 1998. Now I feel I have received all the degrees that I can pursue formally.

What were the key factors in your decision to be a teacher and educator?

VS: It is difficult to pinpoint any one single reason. Even when I was growing up and had little idea as to what higher education was or what a university professor was, I had an innate desire to get the highest degree and do research. Coming to North America for higher studies, I learnt about academic life and its challenges and opportunities. Academic freedom, being with students and being surrounded by educated minds, working on new problems, opportunity to travel around the world, making friends globally were some of the reasons I decided to be in academia.

You are one of the founding AAWRE Diplomates. What type of services or initiatives would you like to see AAWRE pursue and provide for the Diplomates?

VS: At this point, efforts should be made to get better recognition for the Diplomate status, just like it is for P.E. With this recognition, the number of diplomates can be increased dramatically. At this time, not too many people have even heard of AAWRE and diplomate.

We know that you taught at LSU for many years and now have been at Texas A&M for the last few years teaching Civil, Environmental, Biological, and Agricultural Engineering. What are some of the things that you truly enjoy about teaching? And Research?

VS: I taught a wide variety of courses at LSU, including courses in surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrology, hydraulics, hydrologic design, risk and reliability analysis, and mathematical analysis. The most I like about teaching is twofold. First, I myself learn a lot which is quite satisfying in itself. This is one of the reasons that I do not mind teaching courses outside of my area of research and expertise. Second, teaching gives me an opportunity to interact with students. In this way, I develop good relationships and friendships with a lot of students.

At Texas A & M, my teaching load is rather limited. But I am developing new courses, such as entropy theory for water and environmental engineers which I am enjoying a great deal.

I am interested in research for two reasons. First, research is always challenging and I like challenges. Second, I learn a lot in the process. It enriches my mind and satisfies my intellectual curiosity.

We know that you and Mrs. Singh- Anita, have been very active in your charitable work and foundations- particularly the schools you helped found and built. Can you share with us how this came about and what were the main factors that led to your decision to start your own school?

VS: We observed for many years in the 1980s that children in my area were not receiving quality education and a majority of them were failing in board examinations at the 10th grade level and at the 12th grade level. As a result, they were not able to go to college and pursue a career. They therefore had to stay back home with their parents. With growing population, their share of agricultural land was shrinking geometrically. We therefore decided to establish with our own funds, without any help from government our own school, a school where there would be accountability and transparency and teachers would do their job for which they were hired. Happily, this is what has been happening since the inception of school in 1994.

The name of your school in India- it is called GB Inter College. Can you share with our readers what the initials stand for and what it means to you personally?

VS: The school is in the name of my parents. G stands for Gurdayal (the first name of my father) and B stands for Bhagwan (the first name of my mother). Both of my parents are no longer alive-I wish they were. Whatever I am today is largely because of my parents. The school symbolizes a small acknowledgment of what my parents did for me and what parents in general do for their children.

Once you had the vision to build your own school for the children in your native village, how long was the process in actually getting the school built and opened?

VS: Once we made up our mind which we did in a few days when we were in our village in 1994, we started the school from the first grade to fourth grade right away. We sought moral support (but not financial support) from the people in the village. Then we started buying the land, started constructing classrooms, and developing other facilities. Each year we have since made significant progress in each area.

What were the biggest challenges and hurdles to overcome to have the school built?

VS: There were two main hurdles, which still continue to date today. The first was to have the government approvals which are hard to get without significant bribery at each step of the way. Second, the nearby (public) school has put and continues to put a lot of hurdles and pressure on our school because of the fear of competition. My school children's performance has been achieving outstanding results, whereas the public school has long been struggling.

Please tell us more about your school(s) and your personal vision for the goals you would like to see achieved.

VS: Currently the school is imparting quality education up to 12 grade as well as two-year diploma in two areas: Fitting and Electronics. It has nearly 1200 students and the split is nearly half and half between boys and girls. The school has a staff of about 20, 16 of whom are teachers and 4 are staff members. Although the school has enough building, the construction work is still going on. My goal is to convert the school to a college and eventually to a comprehensive university imparting education in all disciplines. I would also like the school to be tied with an American school/college.

For folks that do not know much about the country of India and particularly the regions where your school is located, can you describe?

VS: India is a vast country full of contrasts in every imaginable way. The variability over its landscape is of Himalayan proportions. It has some of the best you can find anywhere but it has also some of the worst you can find anywhere. Unfortunately, the latter is more prevalent than the former. India has a population of nearly 1.2 billion people. If the mode of government is right, this huge population can be turned into a huge resource, after all people are a resource like other natural resources. Regrettably we have not done well in this regard in India.

The area where my school is located in is entirely rural. There are no industries there and a vast majority of people depend on agriculture which in turn is impacted by the vagaries of nature. The school is trying to provide an opportunity to children in the area to become better than their parents and get out of the cycle of poverty and despondency. With growing population the per capita land share is rapidly declining. Unless children get education, they will remain poverty- stricken.

What are some of the biggest challenges and needs on a daily basis that you see and hear, for the children and students attending your school?

VS: The biggest challenge is the lack of resources that families of the children have. Poverty is the biggest source of problems and evils. This undermines the whole environment for learning and studies. Without education it is difficult to do anything in life these days. This is what I am trying to impress upon children. Unfortunately the window of time that one has for laying the foundation for a better life is quite small or else despondency will be perpetual.

For your charitable and public service work, you were nominated a few years ago for the Hoover Medal, which is given by professional societies to recognize an individual for outstanding contributions in civic and humanitarian service. Can you share with us your personal philosophy and belief in serving others and how service builds character and leadership?

VS: First, I was nominated for the Hoover Medal but was not selected. My gratitude to those who were kind to nominate me. My personal philosophy is simple. Whatever we do for ourselves will perish when we die but whatever we do for others will stay. Serving others brings a sense of satisfaction that is not achieved otherwise. It helps develop those attributes and faculties that remain dormant otherwise. Some of the most respected people of the past century dedicated their entire lives to serving others-they became respected and great because of their service to others. Serving others teaches a great deal about humanity, human values, character, integrity and ourselves. This is fundamental to leadership and leaving an imprint in this world.

What would be your personal pitch or advice to students and others out there for motivation for them to get involved and help in charitable and humanitarian work and efforts?

VS: I always tell my students to share part of their resources with others. The resources can be time, money, or personal help. Helping others is part of our humanity. We owe it to our society. Service to others brings joy to ourselves and in a way we serve ourselves. Doing good to others will bring rich dividends to ourselves. In this world we are all together and if all are happy the world will be a better place to live and we all will be happy.

How and what are some things that the Diplomate, Water Resources Engineers community and AAWRE can do to help your schools and your efforts in India?

VS: Thus far my wife and I have been the sole benefactor of the school. I am trying to upgrade the school to a degree granting college and to a technical college. Any help anyone can offer will be more than appreciated. Help may be in many forms: help develop a relationship with a school in the U.S., help raise funds, help raise awareness about the needs of poor rural children in India, help develop ideas as to where the school should go from here, help establish connection with those who have resources, and so on.

You have a fundamental belief. You stated "There's no such thing as 'no-time'. A person can always make time". Can you elaborate more on this personal philosophy?

VS: I have always strongly believed that you create time for things you want to do, not find time. The same applies to human relationships-you create them, not find them. Time is the only thing I know of that is the same for everybody. Time has value and must be spent wisely and in an organized manner. A little organization in life can go a long way to do a lot of things for which there is no time otherwise.

You have educated many students over the years. If you can choose 5 most important lessons that you would want your students to learn and retain about life lessons, what would the 5 things be?

VS: 1. Manage your time properly. 2. Value the time and avoid wasting it. 3. Cultivate discipline and organization in life. 4. Pay attention to your health-eat well, exercise, rest, and enjoy family, relations, friends, and people. 5. Work hard but do not get carried away by expecting results. Consider work as a privilege and the greatest reward in itself.

You told me about your particular routine you have daily. Can you share with our readers what your daily routine is when you are not traveling?

VS: Usually I get up quite early at about 5:00 AM. I take about two and half hours to get ready for the day of work, which includes my daily chore of getting ready and I spend about an hour to do yogic exercises and pranayam. I spend about half an hour to take my breakfast which usually consists of fruits, milk, nuts, and a small Indian snack. I usually reach office before 8:00 AM. Normally, I would work for about 10 to 11 hours in office and I would return home by about 7:00 PM. By that time dinner would be ready and I would change clothes and my wife and I would have dinner together. Then we would watch TV together and at 8:30 PM so I would go for about 5 kilometers of walk. Upon returning from the walk, I would either work for a little while depending on the need or spend time with my wife and by 11 PM I would retire to bed.

In looking back over your brilliant career, you have been honored with some notable and esteemed honors and recognitions, sir. Would you share with us about some of the more memorable and cherished moments that truly stand out for you?

VS: I received my first honorary Ph.D. from University of Basilicata, Italy, in 2006. I was asked to give a general lecture on water resources and society. While preparing the lecture I learnt a lot about religion, environment, and, of course, water resources. I spent two days at the university but the day the convocation took place was electrifying. My one-hour lecture was well received but the way I was received was most gratifying. A similar experience I had when I received the second honorary doctorate from the University of Waterloo. The convocation day was most memorable. I was given the honor of giving the convocation address. To prepare the address was a daunting task but hopefully I managed to do fine.

Receiving an honor or award is always a joy but I always find it to difficult to prepare a speech after receiving the award. For me doing the work is always a privilege and always carries greater joy. It is nice if you are recognized but do not lose sleep if not recognized. There are umpteen equally or even more deserving people who do not get recognized. There are just too many factors that are involved in receiving a recognition or an award, and you have no control on those factors. Just because you have received an award does not mean that you are better than others who have not received the award. This is the reason that I strongly subscribe to Geeta?s principle: Do the work which is your duty but do not expect results which are beyond your control.

We know that some of your personal hobbies are reading, writing, yoga, traveling, and watching Indian movies. What are some other personal interests that you have that most people may not know about you?

VS: I want to help people who are in need. I am trying to make a difference in the lives of people in India, make a difference in the environment and water resources. I want to see that my school looks like a garden. My whole area should look a garden and for that matter the entire country should look like a garden. I love trees and I am trying to promote tree plantation. The other thing I really like is people. I like to spend time with my family and friends. I find a lot of talent around. I find that each person has something to offer and we should not judge people by their successes or failures which are transient. I like to have faith in people and am therefore able to get along with people without any problem. Basically human beings are decent; it is the environment which turns them into being not so decent. Each of us has our share of good points and bad points. My focus has always on seeing the good side and hence be positive and optimistic about people.

What are some of your personal goals and plans for the next year?

VS: Four goals and plans: First, try to complete a couple of book writing projects that I am involved in. Second, I must complete several pending research tasks. Third, help a couple of my Ph.D. students complete their theses. Fourth, get some work done at my school in India, including building, acquisition of computers and acquisition of land.

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