Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya

Born in 1861 at Chikkaballarpur in former Mysore State, Sir Mokshagundam took the B A degree from Madras University in 1880 and received engineering education at the then College of Science, Pune.

Early in 1884, he was appointed as an Assistant Engineer in the Bombay PWD. In 1894, he was called upon to undertake the execusion of the water supply and drainage of Sukkur in Sind (now in Pakistan). Construction of another waterworks scheme for Surat City followed. In 1899, he was placed in charge of Poona Irrigation District.

The Indian Irrigation Commission of 1901-1903, appointed him to tour the country and to advise the Government of India on measures to implement and extend schemes of cultivation by irrigation. He also designed, patented and installed a system of automatic gates in 1903 to raise the storage level of the lake at Khadakvasla permanently without raising the dam and thus combat the insufficiency of the lake as a source of supply to meet the needs of the Mutha Canal and the water supply requirement of Poona City. In 1906 he was deputed to Aden to prepare a proposal for sanitation, water supply and roads. After 28 years of service he took voluntary and premature retirement in 1909.

In 1909, at the pressing invitation of the Maharaja of Mysore, he accepted the services in Mysore State as Chief Engineer. His scheme for the Mysore Iron and Wood Distillation Works, Bhadravati using wood charcoal for reduction of iron ore received shape in May 1918. In the words of Gandhiji 'the Krishnarajasagara alone which is one of the largest of its kind in the world would perpetuate the name of Sir Visvesvaraya'.

At the advanced age he prepared a flood control scheme for Orissa and was called upon to advise on the Tungabhadra Project. One of his last assignments was the selection of suitable site for the rail-cum-road bridge across the Ganda in Bihar (the Mokameh Bridge) opened on May 1, 1959.

He received the tide of CIE in 191 1, of KCIE in 1915 and Bharat Ratna in 1955. He was honoured by a number of universities and he was a recipient of the Durga Prasad Khaitan Memorial Gold Medal awarded by the Royal Asiatic Society, Calcutta. He had the distinction of being the Honorary Life Member of the Institution, Honorary Member of the Indian Science Congress Association and other reputed learned associations. He died in 1962 at the age of 101 years.

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya lectures were founded by the Maharashtra State Centre of the Institution in 1957-58 and the first few lectures were delivered in Bombay. Later on, the lecture was transferred to the headquarters of the Institution of Engineers (India) in 1960, to be delivered during the Annual Convention of the Institution, redesignated as the Indian Engineering Congress.

To prepetuate his memory, the Institution of Engineers (India) also observes each year September 15 -- the birthday of Sir Visvesvaraya -- as the Engineers' Day to inspire the members of the engineering community to his ideals.

Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee

The Council of The Institution of Engineers (India) decided to institute an Annual Lecture in the name of Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee, the first Indian President of the Institution, to commemorate his contributions to the nation as an engineer and to be delivered at the Annual Convention of the Institution, now redesignated as the Indian Engineering Congress. The first lecture was delivered during the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Institution.

Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee had the vision of an engineer and the comprehension of an intellectual. Born on June 23rd, 1854, he rose on the Indian scene in the nineteenth century and contined to serve the engineering profession till the thirties of the twentieth century. He died on 15th May, 1936. The life story of Sir Rajendra Nath is the story of a great businessman, equally great of heart as of head, generous of instinct and charitable of soul, who brought glory to everything he touched.

Born in typical middle-class family, Sir Rajendra Nath lost his father when he was six.. Having matriculated from the London Missionary Society's Institution of Calcutta, he joined the engineering department of Presidency College, Calcutta. The satisfactory execution of the construction of Palta Water Works for the city of Calcutta, gave him the confidence and experience that enabled this self-made man, in later life, to build an industrial colossus and a trading conglomerate.

Sir Rajendra Nath was the president of the Indian Science Congress
in 1921 and, in 193 1, the Calcutta University conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science. He was the first president of The Institution of Engineers (India) during the session 1920-21. He was knighted after his succsessful construction of the Victoria Memorial Building at Calcutta.

An abiding and deep interest of Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee in all kinds of social welfare work brought into being and ustained many a charitable instistution. Essentially a man of science, Sir Rajendra Nath practised technology for the development of this country.

Prof (Dr) Amitabha Bhattacharyya

Prof (Dr) Amitabha Bhattacharyya, President of the institution during 1976-78, occupied the centre stage in the affairs of the Institution over two decades. A many splendoured personality Prof (Dr) Bhattacharyya was, whose untimely death in June 1992 created a void which it would take years to fill. In grateful appreciation of the monumental work done by him towards furtherance of the cause of the Institution, the National Council at their 563rd Meeting held at Hyderabad during July 1992, resolved to institute this lecture to perpetuate his hallowed memory.

Prof (Dr) Amitabha Bhattacharyya (born November 12, 1931) was a distinguished mechanical engineer and an eminent educationist and an acknowledged authority in the fields of production engineering, metal cutting and machine tools and had been honoured nationally and internationally for his outstanding contributions to the cause of engineering and humanitarian services.

Prof (Dr) Bhattacharyya was a staunch advocate for the development of indigenous technology for the welfare of the common people. A persuasive teacher and an eloquent speaker, Prof (Dr) Bhattacharyya had travelled widely on many professional and academic assignments. An active and constructive social worker, Prof (Dr) Bhattacharyya identified himself with the aims and aspirations of numerous social and cultural organisations and was served them with great distinction.

As an ardent advocate for advancement of engineering, Prof (Dr) Bhattacharyva served its cause through various organs and activities of the Institution of Engineers (India) during the last three decades..During his Presidentship, the Institution's activities received an impetus and diversified its field of interest in many areas including rural development.

Shri Bhailal Bhai Patel

Taking into consideration the unique contribution of late Shri Bhailal Bhai PateL popularly known as Bhaikaka, the Council of The Institution of Engineers (India) decided to institute an Annual lecture in his name, to be delivered at the Annual Convention of the Institution, now redesignated as the Indian Engineering Congress. The first Lecture was delivered at the 56th Annual Convention of the Institution held in 1976.

Born in Sersa (Gujarat) in 1880, Bhaikaka saw the famine of 1900 and his heart was filled with grief at the sight. His intense desire to remove the poverty arose out of the sad memories of the famine and was the source of inspiration in the creation of Vallabh Vidyanagar.

Bhaikaka went to Poona in 1908 for engineering studies and took the LCE Diploma in the year 1911. After working for a short period in the then Baroda State, he joined the Public Works Department of the Bombay Presidency, and worked for about 12 years. He was then appointed as engineer in the Canal Section of the Sukkur Barrage Plan.

An efficient and adventurous young man, Bhaikaka had several opportunities to show his originality of ideas and prowess and became the Executive Engineer of the Project. The successful completion of the Sukkur Barrage Canal brought him an invitation from the Government of Afghanistan to work as the Engineering Adviser.

But Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patet insisted his shouldering the responsibility as the Chief Engineer of Ahmedabad Municipality and he accepted the post. His creation of the Hill Garden as a site for public recreation, from the stones that were left out when an old fort was levelled down, was one of his remarkable achievements.

During 1942, he resigned from the job in the Ahmedabad Municipality and came to Anand (Gujarat) andas the President of Charoter Education Society, Anand, was instrumental in establishing the Charoter Vidyamandal and the Charoter Gramodddhar Sehakari Mandal Ltd in 1945. Bhaikaka, as the Chairman of the Charoter Vidyamanda, wrote to the Education Department of the then Bombay State for the establishment of a University and the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Vidyapeeth was established in 1955, with Bhaikaka as its first Vice Chancellor.

The spirit of service to humanity, persistence and undaunted endeavour were deep-rooted in his person. Bhaikaka breathed his last in 1970. A man of vision and devoted service, Bhaikaka organized educational institutions and administered them ably.

Dr Ajudhia Nath Khosla

This Lecture was instituted to perpetuate the memory of Dr Ajudhia Nath Khosla, a distinguished engineer-administrator of the country, and was first delivered at the Second Indian Engineering Congress held in 1988.

Born in 1892 at Jallunder (East Punjab) and graduated from Dayanand Anglo Vedic College, Lahore in 1912, Dr Khosta was the President of the Insitution during 1948-49 and 1949-50. His first assignment was the survey and investigation connected with the Bhakra Dam Project. The Bhakra Dam has been built on the very axis line marked by him in 1917.

During his brief stint with the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force in Iraq as a Commissioned Officer (1918-20), he made his important contribution to engineering by the invention of 'Khosla Disc' for precision levelling across rivers and wide valleys. In 1943, he was appointed Chief Engineer and Secretary to the Government of Punjab, followed by appointment as the first Chairman of Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission and also the Additional Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Works, Mines and Power.

Dr Khosla initiated investigation of the water and power potential of the river valleys as a whole and several individual projects, viz. the Bhakar, Chambal, Damodar Valley, Hirakund, Kosi, Narmada and Tapti, have been completed. Special mention is necessary of the Hirakund Project on the Mahanadi River which he conceived in 1945 soon after assuming charges as Chairman, Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission.

The Mahanadi Valley Project was completed in early 1957 - a record time of l2-years between conception and completion of a project of this magnitude. Dr Khosla thus may well be called 'the Father of the River Valley Projects in India.

As Special Secretary to the Government of India during 1953-54, he led the Indian delegation to the United Nations for the Indus Water dispute with Pakistan. These negotiations led to the World Bank proposals which later formed the basis of the Water Treaty between India and Pakistan.

He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Aprit 1958 to October 1959 and a member of the Planning Commission in 1959. In 1962, he was appointed the Governor of Orissa. This appointment was a historic event for the engineers of this country.

Prof Guru Prasad Chatterjee

This lecture was instituted in 1966 by the illustrious metallurgistphilosopher late Prof Guru Prasad Chatterjee in memory of his father late Shri Nidhu Bhushan Chatterjee. In Nidhu Bhushan, we find a man who, without being an engineer in the conventional sense, had the urge to serve the mankind through his knowledge of science coupled with great inspiration derived from his knowledge of Metaphysics.

Although late Shri Nidhu Bhushan got admission to the Bengal Engineering College, Sibpur (West Bengal), a deemed university now, through a stiff competitive examination, he could not then complete his studies on pecuniary ground.

He wanted to be an engineer, since he believed that one with love for scientific studies should alone become an engineer, who has better opportunities to prepare himself for a better service to his fellow beings and the society..

With strong determination, late Shri Nidhu Bhushan, a science graduate, could raise himself to the position of an Inspecting Accountant in the Finance Division of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). He continued to serve the society, never caring for name or fame.

Late Shri Nidhu Bhushan was a firm believer in the fact that only fundamental discipline in life can help man to set around from within to face life with no fear or frustration.