Teaching Philosophy:

Engineering plays a vital role in providing the infrastructure and services

necessary to sustain civilization and provide for quality of life, and the role of
civil engineers in these tasks is very significant. The challenge for
engineering education is to develop the students with the skills and
competencies necessary to design and innovate solutions for the challenges
and opportunities humanity faces today and for future generations. I
contribute towards this grand endeavor in three ways: 1) Teaching water
resources and environmental design concepts and their field application to
control the storage, movement, distribution, and management of available
water including economic design of treatment systems to achieve the good
quality of water, 2) Teaching how to capture the fundamental principles and
properties of nature in mathematical expressions in order to implement
these equations in computer models, and evolving the solutions through
optimization and simulation models and use these models to understand
physical processes and to design solutions both in water resources and
environmental engineering field, and 3) Teaching the subjects with the new
multimedia tools and educational technology tools like flipped classroom,
activity-based learning, project-based learning, virtual laboratory, etc., using
the e-content developed; for example, I have developed virtual lab for
environmental engineering laboratory, and e-content for teaching courses
like Models for Air and Water Quality, Environmental Impact Assessment,
Waste water Treatment and design, Irrigation Water Management, Applied
Hydraulic engineering etc.
The next generation of engineers faces broad global problems in water
resources: scarcity issues, balancing the often competing needs of urban
development vs. rural agriculture vs. ecosystem function, adaptation to
climate change, restoration of polluted waters, etc. My aim is to train the
students in such a way that they are uniquely positioned to deal with such
issues with the advent of a plethora of electronic data reserves,
computational platforms, and internet connectivity. Engineers must be
prepared to wrestle with often seemingly intractable problems, where various
alternatives must be evaluated to make the best possible choices, especially
with the consideration of social aspects.
Throughout courses, I utilize active learning techniques and project based
learning techniques to introduce basic principles and processes using handson laboratory apparatus designed and built by teams of researchers in my
team. Case studies are conducted where teams of students: locate and
organize data using modern database tools, MATLAB programs, GIS
computer tools, knowledge derivation using data mining approaches,
develop and apply computational models including optimization and
simulation models, develop design recommendations, and justify their design

to their peers in the classroom. These case studies and supplementary

material explore how to solve practical problems in both nationally and
internationally. I had carried out many consultancy and research projects for
design and operation of both water resources storage and treatment systems
and all these case studies will be used in teaching. Our students also
developed interactive programs for rainfall-runoff modeling, water treatment
design, waste water treatment design (ASP, USBR, MBR etc), reservoir
operation, expert system for design of dams which are invariably used in my
teaching.
Curriculum Reform
I am reforming curriculum in all the courses that I had taught over years
along three primary directions: 1) integrating research into the curriculum, 2)
emphasizing a holistic, multi-disciplined approach to water resources
engineering, and 3) implementing active learning techniques. Examples
include:

Exploring real-life case studies with teams of students to emphasize the

importance of course work to engineering design. Students work
together in teams when exploring these case studies. Field trips are
often involved where students visit sites and obtain data.
Using computer demonstrations during lectures to illustrate application
of theory, and to develop student proficiency in state-of-the-art software
packages (e.g., ArcGIS, AutoCAD, MATLAB, 3DFlow, MODFLOW, EPANET,
KYPIPE, HEC_RMS, etc.) This fosters understanding for the upcoming
tech-savvy generation of students.
Partitioning lectures into a series of mini-lectures by periodically shifting
the mode of instruction/learning throughout a class period. This has
been accomplished using computer demonstrations, small group and
class discussions, working through examples collaboratively, and
pausing the lecture to allow time for reflection.
Introducing help sessions in graduate courses. These sessions provide a
forum where students freely ask questions and answers are obtained
collaboratively by both instructor and students working out details on
the board. This learning environment fosters teamwork and synthesis of
course material, and it provides an effective mechanism for evaluating
level of understanding.

Also, I had developed new courses like Models for Air and Water Quality,
Sustainable Development and Environmental Management, Irrigation Water
Management and these courses have become the most-wanted subjects
both for undergraduate and post graduate students.
Synergistic Educational Activities

Developed open-ended laboratory assignments for CE 552 Hydraulic

Engineering that require students to identify data needs, collect data from
local engineers and other sources, and design and construct new
laboratory apparatus for the Hydraulics Laboratory. Students designed a
new pipe demonstration to visualize pipe flow in 2004. In 2005, students
designed a wave tank to explore relationships between wavelength and
water depth, enabling understanding of phenomena such as tsunamis and
harbor resonance. This laboratory experiment was publicized in the
Collegian, May 5, 2005. In 2006, students developed models of a levy to
understand mechanisms of levy breach in New Orleans. In 2007, students
developed models of the earthen dam at Tuttle Creek Reservoir using a
shake table to analyze the impacts of earthquakes on dam stability. In
2009, we developed a ram pump to illustrate water hammer and
technology that may be implemented without electricity in developing
countries. In 2010, a model of a geyser formed in a storm drain in
Minneapolis was constructed to learn about water hammer and bubble
release in a horizontal pipe. In 2011, students constructed a scaled
version of the Deepwater Horizon well to learn how to clog a well using
top-kill and bottom-kill techniques. In 2012, students learned to apply the
US Corps of Engineers HECRAS tools and LIDAR GIS data to study flooding
of Wildcat Creek.
Worked with Neyveli Lignite Corporation, State Groundwater Department
and Federal Ground water Authorities in India to develop term projects for
CE 654 and CE 854 to understand groundwater flow and transport. From
1990 onwards in various projects such as modeling regional groundwater
impairment caused by mine pumping and irrigation. In 2000, I had
developed models for comprehensive analysis of groundwater quality and
evolve comprehensive remediation strategies both for improving the
quality of groundwater as well as tools for mitigating groundwater
declines. In 2004, we developed artificial recharge sites and implemented
three types of recharge structures and studied the impact of artificial
recharge on regional groundwater flow patterns. In 2005, we had studied
the effect of Injection wells on impairment of saltwater intrusion and
designed a battery of injection wells for arresting and control of salt water
intrusion. Currently we are evolving the vegetation pattern that can be
implanted for the reclamation of dumping sites with a view to restore the
hydrology to certain extent. All these experiences on the practical field
problems and their solutions were discussed in the class and the concept
of project based learning has been utilized efficiently for learning by
students and the feedback from students on this method is highly
encouraging. Recently, in my Groundwater Engineering course, students
individually identified a groundwater sustainability challenge and
performed a field investigation, gathered data, developed conceptual and
computer models, and justified their design solution to the class.

Bringing research to the next generation of engineers and scientists by

hosting students from schools for a one-day workshop on Climate
Change and its Impact on Water and Environment by conduction various
competitions like painting, essay writing, elocution, role=play etc in
addition to the lectures by two eminient experts one on water and
another on environment. The school kids had also visited the Hydraulics
Lab and Environmental lab of our department and have plans in place
with teachers to continue this annually
Utilizing the latest technology in engineering education. Collaborated with
staff in National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research to
develop infrastructure to digitally record courses (e-content and video
lectures) and disseminate via National Programme on Technology Enabled
Learning. Teaching students to utilize recent advances in organizing tools
and data for engineering design, such as MOOC, MOODLE, Flipped
Classrooms etc is on the anvil.

Developing the foundation for a new interdisciplinary program in Sustainable

Development and Environmental Management crossing the university, in a
on-line course mode, is under progress and will be able to implement the
same wherever I join as a faculty.