A Journey Inspired by a Mentor

Heart Beats of SPCE: Part 6

A Journey Inspired by a Mentor !

Prof. S N Nagraju was our Soil Mechanics teacher in SPCE. With smile on his face, he was always friendly with the students. 

Whenever we visited his cabin or laboratory we saw him busy with drawings spread on the table, and doing calculations on his calculator. 

Later on we came to know that he provided consultancy to the project, construction and expansion of Bombay Airport’s Airstrip. He was expert in Geotechnical Engineering, especially in designing and constructing stone columns. This technique was used under coastal soils conditions to enhance load bearing capacity and provide stability to airstrip. 

He had presented papers on stone column design and construction at prestigious international conferences, including those held in Stockholm, Sweden, and Tokyo, Japan.

He was good teacher and always doing the things at ease. He was the teacher who never took attendance in the classroom, but hardly any student would miss his lecture. He encouraged us to perform experiments in soil mechanics laboratory at our pace. 

Prof. Nagaraju often shared his experiences from the projects with us during classroom and laboratory sessions. His approachable personality and willingness to involve students in real-world applications left a profound impression on me.

Prof. Nagraju was very considerate of my circumstances. When I participated in cultural programs and sports activities, he kindly granted me an exemption from attendance requirements in laboratory work for that.

Inspired by his mentorship, I chose Geotechnical Engineering as my elective subject in the final year. 

I immersed myself in books by renowned authors like Terzaghi and Peck on that subject. Karl Terzaghi, often referred to as the "Father of Soil Mechanics," was a pioneering civil engineer and geologist who revolutionized the field of geotechnical engineering. His innovative research and practical applications transformed geotechnical engineering from a field reliant on experience to one grounded in scientific principles. 

Terzaghi's works, along with Prof. Nagaraju's guidance, fueled my passion for Geotechnical Engineering. 

At that time, under Bombay University, there were three engineering colleges: VJTI, SPCE and College of Engineering at Panaji, Goa.

In my final year, I secured the highest marks in the university in my elective subject, Geotechnical Engineering. Hearing that, Prof. Nagaraju invited me to his cabin, congratulated on my achievement, and encouraged me to pursue post graduate studies at IIT.

At the end of the final semester, I applied for admission to IIT Bombay, cleared its written test, interview and got selected.  At the time, admission to IIT required separate applications for each institute, as the GATE exam for M.Tech admissions had not yet started—it was introduced in 1982. 

While I was selected for the M.Tech program in Geotech at IIT-B, I decided not to pursue it. Instead, I joined the Public Works Department as an Assistant Engineer at Omerga subdivision in Osmanabad district. 

However, after a year, I realized that my true calling was teaching. An aspiration to become professor in engineering college! Hence, I left the PWD and joined SSBTS College of Engineering and Technology, Jalgaon on its very first day. That was the day, August 8, 1983! 

A new chapter in my journey began!

Dr. Mahendra Ingale, Former Principal @Pune, March 26, 2025