Dr. Humar receives A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction

Dr. Jagmohan Humar has been named the winner of this year’s A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction – Carleton’s highest alumni honour. The award is presented annually by the Carleton University Alumni Association (CUAA) to a graduate in recognition of outstanding achievement or contribution in any field of endeavour.

Professor Humar completed his PhD in Civil Engineering at Carleton University in 1974 and joined the Department of Civil Engineering the following year. He went on to serve as Chair of the Department from 1989-2000, a term which would see the establishment of an independent bachelor’s, master’s and PhD program in environmental engineering at Carleton. Today, because of that visionary step, the program is now one of the strongest and most respected in the country.

In 2001, he was named a Chancellor’s Professor at Carleton. After his retirement in 2003, the University appointed him Professor Emeritus and a Distinguished Research Professor in recognition of his continued research activity and graduate supervision.

Professor Humar’s contributions to the University go well beyond teaching and administration. The influence of his career extends outside the walls of the university, as he is internationally recognized as a leader in his field for his research in the areas of structural dynamics and earthquake engineering. Professor Humar authored “Dynamics of Structures”, a text which has been published in 1990, 2002 and most recently in 2012 and is used around the world. He has also served for over 15 years as a member and alternate chair of the Canadian Research Council’s Standing Committee on Earthquake Engineering, an advisory body for the Seismic Design provisions of the National Building Code of Canada.

Not only has Dr. Humar been an outstanding researcher and academic, he has been involved in several consultancy projects that have brought further recognition to himself and Carleton University. He served as a special consultant for several outstanding civil engineering projects, including the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa and the SkyDome in Toronto, the first large sports stadium with a fully retractable roof.

Dr. Humar should also be recognized for his philanthropy, community service and compassionate nature. An endowment fund has been established in his name for an annual scholarship to an outstanding graduate student in civil and environmental engineering. He is also very active in and a driving force behind a Women Empowerment organization in India to help women gain access to further education.

Dr. Humar continues to support the Department in teaching a graduate course in Structural Dynamics. He has successfully supervised 15 PhD and 30 Master’s students. For his excellence in teaching and research he has received both the teaching and research excellence awards of Carleton.