Dr. Maneek Kumar is a Professor of Civil Engineering and Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology (SOET). He has earned his UG, PG and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. His PhD research was on Reliability-based Design of Structural Elements. His major research interests include reliability-based design, retrofitting and rehabilitation, and Ultra High-Performance Concrete (UHPC). He works on probabilistic and reliability models, neuro-computing and optimization techniques in concrete and reinforced concrete design.
Dr. Kumar has a teaching and research experience of more than 30 years. He has taught courses on Mechanics and Strength of Materials to all disciplines of engineering. He was amongst the youngest to become a full Professor at the age of 34 years.
He has published more than 80 research papers in National and International Peer reviewed journals and conferences. Furthermore, he has also completed several Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy projects with an outlay of more than 2.5 Crores. He is a life member of many professional societies and associations like ICI, ISTE, ASCE (India), MSI, PMA etc.
On administration front, Dr. Kumar has been a Director of STEAM & Quality at the DIT University for near to one and a half years. During his tenure of near to 27 years at Thapar Institute, Patiala, he led the Faculty of Civil Engineering for 6 years and also served as the Dean of Student Affairs.
Dr. Kumar is a sports enthusiast, and his day usually begins with a game of badminton. In his spare time, he enjoys writing poetry, reading books, and listening to music, specially ghazals by Jagjit Singh.
