News Releases

UWI Professor elected Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

For Release Upon Receipt - November 3, 2011

St. Augustine


The UWI St. Augustine is pleased to announce that Professor Gurmohan Kochhar, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has recently been elected Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is one of only 3,187 Fellows, out of 199,209 ASME Members, selected for the honour. 

A member of the ASME since 1973, Professor Kochhar is the immediate past-Deputy Principal of The UWI St. Augustine Campus, having served in the role for six years, from 2002-2008. He also served as Dean and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Engineering for four and six years respectively, during which time, he was instrumental in the formation of The Engineering Institute within the Faculty, and the enhancement of linkages between The UWI and several international universities.

Prof Kochhar has done extensive research in the thermal properties of local building materials which has led to the utilization of a more efficient air conditioning system and ultimate energy conservation. He has also done significant research in the field of Solar Engineering. Some of Professor Kochhar’s research work include: Energy Conservation - Environmental Control Systems; Determination of Comfort Zones for Local Climates, and Solar Operation of Absorption Refrigeration Systems, to name a few.

Professor Kochhar’s work in the field of engineering earned him the Career of Excellence in Engineering award from the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT) in 2003. He was the youngest engineer to receive this award. He was also awarded by the ASME Trinidad and Tobago Group for the advancement of the engineering profession in 2006.

The UWI is pleased to acknowledge this accolade given to Professor Kochhar in recognition of his continuing contributions to the field of Engineering.

About ASME

ASME is a not-for-profit membership organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, career enrichment, and skills development across all engineering disciplines, toward a goal of helping the global engineering community develop solutions to benefit lives and livelihoods. Founded in 1880 by a small group of leading industrialists, ASME has grown through the decades to include more than 120,000 members in over 150 countries worldwide.

From college students and early-career engineers to project managers, corporate executives, researchers and academic leaders, ASME's members are as diverse as the engineering community itself. ASME serves this wide-ranging technical community through quality programs in continuing education, training and professional development, codes and standards, research, conferences and publications, government relations and other forms of outreach.

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About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 50 physical site locations across the region, serving over 20 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

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