Episode 44: Shakuntala Bhagat
Shakuntala Joshi was born February 6, 1933. Her dad was bridge engineer S. B. Joshi aka the Father of Bridge Engineering in India. At just 20 years old, she got her civil engineering degree at Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute in Mumbai. This made her the first woman civil engineer in India. She did her practical training in West Germany and the UK from 1954 to 1956 and then later got a master's degree in civil and structural engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960s. After, she was an assistant professor of civil engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai. And, the Head of the Heavy Structures Laboratory at the university.
During her career, she and her husband designed and patented an innovative prefabricated modular system known today as The Quadricon Modular Bridge System. This is a series of prefabricated mass-produced modular bridge steel parts, small and lightweight enough to make transport easier for builders. They can be used in different types of bridges, different spans, traffic widths, and loads, all they had to do was change the combination of the assemblies. They also developed the Bhagat Unishear Connectors, a structural jointing device, which they used with their Quadricon Bridges. In 1972 Shakuntala and her husband were recognized with an award from the Invention Promotion Board, for their Unishear connectors. She designed more than 200 Quadricon steel bridges, of spans from around 60 to 450 feet all over the globe.
In 1993, she was recognized as the Woman Engineer of the Year. After a lifetime of achievements, Shakuntala passed away in 2012, at 79 years young.
Caryatid: Leda Speziale San Vicente
Leda Speziale San Vicente was a civil engineer with a specialty in structural engineering, from Mexico City. She was the 11th woman to graduate with a degree in engineering from Mexico. She became one half of an engineer power couple when she married fellow engineer Ignacio Guzman. He was always totally supportive of her and her career despite the chauvinism that was normal at the time.
Leda started her career in the government sector but the majority of her career has been spent in Academia. She began as a professor at The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Eventually became the head of the engineering department and today she is professor emeritus, the first woman to reach that status at the university.
Agora: Feedspot List of Top Women History Podcasts
https://blog.feedspot.com/women_history_podcasts/
List of Heavy Structures
https://www.civil.iitb.ac.in/research
Deep Dive into Unishear Connectors & Quadricon System For Steel Bridges
References
“6 pioneras de la ingeniería en México.” La Crítica, 22 June 2018, www.la-critica.org/6-pioneras-de-la-ingenieria-en-mexico.
Muthukumar, Roshini. “India’s First Female Civil Engineer Built 69 Bridges From Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.” The Better India, 3 Mar. 2021, www.thebetterindia.com/250265/india-first-woman-civil-engineer-shakuntala-bhagat-mumbai-iit-quadricon-bridge-construction-womens-day-ros174.
PM News Bureau. “Shakuntala A. Bhagat, First Woman Civil Engineer, Bridge Superstructure.” Projects Monitor, 4 July 2013, www.projectsmonitor.com/pathfinders/shakuntala-a-bhagat-first-woman-civil-engineer-bridge-superstructure.
“Shakuntala Bhagat Biography : Story of India’s First Woman Civil Engineer, Bridge Superstructure.” YouTube, uploaded by Shudh Manoranjan, 9 Mar. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiPmfOTKS_4.
Torres, Karen Julibeth Quevedo. “Ser ingeniera en los tiempos de Agustín Lara.” Animal Político, 9 Mar. 2015, www.animalpolitico.com/2015/03/ser-ingeniera-en-los-tiempos-de-agustin-lara.
Wikipedia contributors. “Shakuntala Bhagat.” Wikipedia, 1 Sept. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Bhagat.
Images:
"Shakuntala A. Bhagat, First Woman Civil Engineer, Bridge Superstructure". Projects Monitor. 2013-07-04. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
Elkaissi, Jamal. Prefabricated Steel Bridge Systems: Final Report. US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, 26 Jul 2018. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/prefab/psbsreport03.cfm
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