Despite his outstanding track record as an academician and a professional, he is a down-to-earth, soft-spoken person. Age hasn’t diminished his zest for life yet.
His face lights up as he tells you he maintained his interest in sports while at Carleton and regularly played badminton. “I wish I could continue that, but time and situation are limiting factors. I’d love to keep up with my bridge too, but it’s not always easy to get together for a game.”
Talking about his early childhood in India, Humar says, “I was born on 15 September 1937 in Udaipur. My father, Bhanwar Lal Humar, was the district magistrate, and a session’s judge, in the state services of the ruler of Mewar in the pre-independent India. After independence, he was appointed a Judge of the High Court in the newly formed Rajasthan. My mother, Lakshmi Bai, was a simple and pious lady. Most of her time was occupied in rearing and nurturing the six of us, even as she tended to all household chores and duties and her prayers”.
Be it his school or college, he was always the topper. Having studied at the prestigious Vidya Bhawan High School (Udaipur), he joined the Maharana Bhupal College (Udaipur) and two years later, became a gold medallist in the intermediate board examinations. To the delight of his family and teachers, he scored full marks in mathematics. His academic achievement won him a four-year scholarship for B.Sc. (civil engineering) from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi. The excellence continued and he graduated with a gold medal. He then obtained a master’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT–K), again with top rank.
Recalling those heydays, he says, “I have always valued time. Seizing the first opportunity, I attempted and cleared the Union Public Services Commission – Engineering (UPSC) examination in the first attempt. It led to my selection as a civil engineer in the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), New Delhi. My last posting in the CPWD was in Madhopur, Jammu and Kashmir”.
While still working, he had applied for a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship for his graduate studies. Taking leave from his work for a study trip, he flew to Canada with his family in 1971 to join Carleton University where he completed his doctoral degree in civil engineering in three years and returned to his job. “Commonwealth Scholarship covered the study and related expenses. I am grateful to Canada for its support and opportunities provided,” he says.
However, destiny had bigger plans in store for him. A few months later in 1975, he received an offer for a prestigious faculty position at Carleton University. He was in a dilemma. While he had a permanent job and was due for a promotion, the prospects in Canada allured him too but he made the perfect choice. With a smile, he shares, “My association of 45 years with Carleton has been one of the best things that could’ve ever happened... the richest and most fulfilling experience of my life – I couldn’t have asked for more. Yet when I retired, Carleton named me the distinguished research professor of engineering”.
Good work never goes unrecognised. Humar’s research in earthquake engineering has been published in many journals, conference papers and books and is recognised internationally. He is the sole author of, Dynamics of Structures, a book that is used in engineering education throughout the world and is a recognised reference.
His career is a benchmark for many in the field. He has won innumerable awards, including Carleton University’s Teaching and Research Achievement Awards (1992, 2000) and Davidson Dunton Award of Distinction (2015), Whitman Wright Award (2001) and A.B. Sanderson Award (2003) given by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) and the Fellowship of Canadian Academy of Engineering (2005). In 2011, CSCE held a special conference session in his honour. However, could anything else be higher than being appointed a Member of the Order of Canada – Jagmohan was inducted in 2020!
Family: The foundation of a character and life
Jagmohan prides himself on his close family ties, which he affirms is the bedrock of a balanced and stable life. Family provides the ideal environment for people to grow up into balanced individuals in a nurturing and sustaining environment of love, care and respect. “We retain a close relationship with our extended family in India. Even today, the fourth generation youngsters in our family keep in touch with their cousins, uncles and aunts in India. Two of us make it a point to visit India every year, while others visit as often as possible.”
Dr. Humar lost his father when he was still a student. His elder brother, Shyam Sundar, donned the mantle of a father figure and helped him with his education and other matters. Jagmohan got married to Yash on 23 May 1962. Talking about their children, he says, “Children truly are a blessing”. His daughter, Rachna, the eldest, is a family physician and works in Ottawa. She is married to Rajesh Jain, a software engineer in the Department of National Defence. They have three children, Avni, Amit and Ruchi. His son, Abhinav, is a specialist in live liver transplant and serves as the Chief of the Transplant Programme at Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, Pittsburgh. His wife, Priya, is a real estate broker. They and their children, Rishabh and Pooja, live in Pittsburgh (USA). His youngest son, Atul, is a post-transplant infection specialist at the Toronto General Hospital and is the head of its transplant programme. His wife, Deepali Kumar, is also an infection specialist in the same hospital. They have three children, Sapna, Saurav and Sonika.
Dr. Humar’s social activities are many and varied. He is often invited to lecture on the basic tenets and principles of Jainism in educational institutes and conferences across Canada. He has been the president of the Ottawa Jain Society for over 30 years and also serves as the Jain representative on the Capital Region Interfaith Council.
He is the founding president of Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council (MGPC), Ottawa, a charitable organisation founded in 2006. The Council educates and serves the people of Ottawa and surrounding communities in Gandhian thought and principles. Under his leadership, it successfully obtained a life-size statue of Mahatma Gandhi from the Government of India and installed it at Carleton University in 2011. The Council also established an endowment fund at Carleton for an annual M.K. Gandhi Lecture on Peace and Humanity.
Dr. Humar’s father and father-in-law, Moti Lal Minda, had started a school, Jain Kanya Vidyalaya, for the education of women in Udaipur. In its 75th year, it has over 1200 students and offers quality education for modest fees. Yash and Jagmohan offer scholarships to meritorious students of the school. They have also financed the construction of a building for a co-ed primary section, Rishab Jain Academy, within the school’s premises. Recently, they have financed the construction of a co-ed school building in Udaipur, which will offer education from nursery to grade 12 for a total of 600 students. Dr. Humar also co-founded a project for women empowerment in Udaipur. The project titled Pragati Ashram was assisted by a matching grant from the Canadian Development Agency. It provided lodging, boarding and extra-curricular programs for young women while they pursued university education.
The Humars actively participated in the establishment of a school in Ottawa to impart primary education in the Hindi language. Yash served as the principal of one branch of the school for 10 years.
Dr. Humar is an accomplished poet and has published a book of poetry, Jeevan ke Rang. His poems have also appeared in several anthologies of poetry published in Canada. He has been invited to poetry recitals across Canada, some of which have been aired on TV.
“A satisfying life strikes a balance between family, society, job, and leisure. It might not give you all the luxuries, but it will bring you satisfaction,” sums up Dr. Jagmohan Humar.