Kesavan Gangadharan, a structural consultant at Iyer & Mahesh Consultants, Kerala, India, and an ASCE life member whose exemplary career spanned nearly six decades in six countries, has died. He was 88.
A point of pride for him as a civil and structural engineer was being as conversant with the design practices and construction techniques of the Middle East as he was with British, ACI, international, Euro, CEB-FIP, and Indian codes.
Gangadharan, P.E., F.ASCE, was behind the design and construction of a wide variety of public, private, commercial, recreational, agricultural, and marine structures. He oversaw the construction of multimillion- and multibillion-dollar projects in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, India, Qatar, and Kuwait as head of structural engineering and in senior engineer roles.
Beginning his career in 1965 with the state of Kerala’s public works department designing public buildings, government offices, commercial complexes, roads, and bridges, he then continued with multinational consulting engineering companies in the Middle East. In the early 1990s he worked as the senior structural/civil engineer for the Bahrain Defense Force, constructing projects worth more than 200 million Bahrain dinars ($530.5 million).
Gangadharan was a life member of ASCE, Bahrain SE, ACI, IASC, and ISSE, and a fellow at FIE, FACCE, FIA Struct E, FICI, among numerous other professional bodies.
He worked as manager of the structural engineering department of Mohammed Salahuddin Consulting Engineering Bureau, Bahrain, overseeing the design and structure of many commercial projects, shopping malls, showrooms, and factories. Later he lent his expertise to Bonyan Design, Consulting, Architects, Planners & Engineers in Kuwait, and was designated as the senior structural engineer for their major projects in Kuwait.
Entering the 2000s, Gangadharan was senior civil engineer for GMEC-KUK, the German consultant on construction of Al Saad Stadium, Doha, for the Qatar Asiad 2006.
Although technically retired, he continued to be professionally active almost until his death in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
