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 Engineering
prof wins international graduate teacher award
Electrical and computer engineering professor Dr. Vijay
Bhargava has won the 2002 IEEE Graduate Teaching Award from the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the world’s
largest technical professional society with more than 333,000 members
in 150 countries.
The award cites Bhargava for “excellence in graduate
teaching, curriculum development, and inspirational research guidance
of graduate students in the area of wireless communications.”
The award consists of a bronze medal, a certificate and a $2,000
US honorarium.
“I enjoy being with students and to be recognized
for something that you enjoy is very rewarding,” says Bhargava.
“I give my students complete freedom and learn alongside with
them. I feel it’s important that students facilitate their
own way through research and I’ve learned a great deal from
my past and present students.”
Bhargava joined UVic in 1984, and helped develop and
nurture the graduate program in the newly established department
of electrical and computer engineering. Prior to that he held regular
and visiting appointments at the Indian Institute of Science, University
of Waterloo, Concordia University, and the École Polytéchnique
in Montreal.
Bhargava currently holds a Canada Research Chair in
wireless communications, which provides research funding of $200,000
per year for seven years. Along with the chair, Bhargava received
funding from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council
to add five more graduate students to his research team.
One of Bhargava’s former graduate students is Dr. Aaron Gulliver,
who went on to work at Carleton University and the University of
Canterbury and who now works as a professor of electrical engineering
at UVic.
“Vijay’s lab is one of the most productive
in the world in the area of wireless communications,” says
Gulliver. “He’s a great mentor and inspiration to his
students and provides an environment in his lab that nurtures their
research interests. He genuinely cares about the welfare of every
student he comes in contact with.”
During his 28-year career, Bhargava has supervised
17 PhD theses and 35 master’s theses. Seven of his graduate
students are now faculty members at Canadian and U.S. universities
and several have gone on to become researchers and leaders in industry
and government agencies.
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