Dr. Peddibhotla Gangadhara Sastry

Dr. P G Sastry holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering (Honours) and a Masters in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Kharagpur as well as a Doctorate in Engineering from Technical University, Dresden, Germany and Post-Doctoral Research in Berlin and Hanover in Germany.

Worked formerly as a Chairman in Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Govt. of India, for Clearing Irrigation & Hydropower Projects in India. He was a Director, NIT, Warangal and Director General, Water and Land Management Training & Research Institute, Government of Andhra Pradesh. He is a Training Specialist, World Bank Hydrology Project, also a senior Expert, Netherlands-Funded Water Supply Project. He was Chief Advisor, Environment Protection Training & Research Institute and visiting Professor, Ohio State University, USA.

Dr. P G Sastry has received numerous prestigious International, National and State level awards throughout his illustrious career. He was awarded Germany’s esteemed Post-doctoral Humboldt Fellowship thrice in 1963, 1964, and 1970. He also received three best paper awards from the Institution of Engineers (IEI) in 1978, 1979, and 1980. In 1998, he was honoured with the Professional Expertise Award from Vishwabharathi Academy. The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh conferred upon him the title of “Paryavarana Praveena”. In 2005, he received the Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visveswaraya Special Award from IEI, followed by the Sir Arthur Cotton Award by Jandhyala Charitable Trust in 2006. He was also titled “Professor Par Excellence” by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. In 2007, he was awarded the “Padma Bhushan Dr. K. L. Rao Special Award” by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, he received the “Paul Harris Fellow Award” from Rotary International Foundation in 2007, “the Engineering Educator Life Time Achievement Award” by ISTE, India in 2008, “the Rotary Vocational Excellence Award” in 2009, “the Award of Excellence in Technical Education” by Lions Club in 2013, “the Life Time Achievement Award” by the Indian Society for Hydraulics in 2015, and “the Engineering Seva Ratna Award” by the International Elders Club in 2021. In 2023, he was also honoured as the “Best Professor & Director in Environment Education” by the Ideal Teaching Awards Programme (ITAP).

Dr. P G Sastry has made significant contributions to the establishment of Outcomes-Based Engineering Education (OBE). During his visiting professorship at Ohio State University, USA in 1998, he was involved in the preparations by the Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (ABET) for the introduction of OBE in US Engineering and Technology Institutions, which was implemented in 2000, Europe followed suit in 2010.

In India, the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) introduced a paradigm shift in Engineering Education by transitioning to OBE in 2013. As one of the pioneers of OBE, Dr. Sastry played a crucial role in its establishment in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and other states. He trained 8,400 faculty members in 92 engineering colleges and polytechnics between 2010 and 2020, significantly impacting the quality of Engineering Education in India.