Kashkari, Drs. Chaman N. and Sheila Family Scholarship for Women in Electrical Engineering
The Drs. Chaman N. and Sheila Kashkari Family Scholarship for Women in Electrical Engineering was established in 2012 by Drs. Chaman N. and Sheila Kashkari.
Dr. Chaman Kashkari was born in India in 1933. He obtained master's of science and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering in 1966 and 1969 from the University of Detroit and the University of Michigan, respectively. He taught at The University of Akron from 1969 to 1994 and retired as an emeritus associate professor of electrical engineering. Dr. Kashkari devoted his research career to using technologies that provide water and energy to villages in Africa, India, and Nepal. In recognition of his leadership in working to end world hunger, he received the U.S. Presidential End Hunger Award at the White House in 1990 from President George H. W. Bush.
During his distinguished career, Dr. Kashkari was continually impressed by the talent and intelligence of many of his students, particularly female students, who often were most accustomed to juggling the demands of family and work with life as a university student. He was constantly inspired by their intellectual brilliance, their devotion to learning difficult engineering concepts, and their capacity to work as team members and prepare outstanding laboratory reports. Knowing he had top-flight students, Dr. Kashkari says he always worked hard to be prepared to answer their difficult questions. Dr. Kashkari was proud that his students, particularly the female students, achieved successful engineering careers.
Dr. Kashkari believes that the future will be dominated by waves of outstanding professional female engineering talent and hopes there will be a global movement to train thousands of women engineers, which will result in countless new jobs.
Dr. Sheila Kashkari was born in India in 1938. After earning a medical degree in India, she passed the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) examination, which qualified her to work in the United States. She completed her residency in Detroit. Dr. Kashkari was a pathologist at Akron City Hospital until 2001 and currently works part time for Quest Diagnostics.
Drs. Chaman and Sheila Kashkari are proud of their two adult children, Dr. Meera Kashkari Kelley and Mr. Neel T. Kashkari and their families.
The Drs. Chaman N. and Sheila Kashkari Family Scholarship for Women in Electrical Engineering is to be awarded to an undergraduate student in electrical engineering at The University of Akron. Preference is to award this scholarship to a U.S.-born female student. If no qualified applicant meets this request, the scholarship may be awarded to a qualified female undergraduate student born in another country. Further, if no qualified applicant meets the above criteria, no award will be made during that academic term.
The recipient must also demonstrate an exceptional work ethic, outstanding leadership in both the classroom and community, and an extraordinary dedication to engineering. Financial need is to be considered, and the recipient must offer a cumulative 3.0 GPA or better.
The funds from the scholarship are to be applied to tuition and mandatory fees only. The recipient is to be selected by the director of The University of Akron’s Women in Engineering Program or its successor.