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Alumnus funds scholarship to make the path easier for chemical engineering graduate students

July 31, 2024 - by Kim Delker

photo: Subhash and Jaya Shah on the UNM campus.
Subhash and Jaya Shah

Today, Subhash Shah is enjoying the fruits of his labor from a career as one of the world’s top experts in hydraulic fracturing, horizontal/multilateral well completions/stimulation and coiled tubing technology. He holds the professional engineer designation and has enjoyed successful careers in both industry and academia.

But the native of India remembers a time when life was not so easy.

Shah earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from M. S. University of Baroda, India, in 1968. He also married his wife, Jaya, shortly after graduation, then a year later he embarked on a journey to the United States for graduate school in chemical engineering at UNM.

“I remember in 1969, it was kind of rough,” he said. “It was a hardship for me and difficult to get financial help.”

He was even so strapped for money that he had to leave his wife behind in India for two years until he could find the resources to relocate her here. Shah eventually earned his master’s in 1971 and Ph.D. in 1974.

Shah feels fortunate to have had a mentor who connected him with fellowship opportunities in math and computer science, but feels that other students in that position should not have to struggle financially like he did. It is that experience that prompted him and his wife to do something to help.

He and his wife created the Dr. and Mrs. Subhash and Jaya Shah Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, which provides funds to the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Recipients will be two graduate students in good standing in the department and will be chosen by the dean or a designate.

Shah credits UNM with much of his career success. For 18 years, he worked in the petrochemical engineering industry in technical labs and the field, as a research engineer for Allied Chemical and as a senior research engineer, group supervisor, and distinguished member for Halliburton. It was at Halliburton where he began teaching at the Energy Research Institute and discovered a new passion.

When an opportunity came for a professor at the University of Oklahoma in 1994, he was encouraged by colleagues to apply. That marked the beginning of his second career in academia. While at the University of Oklahoma, he held the title of Stephenson Chair Professor and Director of Well Construction Technology Center. He also served as the director of Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering for two years. In 2015, he became professor emeritus.

Among his career honors, he has been recognized as the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Distinguished Member and Distinguished Lecturer, as well as a recipient of the SPE Completions Optimization and Technology Award. In addition, he is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and received the 2017 UNM School of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award for his accomplishments.

Shah says that giving back is part of the fabric of who he and his wife are, something they have instilled in their sons, Nimesh and Monil, and hopes they are passing down to their children.

“I derive happiness from giving more than I’m receiving,” Shah said. “It’s very gratifying, and it’s what we were taught.”

He emphasizes that giving back can be done monetarily, but for those without the resources, it can take other valuable forms. In addition to being active in their community (they live near Dallas), they also do volunteer work in their home country of India.

“There are many other ways to give back, such as through time and talent,” he said. “There are many ways to make life better for people.”

For information about the Dr. and Mrs. Subhash and Jaya Shah Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, contact Elsa Maria Castillo in the Engineering Student Success Center at elsac@unm.edu or scholarships@unm.edu.