Bhaskar Thapa

Bhaskar Thapa
Born September 7, 1963
Died June 19, 2013
San Francisco, California [1]
Cause of death heart attack
Alma mater Berkeley University, Carnegie Mellon University

Bhaskar Thapa (Nepali: भाष्कर थापा) (September 7, 1963 – June 19, 2013) was a Nepalese-American tunnel engineer known as the lead designer of Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore.[2] He is considered an expert of the New Austrian tunnelling method (NATM). The Caldecott Tunnel passes through California State Route 24 and connects Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California.[3] The project had an estimated cost of $391 million[2] He had presented his tunnel technology programme at Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (Nepal) and was very keen to work on Kathmandu Terai Fast Track.[4][5] He is a member of Jacobs Associates, an engineering firm based on California. He has received his PhD on geotechnical engineering from Berkeley University and an engineering degrees from Carnegie Mellon University.[3] He died from a severe heart attack on 18 June 2013 after playing a tennis match.[1] He worked on the project for 8 years before his death. Jacobs Associates established Bhaskar Thapa Memorial Trust for the surviving members of his family.[3]

Bhaskar enjoyed seeing the fruits of his labors after when the tunneling and final lining were completed on this challenging project. He was incredibly proud of this achievement, and we often spoke about the pride he would feel when driving his two boys and wife through the tunnel.

-Michael McRae, Principal, Jacobs Asdociates[6]

On 2016, his father diplomat Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa released a compilation book of works done on tunnel engineering by Bhaskar.[7]

Family

He is the only son of diplomat and former minister Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa and public health specialist Dr. Rita Thapa. His sister Manjushree Thapa is a Nepalese-Canadian English language author. His other sister Tejshree Thapa resides in Brussels. He is survived by his wife, Sumira Thapa and their two sons; Barun Thapa, a Junior at University of California Berkeley and Sidhant Thapa, a freshman at College Park High School.[4][1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nepali Times – The Brief » Blog Archive » Bhaskar Thapa, 49". Nepalitimes.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Tunneling Starts on West Portal of Caldecott Fourth Bore Project – News – Metropolitan Transportation Commission". Mtc.ca.gov. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "IN MEMORIAM: Bhaskar Thapa – Tunnel Business Magazine". Tunnelingonline.com. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Obituary : Promises cut short". Kathmandupost.ekantipur.com. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "Farewell". Engineering.berkeley.edu. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Book compiles late Thapa's works on tunnel engineering". Ekantipur.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.



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