Dr. Sukh Gurung is a professional engineer and devoted academic born in Armala, Kaski, located south of the Himalayan mountains and north of the city of Pokhara. Near the snowcapped Machapuchare Himalayan peak, among the green hills surrounding Pokhara, with their scenic lakes, rivers, and green trails, Dr. Gurung first aspired to build an extensive and inspiring career as an engineer constructing infrastructures bridging nature and human civilization. His pursuits have taken him not only throughout his home country of Nepal but also throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and the United States.
He was awarded complete schooling for pursuing undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs with his excellent schooling record. His first stop was India, where he earned a BE in civil engineering from Jai Narayan Vyas University. He continued his studies in Thailand, where he earned an ME in geotechnical engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology, a higher education institution renowned for programs focusing on engineering, advanced technologies, and sustainable development. As any disciplined adventurer and scholar, Dr. Gurung decided to devote himself fully to his passions. After completing his master’s programs, he flew to Japan and completed a Ph.D. program, earning his doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from Hiroshima University in 1996.
Dr. Gurung built an impressive work history with these extensive academic achievements. He has held various positions as a civil engineer for institutions such as the Department of Roads, the Department of Irrigation, and CARE International in Nepal. In Japan, he held a researcher position with Hiroshima University, collaborating in a research program in environmental engineering with Cambridge University, UK, and Federal University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His research articles have expanded the discipline in significant ways. Dr. Gurung has also collaborated on projects focusing on the subsurface investigation and drilling a deep tube well to provide clean drinking water to local communities in Uganda. He is a registered engineer in Nepal and a professional engineer in New York State. He is affiliated with renowned organizations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society of Nepalese Engineers.
He is involved in developing numerous specialty geotechnical and civil engineering projects in the United States. His work is also instrumental in designing deep foundations for constructing high-rise buildings in New York, thirty-two stories in Brooklyn, and fifty-nine stories in Manhattan, especially adjacent to busy subway tunnels where it is imperative to avoid compromising the structural integrity of the high-rise buildings and the tunnel itself. He has also performed routine assessments of different dams in New Jersey for structural performance and safety. He teaches a geotechnical course through onsite classes in New York and New Jersey and online classes to civil engineers registered with the School of PE, Dublin, Ohio, for their professional engineers licensing exam.
Undoubtedly, Dr. Sukh Gurung has reached incredible heights in his infrastructure development career that addresses the continued growth of human civilization. He has achieved the hard-earned dream of a bright-eyed, hungry scholar who has traveled, mind and body, a long way from Pokhara to different parts of the world.
With over twenty-three years of experience and multiple degrees, he remains a pillar in his field, inspiring ingenuity and innovation. His journey has showcased that hard work, focus, and an adventuresome spirit can create an enriching career that spans countries, continents, and seas. Eventually, Dr. Gurung’s odyssey brought him to settle down with his family in the United States in May of 2002, where he still lives today.
Dr. Sukh Gurung: A Pioneer in the Profession from New York
