Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge

The Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge is a focal point of the CEE Modernization plan and will become a campus landmark. The 2,200-square-foot suspension bridge will connect the Hydrosystems Lab with Newmark Lab. The bridge will be a comfortable space with collaborative and lounge areas, and will be fully instrumented to make it a teaching tool and showcase for the latest infrastructure monitoring technology.  The bridge itself is fully funded thanks to a generous gift by Kavita and Lalit Bahl. Opportunities still exist, however, to fund and name collaboration areas along the bridge deck.

Lalit is an alumnus of Illinois’ Electrical and Computer Engineering department who earned his master’s degree in 1966 and his Ph.D. in 1969. Kavita’s late first husband, Ravindar K. Kinra, earned his Ph.D. in 1968 from Illinois CEE. Gratitude for their education and the research assistantships the two men received during that time motivates Lalit and Kavita’s continued philanthropy to this day.