Vijay Datta
India & New College 1961
Born in Lahore, India in 1939, Vijay Datta studied at Panjab University and the Panjab Engineering College in Chandigarh before going to Oxford as the first Indian Rhodes Scholar to read for a DPhil in engineering. After working in the UK for a period and then qualifying as a chartered engineer, Datta emigrated to the US, becoming a project engineer on nuclear power plants for Gibbs & Hill Ltd. After testifying as an expert witness during lawsuits brought against the General Electric Company, he specialised in the field of construction claims. Now retired, Datta continues to be a generous supporter of the Rhodes Trust and of New College. He is also a Ruby Life Master in bridge. This narrative is excerpted from an interview with the Rhodes Trust on 7 January 2025.
‘My father decided that I should be educated at home’
I grew up in Lahore, where my father was a professor at the Panjab University. At that time, in the late 1930s and early 1940s, there were a lot of religious disturbances going on in the Panjab between Hindus and Muslims. Therefore, my father decided that I should be educated at home rather than going to school. My mother taught me to read and write. I spent a lot of time playing and learning from my four brothers and my sister. We had a garden with fruit trees and we kept chickens and it was a lovely experience just growing up with my siblings.
After partition in 1947, the Panjab University was split into two parts. My father’s job was relocated in various places in India. We moved around a lot, and my father hired a tutor for me rather than moving me between schools. It was only in 1949 that I went for formal education to the Sacred Heart Convent high school in Dalhousie. It was an interesting time to start school. Our classes were very small and I got a lot of individual attention from our teachers, who were nuns. I did well there and stood first in most years. Then, my father’s job moved again and I went to high school in Jullundur.
On applying for the Rhodes Scholarship
I studied engineering at Panjab University. I finished first in the whole university. A lot of the students there were older and had already done bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and science, but I didn’t feel any stress competing against them. I was very active in tennis, table tennis, debating and the student union. I was also President of the student body. I was awarded the Gold Medal Scholar at the Panjab Engineering College.
I had applied for a master’s degree at Roorkee University. My teachers told me about the Rhodes Scholarship. I asked for an application form and applied for the scholarship – and in the meantime I started my master’s degree in structural engineering. I was successful in winning the Rhodes Scholarship. However the scholarship did not start until October 1961. I was also taking various examinations for jobs in India. I came first in the whole of India in all the exams for engineering graduates. I was offered the best jobs that were available in the federal government. My mother wanted me to stay in India and my father wanted me to accept the Rhodes Scholarship. It was a difficult choice! Then I joined the Indian Railways for about three months and they granted me a leave of absence for studies at Oxford. I was delighted to accept the Rhodes Scholarship. I looked forward to go to New College.
‘I enjoyed my three and a half years at Oxford’
When I got to Oxford, there was no one in the engineering department who could guide me for my research in structural engineering. I discussed with the Warden of Rhodes House about doing research in either Cambridge or Imperial College, London. In the meantime, Oxford hired Dr. Lightfoot from Leeds University. He wasn’t due to arrive until the second term, so I spent my first term learning about Oxford and getting to know the engineering department. When Dr. Lightfoot arrived, he became my supervisor. The engineering department was not very big in 1961-1962.
While I was at Oxford, I couldn’t go home during the winter vacations because I didn’t have the money and my research work was going on. I remember my moral tutor, Dr. A. Cooke, from New College, inviting me for dinner at Christmas time. I felt so obligated and thankful that I told myself that one day, if I had the resources, I would repay New College. I have had the good fortune to endow a scholarship at New College.
I was also the president of the South Asian Society, which gave me the chance to meet and socialise with lots of other students. I invited distinguished guests to Oxford, including the High Commissioner of India and the Ambassador of Nepal. Overall, I enjoyed my three and a half years at Oxford.
‘My work has been enormously interesting and it’s taken me to so many places’
When I finished my DPhil I went to work in London with a consulting firm – Rendel, Palmer and Tritton – which was supposedly the oldest consulting firm in the world. As part of becoming a chartered engineer in England, I had to have both design experience and site experience, so the firm sent me to Liverpool where they were designing the Seaforth Dock project. While I was in Liverpool, I saw that an American firm, Gibbs & Hill, was advertising for engineers to go to the US. I was interested in working for them because they were designing and building nuclear power plants. I applied and interviewed and they offered me the job and said they would sponsor me to come to the US. I went back to India to see my parents and got married. I requested Gibbs & Hill, to sponsor my wife as well. Luckily, they agreed! So, in April 1970 my wife and I immigrated to the US to start work in New York.
I designed and supervised nuclear power plants for about 20 years. In the late 1980s, the General Electric Company was being sued by utilities for alleged defects and for environmental reasons for its work on nuclear reactors. General Electric and its lawyers requested Gibbs & Hill for assistance. I became the expert structural witness and a colleague of mine was the mechanical engineering expert witness for the lawsuit. General Electric was successful in defending the lawsuits because of our expert testimony.
As a result of that experience, I decided to take construction management courses at NYU. I became an expert in construction claims. I was elected a member of the American Arbitration Association and a member of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers. My work has been enormously interesting and it’s taken me to many places – including as the project engineer for nuclear power plants in Spain and Italy. I have worked across the US, although I have been based in New York for most of my life.
I retired in 2016. I still follow developments in engineering but most of my time is spent meeting people and keeping healthy. I play tennis and pickleball and I’m also a Ruby Life Master in bridge and hoping to become a Gold Life Master soon. I’ve always been very interested in travel too. My wife and I have travelled all over the world, including China, Russia, Japan, Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, Egypt and South Africa. In fact, we went to South Africa to be part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Rhodes Scholarships. That was such an interesting experience, meeting Rhodes Scholars from all over the world. We also went on safari and saw the house where Cecil Rhodes lived and the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. I continue to travel the world with my children, Vikram and Angie, and we even visited New College Oxford in 2017.
‘Do something to make the world a little bit better’
I think winning the Rhodes Scholarship is like winning a lottery for life. Of course, Rhodes Scholars will face many hurdles in life which they will have to persevere to overcome, but they are also very privileged. So, my advice to today’s Rhodes Scholars is to make as much use as you can of that privilege, and to help your college if you can. I had promised that I would help New College if I could, and in 2023, I endowed a graduate scholarship there. So, if you can, if you have the resources, do something for Oxford, and do something to make the world a little bit better.