About:

Dr. Durga Agrawal was born in Lakhanpur, a small town in Madhya Pradesh. As a student, he excelled in Sciences and Math and was admitted to one of the best Engineering Colleges in India--Delhi College of Engineering. Durga was awarded the National Scholarship by the Government of India for his outstanding academic performance. He graduated with Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. Durga came to Houston in 1968 to earn his Masters (1969) and Doctorate (1974) in Industrial Engineering from the University of Houston.

Intrigued by the idea of turning his designs into products, Dr. Agrawal established Piping Technology & Products in 1975. Today, the company has a wide product range including pipe supports, expansion joints, shock control devices, pressure vessels and is one of the leading manufacturers in the field of piping industry. Through the years, he has been a part of many organizations:

Appointed to the UH System Board of Regents in 2013 by Governor Rick Perry and will serve through August 31, 2019.

Licensed Professional Engineer, and a member of the National and Texas Societies of Professional Engineers.
A part of the Cullen College of Engineering Leadership Board and is an advisor to the University of Houston Department of Industrial Engineering.
Served as a member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (2009-2013)
Director of the Agrawal Association of America and a member of the India Cultural Community. He also served (2003-2014) as an advisor to the Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC, U.S. Dept. of Commerce/USTR). Serves as a Board Member of Friedman Industries since 2006
Serves as an Associate Member on the MD Anderson Board of Visitors since 2013

Dr. Agrawal has also been the Founder President of India House, a nonprofit community center and the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston, a nonprofit organization that works to promote Houstons economic growth. These two organizations have gone a long way in bringing the community together. He also led the delegation from Houston for the first Diwali celebrations at the White House.

One of Houston s biggest community events – The celebration of Janmashtami owes its beginnings to Dr. Agrawal efforts. In 1989, he brought pictures and silver coins of the deities from India, and would arrive at the venue with his wife Sushila to help set up the event. Thanks to his early efforts, Houstonians have been celebrating Janmashtami every year for the last 26 years.

His vision of the future, strategic planning, and willingness to diversify, placed Piping Technology on sound footing to ride out the economic crunch that hit the Houston area in the 1980s, a time when many of his competitors saw their businesses fail. Durga acquired Sweco Fab in 1986, U. S. Bellows in 1997, the companies (Fronek Company, Inc., Fronek Anchor/Darling Enterprises,Inc., Pipe Shields, Inc., FCI Pipe Supports, Inc.) from the Shaw Group in 2004, and the assets of Lortz Manufacturing in 2011.His company has grown from three to a workforce of over four hundred. He has demonstrated a strong sense of loyalty in the conscientious way he has operated the company.

Durga Das Agrawal established his manufacturing firm, Piping Technology & Products, Inc. (PT&P), in July 1978. Born (March 5, 1945) and raised in the small village of Lakhanpur, which is located in the state of Madhya, Pradesh, India, Agrawal developed his entrepreneurial inclination at a young age by helping his father, a local merchant and shopkeeper, with the family business. An outstanding student with an aptitude for math, he received a National Scholarship from the government of India following his graduation from high school. Subsequently, he enrolled at the University of New Delhi, where he received a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1967.

Dr. Agrawal credits his success to the values of compassion, patience, teamwork and respect for education he imbibed from his parents. Durga and his wife Sushila have successfully imparted the same values to their four children Anu, Rakesh, Aarati, Alpna and eight grandchildren.

Criteria:

Grant for charitable, religious, scientific, literary or educational purposes and to support scholarship for the students on the basis of merit-cum- means to any student of university.