Chanders plan retirement

A pair of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point professors will be busy after they retire from more than 30 years of teaching.

Upon their retirement, Jagdish Chander, professor of physics and astronomy, and Jyostna (Jyoti) Chander, senior lecturer in mathematics, have plans to expand the "Festival of India," an annual event that has been close to their hearts for many years.

Jagdish was hired at UWSP in 1966 after teaching physics at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, and D.A.V. College, Jallandhar City, Panjab, India. He said that he came to the U.S. because he saw the opportunity to be at the forefront of educational technology. Jagdish received a master’s degree from Birla Science College, Pilani, India, and a doctorate from Friedrich Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, where he participated in an academic exchange program sponsored by the German government.

Jyoti followed her husband to the U.S. after the birth of the oldest of their three daughters. She began her career at UWSP in 1968.

She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Panjab University and a master’s degree in education from UWSP. She taught mathematics at D.A.V. Girls School in Jallandhar City and at Mission Higher Secondary School in Sura Nassi, Punjab.

In anticipation of retirement, the Chanders have chartered a nonprofit organization, "Shama, Inc.," to sponsor the Festival of India. Shama is the Indian word for the flame of a lamp or candle. Previously the event was sponsored by Thursday People, an ecumenical organization, and more recently by the North-South Foundation of Chicago.

Before the next festival on October 7, they plan to expand its scope to include imported goods such as handicrafts which will have the additional benefit of generating income that will help train Indian women to run cottage industries.

The festival attracts 800 to 1,000 people from throughout the state to the Stevens Point Area Senior High School for a day of learning about Indian culture, enjoying traditional food and viewing a variety of Indian entertainments. The event raises more than $5,000 each year to provide financial aid for about 250 economically disadvantaged women who attend P.N. Doshi Women’s College in Bombay, India. The college assists women hardest hit by poverty.

"It has exceeded our expectations," Jagdish added.

Jagdish and Jyoti returned to India in 1978 when they led 23 students on a semester-long study tour sponsored by UWSP's International Programs.

"I saw India through the eyes of our students," Jagdish said. "It was interesting to see how they reacted to a culture that they never had the opportunity to experience." Jagdish saw wide gaps both in Indian students’ understanding of American life and culture and UWSP students’ perception of India’s diversity. He realized a need for programs to bridge that divide.

The "Festival of India" has partially served that objective.

During her career, Jyoti has helped develop the Women in Science program at UWSP and served on the UW System advisory board for the program. She was a member of the UW System "Expanding Your Horizons" network for young women in seventh and eighth grades. Jyoti also is the founding adviser of the South Asian Society on campus and received the University Mentor Award for her work with the group. Jyoti also is co-founder and co-adviser of the Women in Math and Computing organization.

She has presented papers and lectured in the community and throughout the state on a variety of topics including mathematics and women’s issues. She has received a number of accolades including the Vice Chancellor’s Merit Award, the Women of Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Minority Women’s Network and the UW System’s Women of Color Leadership Award.

Jagdish was project director for the National Science Foundation supported Undergraduate Research Participation Program at UWSP from 1968 to 1972. The program has since continued with university support. Many physics students have presented papers at regional conferences during their senior year under the auspices of the program.

Jagdish's research has included development of negative ion source for use with particle accelerators, radiation damage in solid state charged particle detectors and characteristics of high resolution Germanium detectors for gamma ray spectroscopy.

In the late 1970s, the physics department invested in new technology for conducting experiments in atomic and nuclear physics. Jagdish has concentrated his efforts on keeping the physics labs compatible with the highest standards of the field.

As a couple, the Chanders have returned to India about every other year.

"It is as if we live in two cultures at the same time, one very ancient and the other new," Jagdish said. "We have learned from both cultures, one that values material achievements and the other that values spiritual aspects. We have tried to find a convergence of the two."

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