Dr. Alok Bhandari, 44, of Manhattan, Kansas, passed away on January 30, 2013, after a courageous battle against cancer.

Dr. Bhandari was the Dr. Robert Snell Alumni Professor and Department Head of Civil Engineering at Kansas State University. He also served as the founding Director of the Urban Water Institute, Kansas State University-Olathe. Dr. Bhandari was a passionate teacher, a dedicated administrator and prolific scholar.

Dr. Bhandari was a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award, the Kansas-Science to Achieve Results (K-STAR) First Award, and Virginia Tech Civil Engineering’s Outstanding Young Alumni Achievement Award. His academic career was focused on research and teaching in environmental engineering and has authored or co-authored over 100 publications.

He is survived by his wife Mrs. Nidhi Bhandari, their 10 year old daughter Mira, his parents Mr. Tara C. Bhandari and Mrs. Sheela Bhandari and his sister, Mrs. Ila Sharma.

Alok will be in cherished memories of his family and friends forever.

Memorial services will be held from 3:00 until 5:00 p.m. Saturday, February 9, 2013, at the All Faiths Chapel at Kansas State University. A reception will immediately follow in the Fieldler Hall Atrium at Kansas State.

On line condolences may be left for the family at this website by clicking on "Send Condolences."

Memorials have been established for the KSU Foundation for the Alok Bhandari Memorial Scholarship or to the Engineers4cancer Foundation (www.engineers4cancer.org) which is a non-profit charity started by his daughter, Mira Bhandari, to help provide assistance to the caregivers of cancer patients. Contributions may be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas 66502.