‘Kalpana Chawla Hall,’ the newest residential facility for students of the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). UTA formally dedicated the facility in memory of the astronaut on Sept. 24. (Photo, as it appears on www2.uta.edu)

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) on Sept. 24 formally dedicated ‘Kalpana Chawla Hall,’ its newest residential facility for students on its campus, in memory of India-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who died in the Columbia space shuttle crash on Feb. 1, 2003.

The ‘Kalpana Chawla Hall’ can house 400 residential students and is designated as a living-learning community, a concept that dedicates space to groups of students who not only live together but who also attend classes and study together. Students in the new hall are clustered in 16 learning communities according to learning themes or major disciplines.

Kalpana Chawla.

The dedication ceremony was attended by Chawla’s father Banarasi Lal Chawla; Chancellor of University of Texas Mark Yudof; President of the University James Spaniolo; and members of the Indian-American community. Consul General of India in Houston, Skand Tayal, described Chawla as a person who wanted to reach for the stars and beyond.

The first batch of students at the ‘Kalpana Chawla Hall’ announced they would build a ‘Time Capsule’ in Chawla’s memory which would bed in the year 2034, according to a university press release.

Chawla, who received her master of aerospace engineering degree from UTA in 1984, was the flight engineer and mission specialist aboard the Columbia shuttle that was lost during re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere.

Chawla, known as K.C. to friends and colleagues, is remembered for her sense of humor. On her shuttle flights, she wore a UTA T-shirt emblazoned with ‘UT Arlington Aerospace Engineering’ on one side and ‘As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist’ on the other.

Venkat Devarajan, a UTA electrical engineering professor and native of India, said Chawla’s accomplishments have inspired women worldwide but particularly in India. “I understand that already there are scores of Indian women who have become pilots on commercial aircraft and serve as fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force,” he said. “In conservative India, this is a significant trailblazing trend.”