NEW DELHI: Renowned road safety and injury prevention expert Dinesh Mohan succumbed to the novel coronavirus infection on Friday, according to IIT Delhi director V Ramgopal Rao.
"Dinesh Mohan was under treatment at St Stephen's Hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19. He passed away this morning due to a cardiac arrest. He was a stalwart in areas of road safety and transportation, and made immense contributions to research in the area," Rao told PTI.
Mohan, 75, was an Honorary Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.
He was also the founder of Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP) at the institute.
Noted historian Irfan Habib took to Twitter to express his condolences.
"Extremely sad to know that Professor Dinesh Mohan, dear friend and former IIT Delhi faculty succumbed to Covid. Lots of memories of serious discussions on history and science. My sincere condolences to his wife Peggy Mohan," he said.
Congress MP and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Deeply saddened. Had known him for over 40 years. Passionately devoted to S&T in India including scientific temper which is all but vanishing".
Mohan, who was one of the world's leading experts on traffic safety issues and human tolerance to injury, is known for his work in areas of advancing motorcycle helmet design.
Pedestrian and bicyclist safety and child restraint regulations, vehicle crashworthiness and road safety research, design of safer truck fronts, analysis of highway crashes, analysis of tractor driver vibrations and interaction between safety and environmental policies and developing safer ways for various modes of transportation to safely share the roadways, are among the noteworthy researches by him.
An alumnus of IIT Bombay and University of Michigan, Mohan is also credited with publishing some of the earliest studies on the limited role of hard shells in motorcycle helmets, mechanical properties of human soft tissues at very high strain rates, head injury criteria for children, safety of three-wheeled scooter taxis, bringing national attention to burn injuries caused by fireworks during Diwali festival in India and agricultural injuries due to farm machines.
"Deeply shocked to learn about the passing of a giant of #injury prevention. Dinesh Mohan was an innovate, driven and fun leader in the field. Co-founder of the series of World Conferences and visionary #roadsafety champion. He leaves a huge legacy. Rest in peace my friend," Etienne Krug, Director, Social Determinants of Health at World Health Organisation, said in a tweet.
IIT Delhi said in a statement, "it is a huge loss for all the faculty, students and staff at TRIPP, IIT Delhi and all those known to him at the institute and the traffic safety community in India and the rest of the world.
We all pray the almighty to give his family the strength to overcome this huge loss".