Technology issues pedaled during cross-country U.S. bicycle journey

Suzanne Surbeck
ASME Operations

In the spring of 2004, ASME member and avid bicyclist Roopinder Tara rode his bike across the United States to raise awareness about technology needs. When he returned from his 31-day trip on May 27, Tara donated some money he had raised from sponsors to the ASME Foundation to establish the TenLinks/ASME Scholarship fund, inspired by those for whom a journey of much less distance is far more difficult.

The TenLinks fund will consist of six $2,000 scholarships to be awarded during the 2005-2006 academic year. It is open to ASME student members who are enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate engineering program in the United States. Particular consideration will be given to applicants with physical disabilities.

Roopinder Tara at the end of his cross-country trip.

"A couple of years ago, I was riding my bike when a man in a wheelchair signaled me to stop," Tara said. "I had ridden 100 miles that day through hills and fields. The man I had just spoken to was going to have trouble going a few blocks. I"d like the money to help some physically or economically challenged people to get to school, so they, too, can be more mobile and see more of the world around them."

During his cross-country bike trip, which began in Irvine, Calif., and ended at Revere Beach in Boston, Tara rode 80 to 150 miles a day, rain or shine. He biked through the desert and mountains, through wheat fields and pastureland, traveling on everything from smooth interstate highways to cracked and cratered roads and alleys.

"I really got a renewed appreciation of how vast this country is and the goodness of the people that live in it," he said. With the trip over, he said that he finds himself missing "the serenity and the singularity of purpose that a major physical task like this entails. Although I would never give up the challenges of running a business and the demands of family life, I"ll have a fond memory of the incredibly simple, pure clarity of purpose in those 31 days it took me to get across the country."

Tara received his Master"s degree from Pennsylvania State University. After serving as editor for Cadence magazine, he started his own online computer-aided design publishing company, TenLinks.com, in February 1999. He joined ASME in 1986.

To learn more about how to establish a scholarship fund or to hear about other ASME Foundation programs, contact Warren Leonard at (212) 591-7846 or e-mail leonardw@asme.org to arrange a consultation.

 

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