St. Charles dad and daughter named to NIU Engineering Hall of Fame’s inaugural class

When Northern Illinois University’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET) launched its first Hall of Fame this fall — part of the college’s 40th anniversary celebration — the spotlight naturally turned to the accomplished alumni and leaders being honored.

But for St. Charles residents Dr. Promod Vohra and Divya Behl, the recognition came with a special twist: they were being inducted together, as father and daughter, a distinction that flows from decades of their shared history with NIU and CEET.

During the Nov. 14 Hall of Fame ceremony at CEET’s Engineering Building in DeKalb, they were inducted along with CEET’s late founding dean Romualdas “Rom” Kasuba and alumnus Joe Sener.

Building partnerships

A native of India, Vohra came to NIU at CEET’s inception in the mid-1980s. The first graduate student in CEET’s history, he earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1988. He followed it with a doctorate in instructional technology from NIU in 1993, then joined the faculty and steadily moved into leadership roles. In 2003, he was appointed acting dean and shortly after became the full dean, serving until 2016.

In that span, Vohra helped spur on and shape CEET’s expansion. He led efforts that strengthened career placement, broadened partnerships with community colleges and industry, and supported initiatives aimed at increasing diversity and student engagement.

He was pivotal in building partnerships with over 400 companies, championing high job placement, and expanding pathways that made an NIU engineering degree more accessible and affordable. And his work with community colleges helped numerous students transfer in with credits and graduate with less debt.

In his remarks, Vohra closed with a powerful reminder of the role engineers play.

“Engineers are the catalysts of innovation and wealth creation. If you don’t create products, the lawyers have nothing to protect. If you don’t create products, businesses have nothing to sell and we don’t need IT,” he observed. “So, we are the starting point of wealth creation in this country.”

For him, the Hall of Fame honor is a bookend to a long career that began — and continues — in the Fox Valley and beyond. Over the past nine years, he’s been active in philanthropy and business in a variety of roles, including acquiring PMA Friction Products with his daughter in 2024. He remains engaged in engineering education and consulting work while living in St. Charles with his wife, Anju.

The next generation

While Vohra’s story traces CEET’s early years, his daughter’s story shows what the college has helped produce for the next generation.

Born shortly before CEET itself was officially established, Behl grew up with NIU as a familiar backdrop. In her remarks at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Behl recalled walking the campus hallways as a toddler while her father completed his graduate work.

Years later, after graduating from Sycamore High School in 2002, she enrolled at NIU, earning her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 2005 and master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering in 2008 — both times receiving her diploma from her proud father.

She is the CEO, president and owner of Batavia-based PMA Friction Products, a global leader in the design and manufacture of custom-engineered brake and clutch friction materials.

With over 20 years of experience in the aerospace, automotive and industrial industries, Behl previously served as vice president and general manager at Woodward, Inc., where she led the aerospace hydraulics business unit.

During her tenure at Woodward, she was also vice president of the program management office and systems test facility. Roles at prior employers included vice president of operations and engineering and program management officer.

Beyond her corporate leadership, she’s a passionate advocate for education and professional development. From 2010 to 2012, while residing in Dallas, she created and hosted “Weekend Wisdom,” a nationwide wide radio show that offered practical advice to help listeners save time, money and energy.

“My career the last 20 years has looked much more like a sine curve than it has a straight line,” Behl said during her CEET Hall of Fame acceptance speech. “I have engineering to thank for so much of it; I have Northern to thank for so much of it.”

NIU, she observed, has been “the only constant in a life that is full of change.” And for Behl, her induction is more like a springboard than a personal milestone:

“I think to myself about legacy and what the next 20 years looks like. I’m asking myself, `What else?’ … what is the impact that we have on society? What is our legacy? How are we going to create that legacy for all the students that come through this building?”

Colleagues who nominated her for CEET’s Hall of Fame highlighted not only her operational expertise, but also her commitment to guiding newer engineers. She traces that passion to her years at NIU.

Behl, like her father, now lives in St. Charles with her family. Her husband, A. Rishi Behl, is an orthopedic surgeon whose work includes serving as head team physician for NIU athletics. Their two children are enrolled in St. Charles Unit School District 303 schools.

A shared moment

For the Tri-Cities area, the joint induction highlights the region’s longstanding ties to NIU engineering. Many CEET graduates work in local industries, with Vohra and Behl contributing significantly to that ecosystem.

As dean, Vohra helped forge partnerships with companies across northern Illinois, including firms in the Fox Valley, that created internships, co-ops and research collaborations.

Their Nov. 14 induction ceremony took place during CEET’s Innovation Showcase, an event that brought alumni, faculty, researchers and students together to highlight advances in manufacturing, analytics, and emerging technologies.

Purush Damodaran, a longtime NIU professor of industrial and systems engineering who is also the department’s interim chair, noted their selections to the CEET Hall of Fame are “a testament to their shared commitment and contributions, which we deeply appreciate.”

He lauded Behl for “being an exceptional partner” to CEET, including engaging students through sponsored research projects at her company.

Damodaran has also worked with Vohra for over a decade on several impactful initiatives, including the Engineer-in-Residence program, corporate partnerships and international collaborations.

“All are aimed at directly benefiting budding engineers from CEET,” Damodaran said. “Together, we continue to tackle challenging problems that strengthen the local economy by engaging Northern’s engineering students in industry-driven projects.”