Autor: Chandresh H. Solanki

Dr. Babu T. Jose completed his B.Tech. from NIT Warangal in 1967 with Nehru Memorial Gold Medal, M.Tech. from IIT Madras in 1972, and Ph.D. from Cochin University of Science and Technology in 1990. He was Lecturer in NIT, Calicut, for 13 years (1967–1980), Reader (1980–1990), and Professor in Cochin University of Science and Technology during 1990–2004. Currently, he is Emeritus Professor in Cochin University of Science and Technology since 2004. He has commendable experience in research. He has guided 12 Ph.D. students, obtained several research grants from Dept. of Science and Technology, AICTE, Sate Committee for Sc. & Tech., etc. He has published over 200 research papers, and on the consultancy front, he has successfully completed over 500 projects. On the administrative side, he was Principal, School of Engineering, Cochin University during 1980–1995 and Director of two Engineering Colleges from 1985 to 2004. Dr. Dipak Kumar Sahoo is Full-Time Faculty Member since 2001 and currently Professor since 2009, in the School of Engineering, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi. Prior to academics, he worked in the Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, a Central Public Sector Company in India for more than 10 years as Consulting Engineer to many public and private sector companies for setting up their green-field petrochemical complexes in different parts of India. He received his B.Sc. Engineering (Civil) from CET Bhubaneswar in 1987, M.Tech. in Construction Engineering and Management from Cochin University of Science and Technology in 1998, Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in 2009, and LL.B. from the Cochin University of Science and Technology in 2015. He is also Reviewer for leading international journals of repute. Dr. Sai Vanapalli is Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Ottawa. He took Ph.D. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1994. He has been actively involved with research activities related to mechanics of unsaturated soils. He has published over 125 research contributions, including peer-reviewed journals, refereed conferences, book chapters, keynote papers, and state-of-the-art reports. In 2010, he was honoured with the Stermac Award for his outstanding contributions to the Canadian Geotechnical Society. He was also nominated for various teaching awards, including the OCUFA Teaching Excellence Award and the University of Ottawa Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is Active Member of several professional societies, including the Canadian Geotechnical Society, American Society of Civil Engineers, Professional Engineers of Ontario, and the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Prof. Chandresh H. Solanki is Professor (Geotechnical Engineering) in the Department of Civil Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (NIT Surat), Gujarat, and Faculty Member since 16 August 1991. He has guided more than 59 postgraduate dissertations and 26 Ph.D. theses. He is Present Research Supervisor of 6 ongoing Ph.D. research scholars. He has published more than 180 research papers in reputed international and national journals and conferences. He was Chairman of the Indian Geotechnical Conference (IGC) 2019, Surat. He has been elected as Member of the Executive Committee IGS for the four terms (2015–2021). He worked as Dean (Planning & Development) and Head of the Department at SVNIT, Surat. He has published 9 books and edited proceedings. He has 33 years of teaching experience for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Dr. K. Balan was Professor and Dean (Research) of Rajadhani Institute of Engineering and Technology, Nagaroor, Trivandrum. He was Former Professor in Civil Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum under the Directorate of Technical Education, Govt. of Kerala. His Area of research is on Geosynthetics with natural fibres, especially Coir Geosynthetics. He published about 120 papers in International and National Journals, Conferences, and Keynote Lectures in Coir Geosynthetics. He was Reviewer of three international journals and Editorial Board Member of Indian Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Improvement published by Indian Chapter of International Geosynthetics Society. Dr. Anitha G. Pillai is currently Dean Academics at SCMS School of Engineering & Technology, Karukutty, Kerala, and has been Full-Time Faculty Member in the Department of Civil Engineering of the institution since 2001. She also headed the Department during the period 2015–2021. Prior to that she was with the industry for two years and has worked with Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, Kochi, Kerala (FACT) for a year. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Government Engineering College, Thrissur, Kerala, and master’s degree in construction engineering and management from Cochin University of Science & Technology (CUSAT) with a first rank. She also received her Ph.D. from CUSAT. Along with her teaching assignments, she has been Coordinator for NAAC Accreditation and guided the Civil Engineering Department for NBA Accreditation. She is Life Member of ISTE, Indian Geotechnical Society, and Indian Concrete Institute.