Conference Honorees and Keynote Speakers
Ravindra Gettu
Conference Honoree
Prof. Ravindra Gettu is currently V.S. Raju Chair Professor, in the Department of Civil Engineering, at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Structural Engineering from Northwestern University.
The areas of research of Dr. Gettu have been fracture mechanics of concrete and rock; nonlinear behaviour of cement-based materials; high strength, fibre reinforced and self compacting concretes; sustainability and the effective use of chemical admixtures.
He was honoured for outstanding contributions at the Gettu-Kodur Symposium on Advances in Science & Technology of Concrete, organized by the India Chapter of the American Concrete Institute, Mumbai, in 2018. He was elected as a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in 2018. He is the Immediate Past President and Fellow of RILEM, the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Structures and Systems, based in France. He was elected as a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Engineering in 2019.
Session Organizers:
– Prof. Radhakrishna G. Pillai
– Dr. Anusha S. Basavaraj
Surendra Manjrekar
Conference Honoree
Dr. Surendra Manjrekar is CMD of Sunanda Specialty Coatings Pvt. Ltd. Surendra is the “Honorary Member” of American Concrete Institute (2018) and “Honorary Fellow” of Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT), UK (2022). Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) India honored him with “Industry Doyen Award” (2017). He was three times “President of India Chapter of ACI” and “Principal Convener of ACI Certification in India” (2008 – present).
Surendra is Vice Chancellor appointee on “Internal Quality Assurance Cell” of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, Mumbai as an Industry representative. He is Special Signatory to MOU for technical co-operation between India, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia organized by ACI in Singapore (2019).
He is active in concurrent R&D work in the fields of Corrosion Prevention in RCC/PSC structures with special emphasis on infrastructure, 3rd Generation Corrosion Inhibiting Admixtures, Internal Curing, Repairs of Dams, Bridges, Irrigation Canals, water related structures, Polymers, Underwater Concreting, CO2 sequestration in polymers, Nano molecule Soil Stabilization, Waterproofing, Anti-freezing Admixtures in Concrete.
Session Organizers:
– Prof.Muhammed Basheer
– Prof. Alejandro Durán Herrera
Changwen Miao
Conference Honoree
Prof. Changwen Miao, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, professor of Southeast University and President of Jiangsu Research Institute of Building Science Co., Ltd.
Prof. Miao has been making great contribution to the improvement of the durability of concrete, developing key technologies of anti-cracking for concrete, and R&D on multifunctional materials for civil engineering. Changwen Miao has in succession won 3 second prizes of National Award for Progress in Science and Technology and 6 first prizes at the provincial and ministerial level, and over 20 other prizes in provincial and departmental technological advancement award. He obtained 32 national invention patents, published 4 monographs and over 100 papers .
Prof. Miao also serves as a member of Administrative Decision Committee of RILEM, Associate editor of the journal of Cement and Concrete Composites, Vice director of China Building Material Federation, Executive director of China Civil Engineering Society, Executive Director of The Chinese Ceramic Society, Vice director of China Concrete and Cement-based Products Association and etc.
Session Organizers:
– Dr. Pan Feng
– Dr. Cheng Yu
Takafumi Noguchi
Conference Honoree
Prof. Noguchi is a professor at the University of Tokyo. He obtained Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Properties of High Strength Concrete from the University of Tokyo. His research fields are wide-ranging, and he has authored numerous papers on high-strength concrete, self-compacting concrete, completely-recyclable concrete, carbon neutral concrete, optimization of maintenance of concrete structures, fire-resistance of concrete, etc. He supervised 55 students and awarded them Ph.D. degrees.
Prof. Noguchi is Vice-president of Architectural Institute of Japan, President of Japan Society for Finishings Technology, Chief Director of Ready-mixed & Returned Concrete Solution Association, Chair of ISO/TC71/SC8 (Environmental management for concrete and concrete structures), Deputy-chair of fib Commission 7 (Sustainability), Member of ACI 130 Committee (Sustainability of Concrete), Fellow of RILEM, and Fellow of Japan Concrete Institute. Prof. Noguchi won Publication Award of Japan Society for Civil Engineers in 2013, The highest “Excellence Award in Concrete Construction” of ACI in 2017, Awards for Outstanding Concrete Structures in Building Category of fib in 2018.
Session Organizers:
– Prof. Ippei Maruyama
– Prof. Manabu Kanematsu
Gaurav Sant
2023 RILEM Robert L’Hermite Medalist
The 2023 RILEM Robert L’Hermite Medal was awarded to Prof. Gaurav Sant, who is Full Professor in Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he is Director of UCLA’s Institute for Carbon Management. The Robert L’Hermite medal was awarded to Prof. Sant in recognition of his activity aimed at developing new technologies for carbon dioxide management and improving the service life of modern construction materials. In particular, he has played a significant role in development of carbonate-cemented composites and data-driven concrete optimization by application of machine learning. His remarkable research activity, testified by numerous indicators such as highly cited publications and patents, has reached beyond the borders of the academic community, leading to the creation of award-winning companies and industrial consortia. Moreover, he has also been active in communicating research results to legislators, to illustrate pathways for technological carbon management. In 2017, Prof. Sant received one of the Gustavo Colonnetti medals for his previous work on silicate dissolution in cementitious environments. Since then, his research activity has diversified and accelerated, bringing him to the leadership position in CO2 management that is today acknowledged by the Robert L’Hermite Medal 2023.
Karen Scrivener
Conference Honoree
Prof. Karen Scrivener is a material chemist known for her pioneering works in cementitious materials. She is the head of Laboratory of Construction Materials at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and served as the editor-in-chief of the Cement and Concrete Research journal for 15 years.
Dr. Karen Scrivener works at the interface between academic research and industrial applications in the cement industry. Her academic studies of microscopic structure have considerably advanced the understanding of the behavior of cementitious materials, in particular with regard to the deterioration of concrete. She is a founder of the Nanocem network, which in ten years has grown to include 11 industrial partners and 22 academic partners.
The publications of Prof. Scrivener are frequently cited, amounting to an H-index of 103. Her work has already been recognized with several prizes including the prize and the Della Roy Lecture Award from the American Ceramic Society.
Session Organizers:
– Prof. Shashank Bishnoi
– Dr. Franco Zunino
Surendra Shah
Keynote Speaker
Prof. Shah has been actively involved in concrete technology research for several decades. His research addresses a variety of topics in concrete materials science and engineering, including high-strength concrete, shrinkage measurement, nondestructive test methods to monitor properties ranging from setting time to the modulus of elasticity, and rheology of fresh concrete, self-consolidating concrete, and nanotechnology applications. He has made pioneering and groundbreaking contributions to understanding fiber-reinforced concrete, damage, and fracture and developing innovative experimental techniques. He served as a Professor of Civil Engineering, at Northwestern University and founded NSF-funded Center for Advanced Cement Based Materials (ACBM) including the academic partner universities of Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, and NIST.
Currently, he is the Director of the Center of Advanced Construction Materials, Civil engineering department at the University of Texas at Arlington.