The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched the ‘Surendra and Dorothie Shah Chair’ for cutting-edge research in the field of civil engineering materials. Due to the immense amount of construction work undertaken every year in India along with the volumes and expenditures continually increasing, the research on this field is important, says the institute.
The key areas of research that would be undertaken under the ‘Surendra and Dorothie Shah Chair’ include materials, structural design and/or technologies for construction and/or infrastructure. The group has already started to work on reducing carbon footprint.
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Prof Surendra P Shah, an expert in engineering materials, particularly concrete and other cement-based construction, has set up the chair at IIT Madras. He is the founding director of the pioneering NSF Science and Technology Center for Advanced Cement-Based Materials.
He is “responsible for developing high-performance concrete, fibre reinforced concrete, self-consolidating concrete, shrinkage reducing admixtures, carbon nano-tube reinforced cement-based composites and extrusion processing of concrete. These have revolutionized the way modern concretes are used worldwide. His fundamental motivation has consistently been to connect microscopic behaviour to the structural response of concrete,” IIT Madras said.
He currently serves as the Presidential Distinguished Professor, University of Texas, and Walter P Murphy Emeritus Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University.
While Dorothie Shah is the founding president of the Indo American Museum, now called the National Indo American Museum, in Chicago.
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While addressing the launch event, Prof Shah commented, “The decision to choose IIT Madras (to set up this Chair) was very easy. As is well known, IIT Madras is one of the top institutions in India. The construction materials group is not only one of the best in India but very highly recognized internationally in the field. My association with IIT Madras has been quite long and fruitful.”
Prof K Ramamurthy, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, is the first occupant of the ‘Surendra and Dorothie Shah Chair. He ranks amongst the top 2 per cent of researchers worldwide in building and construction, claims the institute.
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