S. Vishnu Sharma
IIT Madras Prof. Ravindra Gettu has been awarded RILEM’s highest recognition of ‘Honorary Member’.
RILEM (from the name in French) stands for International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures).
Service
He (IIT Madras Professor) served as its President during 2018-21, being the first and only Asian do so in its 78-year history.
He was earlier Vice-President and Chair Technical Activities Committee of the same organization, which brings together researchers on construction materials from around the world.
Prof. Ravindra Gettu, who is the V.S. Raju Chair Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, led the technology development and implementation of ‘Fibre reinforced concrete’ (FRC) in India.
Works Done
Over the past decade, 500 km of tunnels lined with Fibre Reinforced Concrete have been built in India with at least 30 laboratories having been sent up for testing FRC.
Over same period, about 19 million sq. m. of slabs-on-grade for factories, warehouses, roads, basements and ports also came up in the country, say sources from IIT Madras.
Vision And Projects
Prof. Ravindra Gettu’s vision has been to focus on technology implementation in the construction sector by taking new developments from research to practical application for improving quality and sustainability.
The Current Projects being worked on by Prof. Ravindra Gettu of IIT Madras include textile-reinforced concrete and sustainability assessment of construction, among others.
His new projects that are going to be taken up include large building construction with precast and prefinished components to improve quality, reduce wastage, increase the lifespan and lower environmental impact, say sources from IIT Madras.
Thanks Giving
Thanking RILEM for his honour, Prof. Ravindra Gettu, V.S. Raju Chair Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “Pride, Enthusiasm, and Inclusivity – these three words describe my feelings about RILEM.
I have had the wonderful opportunity of leading the world’s most significant organization of researchers in construction materials, in a phase of growing global footprint and scope, said Prof Ravindra of IIT Madras.
He further said ‘I am glad to have overseen the transition to communications and interactions based on social media and online meetings that, though forced upon us by the pandemic, opened the doors for reaching remote parts of the world and gave the chance for researchers, who could not afford to travel abroad, to voice their opinions and showcase their investigations.’
Congratulations
Prof. Manu Santhanam, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras, and an active RILEM member and Fellow congratulated Prof Ravindra Gettu.
RILEM has truly gotten a more international flavour after Prof Gettu’s presidency, and his term was marked with many firsts such as the establishment of the RILEM Youth Council and the online workshop series, said Prof Manu of IIT Madras.
His excellent stewardship of this organization through the difficult period of the Covid pandemic exemplifies his commitment to sustaining quality research and collaboration, he said.
He further said Prof Ravindra is also responsible for bringing into prominence the role in RILEM of the construction materials group at IIT Madras and other Indian researchers.
In his period, the number of researchers with memberships from India has become one of the highest in the world, he said.
RILEM
RILEM (from the name in French) was founded in June 1947 to promote scientific cooperation in the area of construction materials and structures.
It is the only international organization not affiliated to a single country or region but is global.
The association aims to advance free-access scientific knowledge related to construction materials, systems and structures.
It also aims to encourage transfer and application of this knowledge world-wide through collaboration of leading experts in construction practice and science including academics, researchers, testing laboratories and authorities.
About IIT Madras
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an ‘Institute of National Importance.’
The activities of the Institute in various fields of Science and Technology are carried out in 18 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic centres.
The Institute offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs leading to B.Tech., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., and Ph.D., degrees in a variety of specializations.
IITM is a residential institute with more than 600 faculty and 9,500 students. Students from 18 countries are enrolled here.
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IITM fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IITM Incubation Cell.