Frontlist | FDP concludes at Dept of Civil Engineering

Frontlist | FDP concludes at Dept of Civil Engineering
on Jan 27, 2021

“Future applications are expected to range from expansion of existing uses to the introduction of entirely new concepts in underground construction,” said Dr N K Samadhiya (Professor, IIT Roorkee and President, Geotechnical Society of India). He was highlighting the future prospects of underground structures in the valedictory session of the online five-day, Faculty Development Program (FDP) on ‘Underground Space Utilization’ organised by the Department of Civil Engineering, Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology (ZHCET), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The FDP was held under the sponsorship of the All India Council of Technical Education, New Delhi. Prof Samadhiya pointed out that the future research track will be of interest to those in the private and public sectors engaged in urban and facility planning and design, underground construction, and safety and security. He emphasised that worldwide efforts are under way to accelerate improvements in the technology of underground construction. “The endeavour involves specialists such as geologists, soil and rock mechanics engineers, public-works designers, mining engineers, contractors, equipment and materials manufacturers and planners,” added Prof Samadhiya. Prof Abdul Baqi (Chairperson, Department of Civil Engineering) said that cities across the world relying on auto transport have been using a major part of their land area to vehicular service, leaving lesser space for productive or recreational use. “This situation could be alleviated by underground placement of a large number of facilities that do not need to be on the surface,” he added. Dr Abhishek Kumar (IIT Guwahati) spoke on ‘Safety of Underground Structures under Earthquake Event’ and Prof Ashraf Iqbal (IIT, Roorkee) delineated ‘Safety Measures for Blast Impact on Tunnels’ in one of the sessions chaired by Dr M Rehan Sadique on the final day of the programme. Prof I H Farooqi chaired the valedictory and interactive sessions. Prof Mohd Masroor Alam and Dr M Rehan Sadiq extended the vote of thanks. Resource persons from the IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research- Bilaspur, Engineers India Ltd (New Delhi) and AMU delivered lectures in different sessions of the FDP. Over 80 participants from India and abroad attended the program. Source: India Education diary