Recent Advances in Geotechnical Engineering, Volume 1

This book presents the select proceedings of the First Women Indian Geotechnical Conference (WIGC) 2024 showcasing the overarching theme of "Geotechnics for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure." The book presents cutting-edge contributions from distinguished women geotechnical engineers and esteemed professors across the field of geotechnical engineering. Encompassing a broad spectrum of topics, the contributions in this volume cover pivotal areas, such as geomaterial characterization, sustainable waste management, geoenvironmental engineering, foundation engineering, landslides and slope stability, ground improvement, soft clay engineering, AI/ML applications in geotechnical engineering, and illuminating case studies in the field. This book will prove useful to graduate students, researchers, academics, and professional engineers working in geotechnical engineering, civil engineering, and geological engineering.

Dr. K. Premalatha is currently Professor in the Division of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University, Chennai. She obtained Ph.D. and master's in soil mechanics and foundation engineering from College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University, Chennai. Her research interests include constitutive behaviour of soil, geotechnical earthquake engineering, foundation engineering, ground improvement technique, unsaturated soil mechanics, numerical modeling in geotechnical engineering and soil structure interaction. She has published nearly 50 research articles in reputed journals and nearly 100 papers in conference proceedings. She has been recognized as one of the “75 Influential Indian Women in Geotechnical Engineering―Daughters of Indian Soil” recognized by the Indian Geotechnical Society in the year 2023. She is Chairperson of the Indian Society of Earthquake Technology, Chennai Chapter, 2023-2025, and served as National Executive Committee Member of the Indian Geotechnical Society during 2020–2021.

Dr. Vidya Bhushan Maji is Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. He joined the institute as Assistant Professor in the year 2008. He received Ph.D. from the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, and a master's degree with a specialization in rock mechanics from Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi (formerly IT-BHU). His teaching and research interests include rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering, slope stability and landslides, and tunneling and underground excavations. He has more than 15 years of experience in research/teaching and has published more than 75 papers in various reputed international/national journals and conferences. He is Life Member of the Indian Geotechnical Society and serves as Secretary of the IGS-Chennai chapter. He is a member of the International Society of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM) and served as a committee member of the young members' presidential group for the Asian region. He has also served as a member of the technical committee in Hill Roads and tunnels of the Indian Road Congress.

Dr. M. Muttharam is Professor and Head of the Division of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University. She obtained her Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, India, and has pursued postdoctoral research at the Institute National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France. She completed her master's in hydrology and water resource engineering from the College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University, Chennai, and her bachelor's in civil engineering from Madras University. Her research interest includes geotechnical characterization and geoenvironmental engineering. She has published nearly 20 research articles in reputed journals and nearly 30 papers in conference proceedings. She is Life Member of the Indian Geotechnical Society and serves as Chairman of the IGS-Chennai chapter.

Dr. R. G. Robinson is Professor in the Geotechnical Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai, India. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, India, and has pursued postdoctoral research at the National University of Singapore, in addition to visiting the University of Wollongong in Australia under the Endeavour India Fellowship. His research interests include physical modeling, soil characterization, and ground improvement with special reference to soft clays and expansive soils. He has published more than 100 research papers in journals and conference proceedings. Dr. Robinson and his students received the IGS-Mr H.C. Verma Diamond Jubilee Award twice for Innovative Instrument Design from the Indian Geotechnical Society.