International Conference NSCTCE – 22 successfully hosted at SJEC

Mangaluru: Department of Civil Engineering, St Joseph Engineering College, Vamanjoor, in association with ISTE, IGBC, ACCE (I), IEI hosted the first of its kind International Conference on Novel Sustainable Concepts and Technologies in Civil Engineering (NSCTCE – 22) from 23-25 September 2022.

This conference aimed at presenting the latest advances in engineering, particularly in the field of civil engineering, among researchers, scientists, engineers, and practitioners. NSCTCE – 22 also included presentations of technical papers, discussions, and keynote lectures by experts in the field of civil engineering.

The Department of Civil Engineering has been actively involved in planning and organizing the NSCTCE – 22. Organizing an event of such a huge magnitude also requires financial resources which were supported by a few Esteemed Sponsorers. The main sponsorers of the event were Marian Projects Pvt ltd, Magna TMT bars, and Co Sponsorer were Sri Mangala Enterprises, Acebond, KTC, Muliya Jewellers (Puttur), IRC, Projectile, and Mangaluru.

A total of 12 renowned academicians and Industrialists across the world accepted our invitation to be the keynote speaker and presented their expertise and knowledge in the field of civil engineering. The conference received 94 abstracts from India, Canada, Iran, Japan and other parts of the world. These abstracts were thoroughly reviewed by internal and external reviewers. About 48 abstracts were shortlisted to submit full-length papers and for the final presentation. The full-length paper was reviewed by the empanelled experts from academia and the comments were sent to the participants to incorporate the corrections.

The conference was held for three days from September 23-25 in a Hybrid mode (Both Offline and Online). The International Conference was inaugurated on the first day by the chief guest, Prof KVL Subramanyam, Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, IIT Hyderabad, presided by Rev Fr Alwyn Richard D’Souza. Prof Lakshman Nandagiri, Professor, Dept. of Water resource and Ocean Engg, NIT, Surathkal and Er Vijay Vishnu Mayya, Technical Head, ACCE (I), and Dr Rio Dsouza were the guest of Honour. The chief guest appreciated the efforts of SJEC and the Department of Civil Engineering in organizing such an event that is intended at contributing to enhancing recent technical knowledge among the researchers and students. At the inauguration, a souvenir of NSCTCE – 22 was released.

Followed by the Inauguration of the conference on Day 1, the first keynote session was started on concrete innovation for sustainable construction by Prof KVL Subramanyam. In his session, he explained the recent technologies incorporated into concrete innovations. He also explained several advances in materials, processing technologies, and production methodologies of 3D printing concrete. Followed by the keynote session, the First technical session started. The session was chaired by Vinod T D’Souza, Associate Prof AJIET, Mangaluru, and Vishika Keshava. A total of 3 articles were presented by the participants.

In the afternoon sessions, 2 keynote sessions were organized. Prof. Ramancharla Pradeep Kumar presented on the topic Earthquake Safety of Buildings in India-Some Salient Code Provision and Er Devadutta bose presented on the topic “Port development in India – An overview”. In the afternoon session, we organized one technical session, and the session was chaired by Dr Anand V R and Chitharajan M. Four articles were presented by the participants.

On the second day, a total of 4 keynote session was organized.

At First Prof G R Dodagoudar, Professor, IIT Madras presented a keynote session on the topic Sustainability in Piled-Raft Foundations: Opportunities and Implications for Practice. Prof. Srinivasamurthy Sharath presented a session on Emerging Technologies in Ocean Renewable Energy – Towards Carbon-Free Society. Followed by a session on Coastal Environment – Problems and Perspectives by Prof. Santhosh Thampi. Dr Tejo Vikas Bheemisetti from the University of Arizona delivered his perspectives on Sustainability and Resiliency Research in Geotechnical Engineering. At last, Er. Arun Prabha General Manager, technical and Incharge, Mangaluru smart city Ltd presented a session on Mangaluru – A Green Smart City. Out of 4 Technical sessions, across sessions, 15 participants presented their research work. The sessions were chaired by Dr Palakshappa, Dr Sandeep Nayak, Dr ESTR Chandrasekhar B, Pranamya, Sreya, and Reena.

On the third day, a total of 3 keynote session was organized.

At First, Dr BB Das presented a keynote session on Sustainable Nano Composites. Followed by a session on Sustainable Strategies for Monument Protection by Prof. K Ganesh Babu. Prof Claudine Ouellet-Plamondon Presented a keynote session on Recent progress on cementitious materials: from nanomaterials to 3D printing. The final keynote session was presented by our chief guest, Prof. D Nagesh Kumar on Remote Sensing, GIS, and DEM for Water Resources Assessment Mangaluru – A Green Smart City. There were 4 Technical sessions, and across the sessions, 17 participants presented their work. The sessions were chaired by Dr Bharathi Ganesh, Dr Yajnheswaran B, Dr Katta Venakataramana, Dr Palakshappa, Prashant Kurdekar, and Reena Rodrigues.

As a follow-up to his keynote, the validatory session was organized, beginning with a welcome speech by Prof. Yajnheswaran Bhagithimar, organizing chair of the conference, followed by speeches from Prof. D Nagesh Kumar and Dr Katta Venakataramana in both their capacities as the chief guest and guest of honour, respectively. In his presidential address, Dr Rio D Souza stressed the importance of sustainability in the present day. A final thank you was offered by Dr ESTR Chandra Sekhar, the conference’s convener.

Overall, out of 48 participants, 40 participants presented their research work at The First International Conference NSCTCE – 22. Each keynote session enriched the knowledge of the research scholars, students, and the civil engineering faculty fraternity.