Nemkumar Banthia

Dr.
Nemkumar Banthia
PhD, PEng, FRSC
Born Nemkumar Banthia
1959 (age 57–58)
Nagpur, India
Residence Vancouver, British Columbia
Education
  • Doctorate of Philosophy
  • University of British Columbia
Alma mater
Occupation University Professor, Researcher
Website https://www.civil.ubc.ca/faculty/nemkumar-banthia

Dr. Nemkumar Banthia, PhD, PEng, FRSC, (born 1959) is a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia and the CEO of IC-IMPACTS.[1] He is best known for his research in the fields of cement-based and polymer-based fiber reinforced composites, particularly on testing and standardization, fracture behavior, strain-rate effects, durability and development of sustainable materials.[1]

Early life

Banthia was born in 1959 in Nagpur, India. Growing up in India, he was concerned with the poor quality of housing, poor quality of water, and the little state of transportation infrastructure.[2] This further motivated him to pursue a field where he could transform societies and create healthy communities and vibrant economies by creating proper infrastructure. He obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Nagpur University and a Master of Technology in Structural Engineering in 1982, from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.[2] Banthia then moved to Canada where he obtained his doctorate in Civil Engineering Materials from UBC in 1987.[3]

Career

Banthia's main area of research is fiber-reinforced composites and is he is credited for his contributions to the fundamental understanding of sprayed concrete including particle and fiber kinematics, rebound modeling, in-situ quality control and performance characterization.[1] Banthia is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and previous Distinguished University Scholar at the University of British Columbia.[4][5] He is also a fellow of the American Concrete Institute, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, the Indian Concrete Institute, and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

University of British Columbia

Banthia was first appointed as an Associate Professor at UBC in 1992 and later promoted to Professor in 1997. He leads the Civil Engineering Materials group, also known as SIERA (Sustainable InfrastructurE ReseArch). With Banthia's leadership, the group is extremely experienced in the field of composites and is well known for its extensive research in the field of fibre reinforcement, including shotcrete applications. Banthia was recognized by the university's Distinguished University Scholar (DUS) program and received an award in 2003.[6]

Banthia has developed a number of novel methodologies for fibers use in concrete and shotcrete reinforcement, developed a family of fibres for reinforcing Portland cement-based materials, pioneered research in microfiber-reinforced cement composites for civil applications, demonstrated use of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) in new construction and repairs. Some more specific topics of current and planned research include mechanical properties and durability of portland cement concrete (plain and fibre-reinforced); permeability of portland cement concrete; shotcrete (wet and dry processes); shrinkage, cracking and durability; impact/blast resistance of concrete and fiber reinforced concrete; use of fiber reinforced plastic composites for new construction and repair, and use of recycled materials in concrete.[7]

IC-IMPACTS

In 2012, Banthia was named Scientific Director of the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS).[8] IC-IMPACTS is the first, and only, Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence established through the Canadian Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE)[9] as a new Centre dedicated to the development of research collaborations between Canada and India. A number of projects led by Banthia at IC-IMPACTS have been covered by media outlets globally.[10][11][12]

Committees

Banthia has served on numerous committees and is currently actively involved with CSA: Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC) as the Chair of Technical Subcommittee on Durability. He also serves on Editorial Boards of eight international journals and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cement and Concrete Composites. With an Impact Factor of 4.265[13] the journal has the highest Impact Factor in the field.[14]

Conferences and seminars

Through seminars and other events, Banthia contributes towards continuing education of practicing engineers, graduate students and other institutions, business personnel and technicians.

Some of his most recent involvements, with international conferences, include:

Publications

Banthia has more than 440 research publications with an outstanding H-index value of 39 (Web of Science). To date, he holds 5 patents, has published over 440 refereed papers and over 30 books, edited volumes, and special journal issues.[14]

Awards and honours

He was inducted as a Distinguished University Scholar at UBC in 2003 and was appointed as a Senior Canada Research Chair in Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Sustainability in 2006. He was honoured by the British Columbia Innovation Council by its Solutions Through Research Award and jointly by the Seoul National University and the Korea Concrete Institute by their Distinguished Researcher Award. Some of Banthia's academic and professional awards and distinctions include: 

In the media

Banthia's innovative research work has been covered by different media outlets. A number of his research projects have received intense attention, including the development of the new coating material to protect concrete pipes from corrosion.[17]

The use of recycled vehicle tires as fibers in concrete to strengthen the material, add reinforcement, and enhance its properties has received significant interest.[18] Use of recycled material in concrete helps in reducing its environmental impacts, hence the innovation has had positive feedback from the media.[19]

Another well perceived project is the deployment of the famous self-healing road in Thondebhavi, India.[20][10][21] The project has been highlighted as one of 2016's most transformative inventions and important scientific discoveries having the potential to impact millions of people.[11][22] He has also been interviewed for his opinion on the safety of B.C.’s bridges and the need for more condition assessment.[23]

Banthia's contributions to different communities through the work of IC-IMPACTS have been covered by Canadian news sources.[10][24] In celebration of Canadian Water Week, IC-IMPACTS water projects and initiatives were featured in print copies of The Vancouver Sun and online articles in The Province[25] and CBC in March, 2017.[12][26] The research work was highlighted during an interview on the CBC Radio show Quirks & Quarks which aired in January 2017.[27]

In 2016, Banthia was featured on the cover of Drishti Magazine when he won the DRISHTI Award for Leadership in Science and Technology.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "nemkumar-banthia | UBC Civil". www.civil.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  2. 1 2 3 "Dr. Nemy Banthia – Drishti Magazine". drishtimagazine.com. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  3. ↑ Banthia, Nemkumar P. (1987). Impact resistance of concrete (Thesis). University of British Columbia.
  4. ↑ "Nemkumar Banthia". ubc.ca. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Banthia, N.". worldcat.org. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ "UBC News Digest May 7, 2003 - UBC Public Affairs". news.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  7. ↑ "Materials Engineering | UBC Civil". www.civil.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  8. ↑ "Dr. Nemy Banthia". IC-IMPACTS. 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  9. ↑ "About Us". IC-IMPACTS. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  10. 1 2 3 "Goodbye, construction? UBC prof paves way for nano-fibre roads that repair themselves | Metro Vancouver". metronews.ca. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  11. 1 2 "The genius 15". http://www.deccanchronicle.com/. 2017-01-02. Retrieved 2017-07-18. External link in |work= (help)
  12. 1 2 "Troubled Waters: More valuable than oil, water is big business". The Province. 2017-03-22. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  13. ↑ Cement and Concrete Composites.
  14. 1 2 "Nemkumar Banthia Speaker at GLOBE 2016". www.globeseries.com. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  15. ↑ "IC-IMPACTS CEO Awarded Global CSR Award – IC-IMPACTS". ic-impacts.com. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  16. ↑ "Dr. Nemy Banthia – Drishti Magazine". drishtimagazine.com. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  17. ↑ "New coating material protects concrete pipes from corrosion". journalofcommerce.com. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  18. ↑ "Researchers recycle tires to strengthen and clean up concrete - Article - BNN". BNN. 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  19. ↑ "When the rubber hits the road: Recycled tires create stronger concrete". www.tractionnews.com. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  20. ↑ Ong, Rachel. "Self-healing roads protecting villages in India from heavy rains". The Ubyssey. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  21. ↑ International, Recycling. "Used tyre fibres reduce crack formation in concrete". Recycling International - recycling magazine for professionals by professionals. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  22. ↑ "2+0+1+6 = 9 awe-inspiring non-digital inventions that caught our eye in 2016". e27. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  23. ↑ Sinoski, ,GORDON HOEKSTRA and Kelly. "B.C.’s bridges safe because of regular inspections and repairs: officials". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  24. ↑ "UBC’s tire-fibre concrete could have big benefits for the environment". Business In Vancouver. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  25. ↑ http://theprovince.com/feature/water-water-everywhere-but-can-we-make-it-safe-to-drink
  26. ↑ "Troubled Waters: ‘Water, water everywhere,’ but is it safe to drink?". The Province. 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  27. ↑ "Driverless car, meet self repairing road". CBC Radio. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
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