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Important highlights in 2011

1.NATIONAL CONFERENCE RDCE – 2011

The Department of Civil Engineering MIT Manipal conducted a National conference on Recent Developments in Civil Engineering – 2011 (RDCE – 2011) on 13th and 14th January 2011. The conference was inaugurated on 13th January by the chief guest Dr. G.K. Prabhu, Registrar, Manipal University, Manipal. Dr.Nagesh Kumar, Professor, IISc Bangalore was the guest of honour. The function was presided over by Dr.KumkumGarg, Director MIT Manipal. The inaugural program started with invocation by Ms.Shridevi, faculty of Civil Engineering, and Mrs.Asha Uday Rao, faculty of Civil Engineering was the Master of Ceremonies.
During the inaugural function, Dr.Gicy M. Kovoor, HOD Civil Engg. welcomed the gathering. The objective of the conference was presented by Dr. A. Ganesh, the co-ordinator of RDCE-2011. The chief guest, during his inaugural address emphasised the issue of protection of environment during developmental activities and the role of Civil Engineers in it. The president of the function appreciated the efforts made by the department in organizing a conference on the appropriate theme. The program was concluded with presentation of mementoes to the guests, followed by vote of thanks by Dr. Mohandas Chadaga, the co-ordinator of RDCE-2011.
The two days’ deliberations included the key note address by Dr.Nagesh Kumar, Professor, IISC., Bangalore on “Recent Developments in the Area of Water Resource Engineering”, and lectures by Dr. K. S. Babu Narayan, Professor, NITK, Surathkal on “Recent Developments in the Area of Structural Engineering” and Dr. R. Shivashankar, Professor, NITK Surathkal on “Recent developments in the Area of Geotechnical & Transportation Engineering”. The participants were highly benefited and appreciated the presentations. There was a technical presentation by the Technical Director of Simons & Associates, Udupi on their new upcoming project Royal Embassy at Manipal.
More than 30 technical papers were presented on the conference theme by research scholars in six technical sessions. Chairpersons and participants interacted with presenters after their presentations. The conference was concluded with feedback sessions by the participants & delegates, followed by the distribution of participation certificates by Dr.Gicy M. Kovoor. Dr. A. Krishnamurthy N., Professor and co-ordinator of RDCE-2011 proposed the vote of thanks.

2.WORLD WATER DAY CELEBRATION – 2011






Dr.B.M. Hegde and Mr. Krishna S. Hebsur address the gathering


The Department of Civil Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal, celebrated World Water Day on Monday 22nd March 2011. The program included two guest lectures on the theme “WATER FOR CITIES”. The objective of the celebration was to create awareness among the students and others on the important natural resource ‘WATER’.
The function began with an invocation by Ms.Shridevi, faculty of Civil Engg. Dept, followed by a video presentation on “Cycle of Insanity – the Real Water Cycle”.
Prof.Dr.Gicy M. Kovoor , H.O.D. of Civil Engg., welcomed the gathering by highlighting the importance of World Water Day celebration. This was followed by the introduction of the speakerDr. B.M. Hegde, former V.C. Manipal University, by Ms.DeepaKotian, M.Tech. Environmental Engineering student.
Dr. B.M. Hegde enlightened the audience on the issue of health and water. He appreciated the efforts of Civil Engineers in the area of water resource development. He explained the community participation in issues of common interest like water, which is being practised in Bidada of Kutch area, Gujarat. The entire session was thought provoking for the audience.
After the tea break the second speaker, Sri. Krishna B. Hebsur, Project Director, District Urban Development Cell, D.C. Office, Udupi was introduced to the gathering by Ms. Sharon D’Souza, M.Tech. Environmental Engineering student. The talk was more informative on the Udupi Water Supply System over the years. He explained this in detail with comparison of old and new systems. It is a very encouraging scenario with respect to Udupi Municipality that the new water supply system is self-sustaining with the revenue being collected.
In between there were quizzes with prizes for the audience on Environment related topics conducted by Mr.LagadManzoor A. B. Razzaque, M.Tech. Environmental Engineering student.
Dr.KumkumGarg,, Director, MIT, Manipal and Dr.Gicy M Kovoor, HOD, Civil Engg. Dept. presented mementoes to the speakers. The program was well appreciated by the participants. Sri.RaghavendraHolla, Faculty, Civil Engineering Dept., recorded the entire proceedings. The co-ordinator of the program Dr. A. Ganesha, Professor, Civil Engg.Dept. proposed the vote of thanks. Ms.Shema Varghese Thadathil, M.Tech. Environmental Engineering student, was the master of ceremonies. The students of M.Tech Environmental Engineering were actively involved in organising the programme.

3.World Ozone Day Celebrations at MIT




World Ozone Day was celebrated in the MIT library auditorium on 16th September 2011. This programme was organized jointly by the Department of Civil Engineering and the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, with the objective of bringing awareness amongst the young people on the dangers of ozone layer depletion and the need for its protection. This programme was attended by about 300 high school and polytechnic students from 10 schools spread across Udupi, Manipal and Parkala. The programme was a mix of expert talk, video shows, quiz, and tree planting and the participants enjoyed and made best use of their stay in MIT.

The programme was inagurated in the morning session in the presence of the Pro Vice Chancellor of Manipal University, DrVinodBhat, Director MIT, MsKumkumGarg, and the adviser and Scientist of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr M Sudhakar. DrVinodBhat in his address called upon the young students to get into higher education and research and come out with alternatives for ozone depleting substances. Dr M Sudhakar urged the students to spread the message to the society on the damage created by ozone layer depleting substances and the urgent need to protect our environment. DrKumkumGarg presided over the function. Head of the department of Civil Engineering welcomed the gathering. The convener of the function, Dr K Balakrishna proposed a vote-of-thanks.

The day was marked by an expert talk on the past, present and future of ozone layer by Dr K Balakrishna, faculty in the department of Civil Engineering. Dr M Sudhakar, Ministry of Earth Sciences showed breathtaking videos on undersea life and explained the sampling expeditions of Indian scientists in Antractica and Arctic in their efforts to understand the earth’s past climate and predict the future climate.

In the afternoon session a lively quiz was hosted by MrBalakrishna S Maddodi, faculty in the department of Civil Engineering. About 60 students from 10 schools participated in the preliminary rounds. Six schools were short listed for the final oral quiz. Cash prizes were distributed to Quiz winners from Government high school, Indiranagar, Indrali high school and TMA PaiPolytechic. Registrar (Evaluation) Dr H N Udaya Shankar distributed the prizes and certificates during the valedictory function.

4.Rain Water Harvesting


Department of Civil Engineering, MIT Manipal , Department of Public Instruction, Government of Karnataka, Department of Information, Government of Karnataka, Rotary Club UdupiManipal and Rotary Zone 1, 2 & 3 organized a workshop on “Rainwater Harvesting & Pure Drinking Water” on 13th August 2011 at MIT Library Auditorium, Manipal.

Dr. H S Ballal, Pro-Chancellor, Manipal University inaugurated the Program. Dr. Ramnarayan, Vice Chancellor, Dr. R S Aithal, Joint Director, MIT, Ms. Gicy M Kovoor, HOD, Department of Civil, MIT, Dr. NagendraMadhyastha, DDPI, Sri. Junganna, Joint Director, Department of Information, Rtn. Jaivittal, Rtn. R.S. Patkar, Rtn. Somanath (Assistant Governors, R I Dist: 3180), Rtn. ManjunathUpadya (District Project Representative) graced the occasion with their presence.

Nearly 180 high school teachers who teach science subjects attended the workshop. Dr. K Narayan Shenoy&BalakrishnaMaddodi, faculty, Department of Civil Engineering, MIT, Manipal, were the resource persons for the workshop. Valuable insights on the reasons for scarcity of water and useful tips on the methods adopted in conserving water resources were given to the participants. The idea of the workshop was to create awareness about ‘water’ and disseminate the knowledge about water conservation techniques to the teachers.

It was aimed to spread this knowledge further to the students of 180 schools through the teachers who attended the workshop. As every teacher would interact with a minimum of 100 students in the respective school the awareness created and information passed on would be on a massive scale reaching an estimated 18000 people of the region. An information guide on water resources and methods for conservation on water resources was released on this occasion. The workshop was well received by the teachers and we are proudly hopeful that it would create a buzz of excitement in every school of the region when these teachers get back there with a vision in their eyes and a mission to conquer!


5. Seminar/ Workshop / Conf. Conducted:

  • Two days national workshop on ‘ Rainwater Harvesting – benefits and its role in water conservation – 6th and 7th July 2009
  • One day awareness workshop on ‘Geoinformatics in Service of Communities’ on 6th September 2008
  • National Seminar on ‘Sustainable Development for a Smaller Footprint’ (SDSF -07), 9-10 March, 2007
  • National Conference on ‘Recent Developments in Structural Engineering (RDSE -2005) Aug.29 -30, 2005
  • One day workshop on ‘Problems in Construction Engineering Project Management’, 16-10-2004
  • One day awareness workshop on ‘Remote Sensing and GIS Applications’, 25-09-2004
  • One day workshop on ‘Rehabilitation of Concrete Structures’, 21-08-2004

6. Guest Lectures conducted

  • Dr. V. Ramachandra, Zonal Head (Tech.), Grasim Industries Ltd., and Ultra Tech. Cements Ltd., has delivered a talk on the topic – ‘Materials for newer concrete’
  • Guest lecture on 30-08-2008 at 2.00 p.m. Dr. Lakshman Nandagiri, Head of the Department of Applied Mechanics & Hydraulics, NITK Surathkal delivered a talk on “Challenges for Civil Engineers”
  • Sri. T.S. Manjunatha & Sri. Thomas Executive from PIDILITE INDUSTRIES gave a talk about waterproofing plywood
  • Guest lecture by Sri. Santhosh Girinathan, ESRI, on “GIS Solutions”
  • Guest Lecture by Dr. Anuradha Shukla, Senior Scientist, CRRI, New Delhi
  • Mr. Niranjan Khatri, G.M. Welcomenviron- ITC Limited is delivered a talk on Conservation of Environment, Waste Management and water control
  • Prof. Manoj Dutta, Director, Punjab Engineering College, delivered a lecture to the students of Civil Engineering on “Emerging Area: Geoenvironmental Engineering and Solid Waste Landfills
  • Guest lecture on 24-01-2009 (2.00 to 5 p.m.) Sri. Jubilant Clement, Manager, Design and Commercial, Structural Glass Solutions, Saint Global Glasses Ltd., will be delivered a talk on “Structural Design of Glass and Green Buildings”