Events

23 Aug 2018|Noida | F2 Auditorium

Inauguration of TRACE 2018

Departmentof Civil Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Sciences (ASET) startedthat the second edition of International Conference "Trends and RecentAdvances in Civil Engineering" TRACE 2018 at Amity University, Sector 125Noida

Thetwo day conference aims at discussing and deliberating upon recent advances incivil engineering, combined with the rapid evolution in areas encompassingconstruction & building design, energy & environmental engineering,construction material advance, infrastructure planning, structural engineering,transportation engineering, geotechnical engineering and water resourcesengineering.

Welcomingthe gathering, Prof. (Dr.) Madhuri Kumari, Dy. Director of Placement andIndustry Relation, ASET & General Co-Chair, TRACE 2018 said that civilengineering is undergoing rapid changes driven by globalization, growingenvironmental, safety and security concerns, population demands and byscientific advances in related fields. She stressed that these changes hasresulted in demand for budding civil engineers to be equipped with industryready  skills and acquire knowledge about latest trends. Dr. Kumarimentioned that the conference will provide a platform to bring together theacademicians, researchers and engineers, both theoreticians andexperimentalists in order to deliberate upon challenges and reforms indifferent areas of civil engineering.

Inauguratingthe conference, Mr. G. C. Pati, Member (East), Central Ground Water Board,Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India remarked that the most vitalresource – water, is available in sufficient quantity to meet the needs ofentire population but rise in demand due to increase in population, industrialgrowth etc has made water as an endangered resource and pointed out that as perrecent studies by UN, some countries including major parts of India and Chinawill face water scarcity at unusual dimensions. He apprised that the loomingwater problems can be resolved through technological intervention and efficientstrategy by civil engineering. Mr. Pati highlighted that in India, 80% of totalwater usage is for irrigation but unfortunately, volume of water used forproducing one kilogram of grain is largest in the world.

Talkingabout flood crisis in Kerala, Mr. Pati opined that the damage caused due tofloods could have been controlled since India is equipped with engineeringsolutions but needs proper implementation.

Addressingthe gathering, Mr. Arvind Arora, Indian Defence Service of Engineers (IDSE),Hony. Chairman & Director General, Defence Infrastructure Planning andManagement Council (India) said that 80% of the work in the world commencesor needs engineering solutions to sustain. He shared that India produces 20lacsengineers every year and also, 40% of civil services selectees are engineerswhich signifies the importance of engineers towards national developmentthrough policy formation and creating innovations for Government of India. Mr.Arora apprised about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and shared that most ofthe sustainable goals are dependent upon engineers and many of them,specifically upon Civil Engineers. He averred that the need of the hour is toinnovate and develop new infra technology to achieve the sustainable goaltargets. In order to assist in achieving the target, Mr. Arora called uponeducation institutions to improve the basic education and provide relevanttraining to budding engineers.

Speakingon the occasion, Mr. Abhay Sinha, Director General, Central Public WorksDepartment, Govt. of India & President, Indian Building Congress said,“in current scenario, India is rapidly pacing from underdeveloped stage todeveloped stage by concepting large scale infrastructure, keeping theimportance of civil engineering at paramount. However, there has been lot manychallenges that needs urgent resolution for achieving sustainable growth.” Hestressed that whenever there is a construction, natural eco system of that areatends to get disturbed. It is the responsibility of civil engineers andauthorities to ensure that eco-friendly projects are proposed and constructed.He emphasized upon proper management of construction and demolition waste byprocessing for better utilization, since such waste is not biodegradable andeffects the ecosystem. Mr. Sinha opined that India needs to have mandatorygreen building projects which should be sustainable and durable.

Mr.Girraj Goyal, Director, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development &Ganga Rejuvenation emphasized upon adaptation ofinnovative technologies for development of Civil Engineering. He apprised thatcurrently, there is rise in demand for sustainable buildings but there has beenmajor crunch of space, hence it is up to the budding civil engineers to utilizeexisting space smartly to avoid congestion and most importantly, to be inaccordance to environment.  Mr. Goel opined that The Internet of Things(IoT) can transform every facet of construction industry as IoT can make itpossible to monitor the strength, durability and quality of buildings.

Dr.Iacopo Carnacina, Civil Engineering, Liverpool; John Moores University; Dr.Subashisa Dutta, Professor, Indian, Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati;Prof. (Dr.) Abhay Bansal, Jt. Head, ASET, Director DICET & Co-Patron,TRACE-2018; Prof. (Dr.) K. M. Soni, Deputy Dean, Domain  Engineering &Technology, and Prof. (Dr.) M.K. Pandey, Jt. Head, ASET & Co Patron,TRACE-2018 were also present during the inauguration.

Duringthe day, various plenary sessions were held on related topics followed by paperpresentations.