NDSU Professor to Receive International Award

Newswise — Dinesh Katti, professor of civil engineering at North Dakota State University, Fargo, was named the recipient of the “John Booker Excellence Medal,” a prestigious international award presented by the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG). The award is presented every three years to recognize individuals worldwide who have made significant contributions in research in geomechanics for nonlinear and time-dependent problems, including analytical and computational methods, constitutive modeling, consolidation and contaminant transport. Consideration is given to mathematical rigor and elegance that lead to fundamental understanding and insight into engineering and physical phenomena. Katti will receive the award at the 13th International Conference of the IACMAG on May 9, 2011, in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Katti’s research uses quantitative computer modeling to understand molecular interactions between clays and fluids and how it impacts engineering properties. Both are critical to design structures and develop solutions to prevent bridges and roads that buckle, or buildings that shift or sink, as well as for design of clay liners to prevent contaminants from entering groundwater. He was selected for the international award due to his major contributions to the field of geomechanics through the development of methodologies that describe the role of molecular phenomena on the macroscopic mechanical and permeability properties of swelling clays. Dr. Katti’s research impacts geotechnical engineering projects on swelling clays and geoenvironmental projects involving clay liners. His fundamental multiscale approach on mechanics of swelling clays also impacts nanoclays based composites for structural, geotechnical and biomedical applications. “This award reflects the breadth and scope of contributions by Dr. Katti and his team to this important field of study, as well as the role of computational modeling to push the frontiers forward and change the landscape of 21st century research,” said Philip Boudjouk, NDSU vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer. Dr. Dinesh Katti received his Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Arizona at Tucson and joined NDSU in 1996. He received his master’s degree in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India, and bachelor’s degree from the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, India. Dr. Katti has published more than 130 scientific articles and written three books and five book chapters. He has secured more than $2.3 million in federal and state funding for research. His research on clays is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation. Katti’s computational research is also supported by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the TeraGrid and the NDSU Center for Computationally Assisted Science & Technology. He currently serves as chair for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) technical committee on Properties of Materials and formerly chaired the technical committee on Poromechanics. He also serves as Associate Editor of the ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics and the Journal of Nanomechanics & Micromechanics. About NDSUNorth Dakota State University, Fargo, is notably listed among the nation’s top 108 public and private universities in the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education’s elite category of “Research Universities/Very High Research Activity.” With a reputation for excellence in teaching and multidisciplinary research, NDSU links academics to opportunities. As a student-focused, land grant, research institution with more than 14,000 students, NDSU is listed in the top 40 research universities without a medical school in the U.S., based on research expenditures reported to the National Science Foundation. www.ndsu.edu/research