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Credit: World Scientific
Environmental Geotechnology is an engineering philosophy primarily focusing on sustainability in geomaterial cycles (including soils, industrial by-products, and municipal solid waste), incorporating advancements in geotechnical engineering with environmental effects (man-made or natural). This subject facilitates an interdisciplinary approach to encompass classical soil mechanics in conjunction with the environmental cycles with respect to climate, and hydrogeological and geomicrobiosphere subsystems. The impact of these cycles on geotechnical characteristics, of soil–air–water relationships, geomaterial–contaminant interaction in presence of radionuclides, ionic solutions, humus, and microorganisms, and contaminant migration, draws attention to the importance of this subject to comprehend several soil behaviour issues. Modelling strategies would further pave the way for the long-term protection of the geoenvironment in a sustainable manner.
The idea of this book was conceived in the womb of the Environmental Geotechnology Laboratory at the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India. It is the product of the sweat and toil of a dedicated team of young and inquisitive minds at all levels, from undergraduates’ students to doctoral scholars—The EnvGeos—spanning over two decades. Environmental Geotechnology, in the beginning, rarely captured the imagination and scientific discourse in India and was conspicuous by its absence. This team was, however, convinced that the only way to meet new challenges and make a difference is to come out of the comfort zone and grow this subject without caring for roots and fruits!
This book has been primarily written to unpack Environmental Geotechnology expressly to familiarize the targeted readers including academia, practitioners, and relevant policy-makers and spread a deeper understanding of this subject. It is a receptacle of the ideas and works of an eclectic group of researchers, named The EnvGeos, passionate about sharing their work for the benefit of the community at large. The process of focusing on the needs-based instrumentation as the central theme of the book was guided by a plethora of possibilities visualized in the context of emerging economies.
Every piece of information and theorem presented in this book has been aligned with the research findings reported by researchers across the globe. It is said that “if a finding fails to stand the test of an experiment, it’s either unripe or wrong”. According to Richard Feynman, the Scientific Method refers to a process of thought based on integrating previous knowledge, observing, measuring, and logical reasoning. In short, confident walking is more successful than confused running; follow no one but learn from everyone.
Environmental Geotechnology: Meeting Challenges Through Needs-based Instrumentation retails for US$198 / £160 (hardcover) and is also available in electronic formats. To order or know more about the book, visit http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/9072.
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About the Author
Prof. D N Singh (DNS) is associated with the Civil Engineering Department at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India. He has obtained Bachelor's, Masters and Doctoral degrees from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India, in 1986, 1989 and 1993, respectively. His teaching, and R&D activities are in quite diversified areas of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. Apart from teaching and research, Prof. Singh has been very actively associated with some of the most prestigious business houses as an in-house instructor and retainer consultant. He has established a state-of-the-art Laboratory for Geoenvironmental Research and Innovation in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industries, New Delhi. Prof. Singh is Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), New Delhi; American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE); and Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), London, UK. He also founded Environmental Geotechnics, published by ICE Publishing, London, UK, and has been its Editor-in-Chief since its inception. He has also been Editorial Board Member of several journals of repute. Prof Singh is the recipient of the 2003 SP Research Award by SP Foundation, Rolla, MO, USA, and was the Chairman of the 12th International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG) Conference, held in Goa, India. He is the recipient of the Excellent Contributions Award (2008), given by IACMAG to individuals who have a record of significant contributions in research, academic activities and professional service in different regions of the globe; the John R. Booker Excellence Award (2011), given by IACMAG for the advancement of research, education and practice of Environmental Geotechnology and development of novel techniques to simulate contaminant transport in geomaterials, under laboratory and in-situ conditions; the Richard Feynman Prize (2014), for the best paper published by ICE journals; and the Canadian Geotechnical Journal Fredlund Award (2019), for the paper with the highest number of citations among all those published by the journal in previous five years.
About the Associate Authors
Dr Afshin Asadi is a Senior Academic and Program Leader of Civil Engineering Discipline at the International College of Auckland and the Director of the EnvoGéotechnique Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand. He completed a BSc degree in Civil Engineering, an MSc Degree in Environmental Engineering, and a PhD in Geotechnical Engineering. Prior to his current appointment, he was a Senior Research Fellow for Universiti Putra Malaysia, an Endeavour Research Fellow for the Department of Civil, Mining & Environmental Engineering for the University of Wollongong, Australia, and a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Invited Fellow for the Department of Sustainable Resources Engineering and Geoenvironmental Engineering at Hokkaido University, Japan. Dr Asadi is a Chartered Member of Engineering New Zealand (CMEngNZ) and a Chartered Professional Engineer(CPEng). He has taught, researched, consulted and published on a wide range of geotechnical topics that adopt an environmental approach. He is the co-author of Geotechnics of Organic Soils and Peat and published a rich amount of peer-reviewed articles in the area of environmental-friendly soil improvement techniques. He has served on the editorial panel of the Environmental Geotechnics published by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) publishing, and the International Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering.
Mr Goli Venkata Siva Naga Sai (Goli) obtained his Civil Engineering undergraduate degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada, India in 2016. He worked on projects titled 'A Study on Ground Water Quality in AP-CRDA Region' and 'Influence of fly ash and rice husk ash on compressive strength of concrete' during his undergraduate studies. He has pursued postgraduate studies in Environmental Engineering from National Institute of Technology Warangal in 2018. As a part of his postgraduate dissertation, he worked on a 'Study of Fe2O3 as an oxygen carrier in Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) of rice husk for CO2 capture' to address issues related to waste management and disposal. Currently, at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, he is pursuing doctoral studies in the field of waste management. His research interests include landfill mining, valorization of landfill mined residues and industrial by-products for sustainable development, and polymer waste composites. He has published 10 international peer-reviewed articles. He is a student member of professional bodies such as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and International Geosynthetics Society (IGS).
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