IIIT-H’s Prof Pradeep K. Ramancharla, elected VP South of Indian Association of Structural Engineers(IAStructE)

Hyderabad, May 13, 2019: IIIT-Hyderabad’s Prof Pradeep K Ramancharla has been elected Vice President (South) of Indian Association of Structural Engineers (IAStructE). IAStructE is a national body of structural engineers that caters to the overall professional needs of structural engineers in India. As Vice President of IAStructE, Prof Pradeep K.Ramancharla will be involved in expanding the Association’s reach across Southern India, covering Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. A Professor of Civil Engineering, Prof Ramancharla is well known for his contributions in improving the quality of technical education and earthquake safety in India as he heads the Earthquake Engineering Research Center at IIIT Hyderabad. He has held various positions at the institute since 2002, is responsible for launching the M.Tech and Ph.D programs in Structural Engineering at the institute and is currently also the Registrar of IIIT-H. Prof Ramancharla brings a rare combination in India of an engineer trained in seismic hazard assessment, with a global view of both seismic hazard and seismic resistance capacity of buildings. This places him in a unique leadership position in India, which is evident from the number of requests that he has from various governments to support them in seismic risk assessment of the built environment. Speaking on being unanimously elected as VP of IAStructE, Prof Ramancharla said, “Structural engineering is the backbone of engineering design of buildings, lifeline structures, etc. Hence, I would like to focus my energy on bringing stakeholders in academia, government and industry towards safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable built environment”.