Nemkumar Banthia


Nemkumar Banthia FRSC, is an Indian-born Canadian engineer and professor of civil engineering at the University of British Columbia and the CEO of . He is best known for his research in the fields of cement-based and polymer-based fiber reinforced composites, particularly on testing and standardization, fracture behavior, strain-rate effects, durability and development of sustainable materials.

Early life

Banthia was born in 1959 in Nagpur, India. Growing up in India, he was concerned with the poor quality of housing, poor quality of water, and the little state of transportation infrastructure. This further motivated him to pursue a field where he could transform societies and create healthy communities and vibrant economies by creating proper infrastructure. He obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Nagpur University and a Master of Technology in Structural Engineering in 1982, from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. Banthia then moved to Canada where he obtained his doctorate in Civil Engineering Materials from UBC in 1987.

Career

Banthia's main area of research is fiber-reinforced composites and is he is credited for his contributions to the fundamental understanding of sprayed concrete including particle and fiber kinematics, rebound modeling, in-situ quality control and performance characterization. Banthia is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and previous Distinguished University Scholar at the University of British Columbia. He is also a fellow of the American Concrete Institute, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, the Indian Concrete Institute, and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

University of British Columbia

Banthia was first appointed as an associate professor at UBC in 1992 and later promoted to professor in 1997. He leads the Civil Engineering Materials group, also known as SIERA. With Banthia's leadership, the group is extremely experienced in the field of composites and is well known for its extensive research in the field of fibre reinforcement, including shotcrete applications. Banthia was recognized by the university's Distinguished University Scholar program and received an award in 2003.
Banthia has developed a number of novel methodologies for fibers use in concrete and shotcrete reinforcement, developed a family of fibres for reinforcing Portland cement-based materials, pioneered research in microfiber-reinforced cement composites for civil applications, demonstrated use of fiber-reinforced polymers in new construction and repairs. Some more specific topics of current and planned research include mechanical properties and durability of Portland cement concrete ; permeability of Portland cement concrete; shotcrete ; shrinkage, cracking and durability; impact/blast resistance of concrete and fiber reinforced concrete; use of fiber reinforced plastic composites for new construction and repair, and use of recycled materials in concrete.

IC-IMPACTS

In 2012, Banthia was named Scientific Director of the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability. IC-IMPACTS is the first, and only, Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence established through the Canadian Networks of Centres of Excellence as a new Centre dedicated to the development of research collaborations between Canada and India. A number of projects led by Banthia at IC-IMPACTS have been covered by media outlets globally.

Committees

Banthia has served on numerous committees and is currently actively involved with CSA: Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code as the Chair of Technical Subcommittee on Durability. He also serves on Editorial Boards of eight international journals and is the Editor-in-Chief of the . With an Impact Factor of 4.265 the journal has the highest Impact Factor in the field.

Conferences and seminars

Through seminars and other events, Banthia contributes towards continuing education of practicing engineers, graduate students and other institutions, business personnel and technicians.
Some of his most recent involvements, with international conferences, include:
Banthia has more than 450 research publications with an outstanding H-index value of 39. To date, he holds 8 patents, has published over 450 refereed papers and over 30 books, edited volumes, and special journal issues.

Awards and honours

Banthia was inducted as a Distinguished University Scholar at UBC in 2003 and was appointed as a Senior Canada Research Chair in Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Sustainability in 2006. He was honoured by the British Columbia Innovation Council by its Solutions Through Research Award and jointly by the Seoul National University and the Korea Concrete Institute by their Distinguished Researcher Award.
Some of Banthia's recent academic and professional awards and distinctions include:
Banthia's innovative research work has been covered by different media outlets. A number of his research projects have received intense attention, including the development of the new coating material to protect concrete pipes from corrosion.
The use of recycled vehicle tires as fibers in concrete to strengthen the material, add reinforcement, and enhance its properties has received significant interest. Use of recycled material in concrete helps in reducing its environmental impacts, hence the innovation has had positive feedback from the media.
Another well perceived project is the deployment of the famous self-healing road in Thondebhavi, India. The project has been highlighted as one of 2016's most transformative inventions and important scientific discoveries having the potential to impact millions of people. He has also been interviewed for his opinion on the safety of B.C.’s bridges and the need for more condition assessment.
Banthia's contributions to different communities through the work of IC-IMPACTS have been covered by Canadian news sources. In celebration of Canadian Water Week, IC-IMPACTS water projects and initiatives were featured in print copies of The Vancouver Sun and online articles in The Province and CBC in March, 2017. The research work was highlighted during an interview on the CBC Radio show Quirks & Quarks which aired in January 2017.
In 2016, Banthia was featured on the cover of Drishti Magazine when he won the DRISHTI Award for Leadership in Science and Technology.