First US-India Workshop on Global Geoenvironmental Engineering Challenges; in conjunction with 6th International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics (6ICEG); November 2010; India

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports a workshop, organized in conjunction with the 6th International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics (6ICEG) to be held during November 2010 in India. Because many of the greatest Geoenvironmental challenges over the next century will arise in developing nations, it is imperative for researchers and professionals in both India and the US to collaborate and develop an understanding of the issues and needs of the developing world. Moreover, by combining the respective Geoenvironmental expertise and resources in India and the US, researchers and professionals will have an increased ability to meet these challenges and mitigate the global effects of these challenges. The workshop will be aimed to: (1) To facilitate exchange of information on the current state-of-the-art and the state-of-practice of Geoenvironmental Engineering and identify the emerging global Geoenvironmental Engineering challenges; (2) To prioritize research opportunities that will be of mutual interest to US and Indian researchers. The following broad technical areas are expected to be included: (a) sustainable waste management, (b) green and sustainable remediation, (c) renewable and alternative energy, (d) global climate change impacts, and (e) mitigation of greenhouse gases, among others; (3) To identify the individuals and organizations in the US and India that can make intellectual contributions, maintain useful facilities, and form collaborative partnerships to address specific projects in a strategic and complementing fashion; (4) To prepare and submit higher quality and higher impact collaborative research proposals to the funding agencies in the US and India, including the US National Science Foundation and India's Department of Science & Technology; and (5) To facilitate and reaffirm a research agenda and foster continued collaboration among US and India researchers through periodic workshops and conferences. Participants will include an appropriate balance of senior level leaders in the field, junior faculty, graduate students, and participants from diverse background, including minorities and underrepresented groups. Additionally, particular attention will be focused on the participant's willingness to collaborate on a variety of topics across international boundaries. Extensive information exchange among the selected participants will occur prior to the Workshop. The workshop program will focus on confirming the research priorities and identifying specific research projects that can be pursued immediately and forming partnerships to pursue specific research projects and prepare collaborative research proposals. The workshop will identify US-India research priorities to address a wide range of issues dealing with global sustainable development. Specific high quality and high impact research projects will be identified. Collaborative partnerships will be formed that can exploit combined expertise and resources to pursue the identified projects. After the workshop, the key discussions and outcomes (research priorities and collaborative partnerships) will be posted on the workshop website and published as a Geotechnical Special Publication (GSP) by ASCE/GI, which will be available for world-wide distribution.