Dr.Ashalatha R, Director, KSCSTE-NATPAC attending the two days seminar on ‘Road Safety Solutions’, jointly organised by the Indian Roads Congress and Haryana Public Works Department, Chandigarh, 27-28 March 2026.

 

 NATPAC joined Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) in extending a warm and respectful send-off to Prof. K. P. Sudheer, Executive Vice President, on 30 March 2026, marking the successful completion of his seven-year tenure.

At the formal function organised by KSCSTE, members of the Council, including Prof. A. Sabu, Member Secretary, and M. C. Dathan, Mentor (Science), Government of Kerala, along with Directors of affiliated R&D institutions, came together to acknowledge his visionary leadership and significant contributions to strengthening the State’s research and innovation ecosystem.

As an institution under KSCSTE, NATPAC expresses its sincere gratitude to Prof. Sudheer for his continued guidance and support. We also acknowledge his tenure as Director-in-Charge of NATPAC from 1st January 2025 to 31st December 2025, during which he played a pivotal role in advancing the institute’s research direction and institutional development.

NATPAC extends its heartfelt thanks and best wishes to Prof. Sudheer as he returns to Indian Institute of Technology Madras to continue with his distinguished research and teaching career.

 KSCSTE-National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) congratulates Dr. Jegan Bharath Kumar A, Senior Scientist at NATPAC, on the successful defense of his PhD on 25th March 2025.

His doctoral research, “Experimental Investigation and Modelling of the Mechanical Response of Bituminous Mixes for Moisture Susceptibility and Compactability,” contributes significantly to advancing knowledge on pavement performance under varying moisture and compaction conditions, with strong implications for resilient and durable road infrastructure. The research investigated moisture induced damage mechanisms in bituminous mix and developed predictive models for Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) and rutting behavior, incorporating the effects of compaction, temperature, and traffic loading. The study proposes a performance based framework to enhance pavement performance and bridge the gap between laboratory evaluation and field performance.

The research was carried out under the guidance of Dr. Sunitha V. (National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli) and Dr. Salini U. (Senior Scientist, NATPAC). The following are the scholarly contributions from his Ph.D.

International Journals:

1. Jegan Bharath Kumar A., Sunitha V., Arjun Siva Rathan R. T., Murshida, P., & Samson Mathew. (2023). Influence of moisture and compaction effect on volumetric and mechanical properties of bituminous mix. International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 1-14. DOI: 10.1080/10298436.2022.2144312.

2. Jegan Bharath Kumar A., Sunitha V., Arjun Siva Rathan R. T.,& Samson Mathew (2025) Exploring the Effects of Compaction Conditions and Moisture on Bituminous Concrete: A Statistical Approach to Develop Performance and Predictive Rut Depth Model, International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42947-025-00617-1

3. Jegan Bharath Kumar A., Sunitha V., Arjun Siva Rathan R. T.,& Samson Mathew (2026), Development of Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) Model and Resilient Modulus Assessment considering Moisture Conditions on Bituminous Mixtures, Innovative Infrastructure Solutions, Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-025-02357-4

4. Jegan Bharath Kumar, A., Sunitha, V., Arjun Siva Rathan, R. T. & Salini U (2026). Mechanistic Evaluation and Rut Prediction of Bituminous Mixtures Under Static and Dynamic Pore Pressure Conditions for Different Traffic Levels. Journal of Road Engineering, (Accepted)

Book Chapters:

1. Jegan Bharath Kumar, A., Vijayan, A.T. (2022). Effect of Compaction Levels on Moisture Susceptibility in Asphalt Mix. In: Singh, D., Vanajakshi, L., Verma, A., Das, A. (eds) Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of Transportation Research Group of India. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 218. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9921-4_4

2. Jegan Bharath Kumar, A., Parihar, M.S., Murshida, P., Sunitha, V., Mathew, S. (2023). Moisture Damage Prediction of Hot Mix Asphalt Using Artificial Neural Network. In: Devi, L., Das, A., Sahu, P.K., Basu, D. (eds) Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference of Transportation Research Group of India. CTRG 2021. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 271. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3505-3_10

3. Jegan Bharath Kumar, A., Sunitha, V., Lekshmi, J.S., Mathew, S. (2026). Performance Assessment of Moisture Damage of Hot Mix Asphalt Using Admixtures. In: Muthukkumaran, K., Mini, K.M., Shukla, S.K., Kasiviswanathan, K.S. (eds) Proceedings of International Conference on Advances in Materials, Modeling, and Analysis for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Volume 1. AMMA SRI 2025. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 719. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-0229-5_3

International Conference:

1. Mohit Singh Parihar, V. Sunitha & Jegan Bharath Kumar.A “Investigation of Moisture Damage of Hot Mix Asphalt using Artificial Neural Network” Proceedings of 7th Conference on Transportation Systems Engineering and Management (CSTEM-2020), organized by KSCSTE-NATPAC & College of Engineering Trivandrum,29-30 December 2020.pp 67

We extend our heartfelt congratulations and wish him continued success in his research and professional endeavors.

#KSCSTE_NATPAC #PhDAchievement #ResearchExcellence #PavementEngineering #TransportationResearch

🌿🏗️ Indian Patent Granted to KSCSTE–NATPAC

 KSCSTE–National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) announces the grant of an Indian patent for “A Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Wall Panel.”

Patent Details:

* Patent No.: 585048

* Application No.: 202341072144

* Date of Grant: 25 March 2026

Sustainable Innovation

The invention introduces bamboo as a renewable alternative to steel reinforcement in precast concrete wall panels, addressing challenges of resource depletion and environmental impact in construction. Bambusa bambos is used in the form of treated splints to ensure durability and bond performance.

Research Contribution

The study evaluates the behaviour of precast bamboo reinforced concrete wall panels under one-way and two-way in-plane action, including panels with and without opening. The use of precast technology enables faster construction and reduced project timelines.

Research Origin

This patent is based on doctoral research carried out at the National Institute of Technology Calicut.

Inventors:

* Dr. Himasree P R – Scientist B, Highway Engineering Division, KSCSTE–NATPAC

* Prof. N. Ganesan – Former Professor & Dean, Department of Civil Engineering, NIT Calicut

* Prof. P. V. Indira – Former Professor & Head, Department of Civil Engineering, NIT Calicut

* Dr. Blessen Skariah Thomas – Former Ramanujan Faculty Fellow / Scientist-D, Department of Civil Engineering, NIT Calicut

KSCSTE–NATPAC congratulates the inventors on this achievement.

 KSCSTE–NATPAC participated in the National Seminar on Road Safety Solutions, organized by the Indian Roads Congress and hosted by Haryana PWD (B&R), held at Chandigarh on 27–28 March 2026.

Dr. Ashalatha R, Director, NATPAC, co-chaired the technical session on “Safety Aspects of Roads, Bridges & Flyovers” along with Mr. Rajeev Yadav, E-in-C (Roads), PWD B&R, Haryana, and Vice President, Indian Roads Congress.