Prof. B Umashankar

     Umashankar Balunaini is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Hyderabad, specializing in Geotechnical Engineering. He obtained his doctorate from Purdue University, master’s from IIT Kanpur, and bachelor’s from S V University. He was a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems, University of Western Australia. His research covers reinforced earth structures, soil-structure interaction, foundation engineering, ground improvement techniques, recyclable materials in geotechnics, geosynthetics in pavements, and AI/ML applications in geotechnical engineering.

    Dr. Balunaini has authored over 120 publications in esteemed journals and conference proceedings, supervised 7 Ph.D. and 34 M.Tech. students to graduation, and currently mentors 11 ongoing Ph.D. scholars. Over the past several years, his research has transitioned from the lab to real-world applications, making significant contributions through involvement in research projects funded by NHAI, Neyveli Lignite Co. Ltd., Ministry of Textiles, Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA), Department of Science & Technology (DST), etc. Beyond academia, he served as an expert advisor/consultant to government organizations/PSUs and industry, including Irrigation Department (Government of Telangana), NHAI, NTPC Ltd., MEIL, Maccaferri Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Strata Geosystems (India) Pvt. Ltd., TechFab India, Tensar Corporation, Viswa Samudra Engineering Pvt. Ltd., AMR India Ltd., NCC Ltd., etc.

    His academic leadership roles include serving as the Head of the Civil Engineering Department (2015-2018), Chair of the Centre for Continuing Education (2020-2023), Member of the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) for IITH campus development, 2012-2018, etc. Dr. Balunaini is actively involved in several professional bodies, having served as Honorary Secretary, Indian Geotechnical Society Hyderabad Chapter, 2013-2018. He is presently on the Editorial Board of the Indian Geotechnical Journal. He is Chairman of the DFI India Student Outreach Program ‘Groundwork’ (2023-Present), and also serving presently as an executive committee member of the Indian Geosynthetics Society (2024-2026).

    Explore this website to learn more about Dr. Balunaini’s research, publications, and contributions to the field of geotechnical engineering. Thank you for visiting, and I look forward to connecting with you on this exciting journey of exploration and learning.