Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IITH) has signed an MoU with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to establish a ‘Transportation Research and Innovation Hub (TRI HUB), a Centre of Excellence at IIT-H to work on contemporary and cutting-edge technologies for National Highways in India.
Speaking on the occasion Dean (Research and Development) Prof Kiran Kuchi has termed the MoU as one of the pioneering initiatives of NHAI to support state-of-the-art research in transportation through a Centre of Excellence.” General Manager (Tech), NHAI-New Delhi, Ajay Sabharwal and DGM and RO, NHAI-Hyderabad Krishna Prasad said they were very confident of developing better pavements and bridge infrastructure in partnership with IIT-H during the years to come.
Director IIT-H Prof BS Murty said the new TRI HUB is possibly the first of its kind in an IIT system. He further said that it will complement the recently inaugurated test bed for the Technology Innovation Hub for Autonomous Navigation and Data Acquisition Systems (TiHAN) at the Institute in demonstrating innovative technologies. In addition, he said it is going to bring a number of innovative technologies in the field of transportation in India.
Briefing about the hub Professor of Civil Engineering and Chair, TRI HUB Prof Sireesh Saride said that they were resolute in achieving the project deliverables in time and demonstrating new technologies and methodologies to build smart and sustainable National Highways. The Chair TRI HUB said the new methodologies, including geosynthetics, reclaimed materials, glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP), rebars for bridges and pavements, and retrofitting strategies for aging bridges, among other solutions, are going to provide long-lasting and sustainable highway infrastructure for smart Indian Highways.
As part of this TRI HUB, Prof Suriya Prakash S, Prof Umashankar B, Prof Mahendra Kumar Madhavan, Dr Munwar Basha, and Dr Anil Agarwal, along with Prof Sireesh S, will work on 10 different innovative projects to deliver the objectives.
