Lab Systems
IIT Delhi and GeoSymposium 2008
This past summer, Geocomp’s Director of Lab Systems Dr. Rachid Hankour travelled to India with a number of goals in mind. At his first destination — the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Delhi — Dr. Hankour completed his main goal: installing a large direct shear system and training graduate students and professors to use the equipment. IIT Delhi acquired the system from Geocomp and plans to conduct research on soil geosynthetics with it.

IIT Delhi is one of seven Indian Institutes of Technology, a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education. The IITs were established to train scientists and engineers, with the aim of developing a skilled workforce to support the economic and social development of India following its independence in 1947. The IITs have been declared “Institutes of National Importance” by the Government of India.

The second purpose of the trip was for Dr. Hankour to represent Geocomp at GeoSymposium 2008, which was organized by the Delhi Chapter of the Indian Geotechnical Society. At this national
symposium on the geoenvironment, geohazards, geosynthetics, and ground improvement (the 4Gs), Dr. Hankour presented a paper on the Application of Automation in Geotechnical Testing to about 150 attendees from universities, government institutions, and private companies.

His other activities included visits to:
    them in 1992, under a United Nations grant. (The equipment, though working under DOS, is still operational.)

  • Central Road Research Institute to assist its engineers in modernizing their soils and pavement labs.

  • Tetra Tech to explore technical cooperation with Geocomp’s Consulting Division.

Dr. Hankour’s trip to India was facilitated by Geocomp’s newly appointed agent, Ultra Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

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September 2008