The 82^nd foundation day of CSIR and the centenary birth anniversary of Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy, Founder Director of CSIR-SERC celebrated with great enthusiasm at the CSIR Campus in Taramani, Chennai, by CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre (CSIR-SERC) and CSIR Madras Complex (CMC).

The foundation day function and the centenary birth anniversary celebrations of Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy were held on 3 October 2023 at 11 AM and was presided over by Dr. N. Anandavalli, Director, CSIR-SERC and Coordinating Director, CMC. Shri Ashwin B. Pandya, Secretary General, International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage (ICID) & Ex CWC Chairman, ICID, New Delhi, was the chief guest of the function. Dr. P. Srinivasulu and Dr. C.V. Vaidyanathan, Former Director Grade Scientists, CSIR-SERC were the guests of honour.

In her Foundation Day address, Dr. Anandavalli, in brief, talked about the genesis, history, and transformation of CSIR in the eight decades of its existence. She also highlighted the contributions and significant achievements of CSIR and its pivotal role in nation-building and in shaping the growth of science and technology in the country since its inception on 26 September 1942. She said that CSIR had placed itself as a contemporary R&D organization with a pan-India presence covering a wide spectrum of scientific and industrial research. Paying tributes to the dynamic leadership of Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy, the Founder Director of CSIR-SERC, on his birth centenary, Dr. Anandavalli spoke in brief on the vision, works, and significant contributions of Prof. Ramaswamy for CSIR-SERC and the structural engineering fraternity. Dr Anandavalli also remembered the far-sighted vision of Prof. Ramaswamy, which led to the establishment of CSIR-SERC as a national laboratory in 1965, and his passion for shell structures.

Dr. G.S. Palani, Chief Scientist, CSIR-SERC, introduced the chief guest and guests of honour to the audience. Dr. Srinivasulu, delivered the Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy Birth Centenary Lecture. In his lecture, he spoke in brief about Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy’s life and education, his exemplary qualities, various positions held by Prof. Ramaswamy, his strategies and first recruitment of scientists for CSIR-SERC, his notable contributions, and his flair for multi-disciplinary research. Dr. Srinivasulu remembered Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy as an active planner, prolific writer, and eloquent speaker who had a thirst for new knowledge and skills. He also remembered Prof. Ramaswamy’s far-sighted vision for the structural engineering discipline and the instrumental role he played in the establishment of CSIR-SERC. He also spoke of Prof. Ramaswamy’s contribution to the design and construction of funicular shells and grip bars. He also fondly remembered his association with Prof. Ramaswamy.

In continuation to his address, Dr. Vaidyanathan, delivered the second Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy Birth Centenary Lecture. In his address, he remembered Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy as the doyen of structural engineering and a true seeker of knowledge who introduced the master’s program in structural engineering for the first time in the country at Annamalai University. He also spoke in brief on the contributions and passion of Prof. Ramaswamy for shell structures and his contributions towards prestressed structures. He also highlighted that the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad campus was designed by Prof. Ramaswamy with various funicular shells. He also spoke about Prof. Ramaswamy’s deep interest in structural engineering and foresightedness in identifying and picking experts, identifying gaps in structural engineering, opening entirely new domains, and building a second line of defense through proper training, orientation, and exposure of the next generation scientists to the latest trends, formulating suitable thrust projects, etc. He also said that Prof. Ramaswamy was a multi-faceted personality with a deep interest in various art forms and sports.

Shri Pandya delivered CSIR Foundation Day Address on Dam Safety – Role of Engineering Analysis. In his address, he said that he is a great admirer of CSIR-SERC and had used its handbooks in many instances. Further, he spoke in detail on the significance of dams and dam safety management in India, highlights of the Dam Safety Act 2021 - the administrative mechanism under the act, owner level implementation requirements, regular reporting requirements, offences and penalties, etc. He said that dams form the lifeline of water and energy security; India has 5254 completed and 467 under construction large dams and innumerable dams of smaller height; a substantial portion of dams are more than 50 years old, and their continued operation has become an increasing necessity to maintain economic growth and food/energy security. He also explained in detail the various aspects of dam safety management and the significance of the Dam Safety Act 2021, notified by the Govt. of India on 14 December 2021. He highlighted that this act provides for surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of the specified dam for prevention of dam failure and to provide for institutional mechanism to ensure their safe functioning, and the act defines the responsibilities of union government, respective state governments, and the dam owning agencies for performing systematic actions for ensuring dam safety. Speaking about the importance of structural review of dams, he said that ensuring structural safety is the most important aspect of the dam safety assurance and that structural review involves multiple disciplines, including instrument observations, material properties testing, non-destructive and geophysical investigations, revised load definitions, simulation and modelling and interpretation of results and planning of remedial measures to upgrade the status. He highlighted that there are various challenges involved in the structural review of dams, and a deep thought process into these aspects is the need of the day. He also talked about the increasing effects of natural phenomena on dams, the importance of understanding the materials and aging of dams, quality issues, etc. He also pointed out that we are gradually losing expertise in dam engineering because of which the rehabilitation of dams may face major challenges in the future and said that it is high time that the relevant research institutions stand up to these challenges and come up with the best practices and guidelines in a systematic manner for dam management and rehabilitation.

On the eve of the birth centenary of Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy, a special issue of the Journal of Structural Engineering (a publication of CSIR-SERC) was published. Prof. G.S. Ramaswamy was the first editor of the journal. The chief guest of the function Dr. Pandya released the special issue of the journal. As a part of the Foundation Day function, the renovated building of the Advanced Concrete Testing and Evaluation Laboratory was inaugurated by Shri Zacharia George, Former Scientist, CSIR-SERC and Principal Structural Consultant, M/s. Pithavadian and Partners.

Every year, during the foundation day function, Dr. M. Ramaiah Prize is presented for the best technical papers published by the scientists of CSIR-SERC. For the year 2022-2023, two papers were selected by the Committee as best papers and two papers were chosen for certificate of merit. The Director congratulated all the authors of the papers selected. The selected papers are as follows:

Best technical papers:

• A novel time domain-based multiple breathing crack diagnosis technique using Quadratic-Teager Kaiser Energy (Q-TKE), published in Structural Health Monitoring, authored by Dr. J. Prawin
• An energy-based damage diagnosis under changing environmental temperature for online SHM, published in International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics, authored by Dr. K. Lakshmi

Certificate of merit papers:

• Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) subjected to acidic and alkaline environment – an experimental study, published in ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, authored by T. Hemalatha, G. Ramesh and Smitha Gopinath
• Electromechanical impedance-based embeddable smart composite for condition-state monitoring, published in Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, authored by R.K. Rao and Saptarshi Sasmal   

As a part of the function, Director, CSIR-SERC and Coordinating Director, CMC, honoured the employees of CSIR-SERC and CMC, who have superannuated during the past years. The employees who have completed 25 years of service in CSIR were also felicitated. A brief report on open day was presented by Dr. S. Parivallal, Chairman, Common Core Committee. Dr. Robert Sam, Chairman, Open Day Committee, CSIR-CMC proposed vote of thanks at the end of the function.

Every year, as a part of CSIR foundation day celebrations, an inter-school quiz programme, Eureka, and CSIR open day science competitions for the wards of employees of CSIR-SERC and CMC are organized. This year, Eureka 2023 was organized on 22 September 2023 at the CSIR Campus that turned out to be a humongous success. Forty-seven schools from in and around Chennai and Pondicherry participated in the event. CSIR open day science competition was held on 3 September 2023 at the CSIR campus and more than 100 students participated. Prizes were distributed for the winners of the competitions on 3 October 2023, during the foundation day function by Dr. Anandavalli.

In the run up to the CSIR foundation day, an Open Day was observed on 26 September 2023, at CSIR Campus, Taramani, Chennai, by CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre (CSIR-SERC) and CSIR Madras Complex comprising the regional units of CSIR-CECRI, CSIR-CEERI, CSIR-CSIO, CSIR-NEERI and CSIR-NML.

All laboratories in the CSIR Campus were kept open for the general public between 9:30 AM and 3 PM. Elaborate arrangements were made to receive the visitors. Technologies, products, and state-of-the-art facilities were showcased and demonstrated for the benefit of the visitors. Around 7900 visitors, including school and college students, teachers, professionals from the industry, entrepreneurs, and the general public from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, visited the CSIR campus and the Tower Testing & Research Station (TTRS) campus of CSIR-SERC with great enthusiasm. They had a first-hand glimpse of multifarious and multi-discipline R&D programmes currently going on in the laboratories and the technologies developed. The visitors showed keen interest and passionately interacted with the scientific staff.

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