Dr. Neelima Satyam Devarakonda is currently a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IIT Indore), and a former Head of the Department. She actively serves in numerous national professional bodies, expert committees, and research advisory panels. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Tech from IIT Delhi and a B.Tech from SV University, Tirupati. Before joining IIT Indore, she served as an Assistant Professor at the Earthquake Engineering Research Centre, IIIT Hyderabad. She has also been a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo (2013), University of Stuttgart (2018), and Kyushu University (2023). Her research and consultancy work span Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Microzonation, Site Response Studies, Landslide Hazard Assessment, Field Monitoring, Rock Engineering, and Geotechnical Instrumentation. Dr. Satyam has contributed significantly to rock mechanics, tunnelling, and slope stability projects across India, providing expertise to national agencies such as NHAI, BRO, RITES, and IRCON, as well as state and private infrastructure projects across the Himalayan, Aravalli, and Sahyadri ranges. Dr. Satyam currently serves as the Chairperson of the IGS Indore Chapter and is a National Executive Committee Member of the Indian Geotechnical Society (IGS). She is also a Principal Member of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Committees CED 56 and CED 43, and plays an instrumental role in the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) as an Apex Member of the Highways Specifications & Standards (HSS) Committee, Member of H-10 (Hill Roads & Tunnels), Secretary of H-4 (Embankment, Ground Improvement and Drainage), Member of B-3 (Foundation, Substructure, Protective Works & Masonry Structures), and Member of G-5 (Disaster Management). Her contributions have been recognised nationally and internationally through numerous awards, including the AGU Natural Hazards Mitigation Award (2025) by the American Geophysical Union, the ISET Shamsher Prakash Mid Career Research Award (2022), SERB-POWER Fellowship (2022), INSA Associate Fellowship (2024), CIDC Vishwakarma Award (2021), and AICTE Career Award (2012). She has published over 139 papers in reputed international journals, 5 patents, 1 book, and 20 book chapters, and has guided numerous Ph.D. and postgraduate scholars. Her editorial and leadership roles include serving as a Member of the LARAM School Scientific Committee (2025 to 2027), Member of the ANRF-DST Advanced and Inclusivity Research Grant Evaluation Committees (since 2025), and AICTE Expert Visiting/Scrutiny Committee Member (since 2025). Dr. Satyam is a Fellow of JSPS (Japan), IGS, ISET, and IEI, and continues to be a driving force in advancing geotechnical research, sustainable infrastructure design, and hazard mitigation strategies for challenging geodynamic terrains of India.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D: Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India.
• M.Tech. : Civil Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India.
• B.Tech. : Civil Engineering, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

India

• Professor (Feb 2022 - Till Date), Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India
• Associate Professor (Nov 2017 - Feb 2022), Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India.
• Adjunct Faculty (2021 - Till Date), Centre for Rural Development and Technology (CRDT), Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India.
• Adjunct Faculty (2021 - Till Date), Center for Indian Scientific Knowledge Systems, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India.
• Adjunct Faculty (2021 - Till Date), Center of Futuristic Defense and Space Technology (CFDST), Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India.
• Assistant Professor (Feb 2009 - Nov 2017), Earthquake Engineering Research Centre, International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad, India.
• Visiting Faculty (April 2007- Feb 2009), National Academy of Construction Hyderabad, India.
• Research Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. (Jul 2002 - Aug 2006)

Abroad

• JSPS Bridge Fellow (July 2023), Department of Civil & Structural Engineering, Kyushu University, Japan.
• Visiting Fellow (June - July 2018), Institute of Geophysics, University of Stuttgart, Germany
• JSPS Fellow (Jan 2013- March 2013), Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, University of Tokyo, Japan.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
• Dynamic Soil Structure Interaction Analysis
• Liquefaction Hazard and Mitigation
• Environmental Geotechnics
• Landslide Research
• Rock Mechanics and Underground Structures

AWARDS

S.No.	Award	Year	Given By
1.	AGU Natural Hazards Mitigation Award	2025	American Geophysical Union (AGU) (Link)
2.	Best Women Engineer Award	2025	Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India) Hyderabad Centre (Link)
3.	INSA Associate Fellowship	2024	Indian National Science Academy (INSA) (Link)
4.	Best Woman Researcher in Geotechnical Engineering Award	2023	Indian Geotechnical Society (Link)
5.	IGS - Sardar Resham Singh Memorial Award	2023	Indian Geotechnical Society
6.	JSPS BRIDGE Fellowship (ID No. BR230601)	2023	Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
7.	SERB - POWER Fellowship	2022	Science and Engineering Research Board, GoI
8.	ISET Shamsher Prakash Mid Career Research award for Significant Contribution in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering	2022	Indian Society of Earthquake Technology (ISET) (Link)
9.	CIDC Vishwakarma Academician Award	2021	Construction Industry Development Council, India (Link)
10.	Overseas Famous Scientist Project (Grant no. 2020A1414010268)	2020-21	Ministry of Science and Technology, Guangdong, China
11.	Women in Geotechnics Award	2018	IGS Goa Chapter, Goa,
12.	Best collaborative team award for Aquasense research project	2015	ITRA-Water, ITRA, GoI 2015
13.	JSPS Research Fellow	2012-13	University of Tokyo
14.	Young Woman Engineer award	2012	INWES-International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (Link)
15.	Career Award for Young Teachers (CAYT)	2012	AICTE, GoI
16.	Young Engineers Award 2011 in Civil Engineering discipline	2011	Institution of Engineers, India (Link)
17.	Young Scientist Research Award	2011	BRNS, Department of Atomic Energy, India
18.	Fast Track Project for Young Scientists	2009	Department of Science and Technology, GoI

BEST REVIEWER/RESEARCH PAPER AWARDS

S.No	Award	Year	Given By
1.	Excellent Scientific Editor Award 2024	2025	Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (Link)
2.	Editorial Contribution Award	2025	Springer Nature (IGJ)
3.	Author Service Award	2025	Springer Nature (IGJ)
4.	Prof. C.S. Desai Biennial Award for best paper in "Constitutive Modeling for Geologic Materials"	2024	Indian Geotechnical Society (Link)
5.	HEICO YGE Award for best paper in "Slope Stability and Landslides"	2024	Indian Geotechnical Society (Link)
6.	"Best Editorial Board Member of 2022" award based on her contribution to the Indian Geotechnical Journal (2nd Prize)	2023	Indian Geotechnical Society (Link)
7.	Reviewer of the Year 2021 (EBM) Award	2022	Indian Geotechnical Society (Link)
8.	IGS-Chennai Chapter best paper award for "Deep Foundations/Retaining Structures"	2022	Indian Geotechnical Society (Link)
9.	OSP Award for the work titled "Forecasting landslides: An Integrated Approach using Rainfall Thresholds and Realtime Field Monitoring at Darjeeling Himalayas"	2021	American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting
10.	Best Research Paper Award for the article titled "Micro-Mechanical Performance Evaluation of Expansive Soil Biotreated With Indigenous Bacteria Using MICP Method"	2020-21	Indian Institute of Technology Indore (Link)
11.	IGS-Geotechnical Biennial Award for the Best Paper on "Innovations in Field Exploration"	2006	Indian Geotechnical Society (Link)

RECOGNITIONS

International

• Member, Heritage time capsule (HTC) Discovery Sub-committee, ISSMGE . (link)
• Member, LARAM's school scientific committee, for the term 2025-2027. (link)
• Member, ISSMGE "Geo-engineers Without Borders (GeoWB)" Committee. (link)
• Nominated Member, Joint Technical Committees (JTC) 1: Natural Slopes and Landslides, ISSMGE. (link)
• TC-220 (Field Monitoring in Geomechanics) of ISSMGE committee member. (link)
• TC-203 (Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering) of ISSMGE committee member. (link)
• Chairperson, for MONBUKAGAKUSHO: MEXT Scholarships of Japanese Government (for selecting PhD/MS students from India) in Earthquake /Civil Engg stream (Since Feb 2018)
• Member, International Advisory Committee, CREST-2023 (link)

National

• Member, Technical Programme Committee (TPC) in category 'Civil, Infrastructure and Transportation Engineering' for Advance Research Grant (ARG), ANRF.
• Member, Multi-Sectoral Central team to examine the root causes of natural hazards in Himachal Pradesh.(link)
• Member, Governing council of ISRM (India), 2025-2027.
• Member, Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for National Landslide Risk Mitigation Programme, NDMA, GoI since 2025.(link)
• Member, Inclusivity Research Grant (IRG) evaluation committee, ANRF-DST, Government of India (GoI) (Since 2025).(link)
• Member, AICTE Expert Visiting Committee/ Scrutiny Committee (Since 2025).
• Chairperson, UGC Expert Committee for Virtual Inspection of Deemed to be University.
• Expert Member for the Academic Audit, VNIT Nagpur, 2022-2024
• Member, Preliminary Review Committee, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, MHRD for the term 2018-2019
• Co-opted Member, Program Advisory Committee (PAC), Civil and Environmental Engineering, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST (2015 - 2019).
• Member (CPD), Engineering Council of India for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States (Feb 2017-2020)
• Member, Technical Evaluation and Monitoring Committee for design of offshore substructure, NIWE Chennai (2015-2017)
• Convener, International Cooperation by Indian Geotechnical Society for the term 2019-2025
• Reviewer for Technical book in English for "Instrumentation for Civil Engineering Applications" course by AICTE.
• Editor of Special issue on "Landslide: Forecasting, Assessment and Mitigation", Indian Geotechnical Journal, 2020, Springer (Completed) (link)
• Convener, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering -36 International Geological Congress 2020
• Honorable Director, Institute and Industry Interaction: Professional Development Council, Association of Consulting Civil Engineers, India (2018-till date)
• Member, Expert committee for AEE 2016, AP Public service commission, Hyderabad
• Member, Board of studies (UG/PG in Civil Engg), Sri Venkateshwara University Tirupati (2016-2017)
• Member, Board of studies (UG/PG in Civil Engg), IPS Academy, Indore (2018-2025)

Technical committee of code and guidelines (BIS and IRC)

• Apex Member, Highways Specifications & Standards (HSS) committee, Ministry of Road Highway and Transport, GoI (2025-27), GoI.
• Member, Disaster Management Committee (G-5) under the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), Ministry of Road Highway and Transport, GoI (2025-27).
• Member, B-3 Committee Foundation, Sub-Structure, Protective Works and Masonry Structures under the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), Ministry of Road Highway and Transport, GoI (2025-27). (link)
• Member, Hill Roads & Tunnels Committee (H-10) under the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), Ministry of Road Highway and Transport, GoI (2025-27).
• Member Secretary, Embankment, Ground improvement and Drainage Committee (H-4) under the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), Ministry of Road Highway and Transport, GoI (2025-27).
• Principal Member, CED 56-Hill Area Development Engineering Sectional Committee, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). (link)
• Member, CED 43-Soil And Foundation Engineering Sectional Committee, BIS from 2023.(link)

ASSOCIATE EDITOR / EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER / GUEST EDITOR

• Guest Editor of Special issue on "Landslide monitoring and risk modelling", 2025, Scientific Reports, (Impact Factor 3.9) (Submissions open)
• Editor of Special issue on "Advances in Building Foundation Engineering", 2024, Buildings, (Impact Factor 3.1) (Submissions open) (link)
• Associate Editor, Journal of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience, Springer, 2023. (link)
• Associate Editor, Indian Geotechnical Journal (IGJ), Springer, (I.F. 1.6) (link)
• Editorial Board member, International Journal of Mining Science and Technology (IJMST), Elsevier, (I.F. 11.7), 2025-27. (link)
• Editorial Board member, Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (JRMGE), Elsevier, (I.F. 9.4), 2022-24. (link)
• Scientific Handling Editor (Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Rock Mechanics), Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Elsevier, (Impact Factor 9.4), 2022-24. (link)
• Editorial Board Member (Civil Engineering Section), Scientific Reports, Nature, (I.F. 4.6). (link)
• Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering (IJGEE), IGI Global.
• Editorial Board Member, Indian Society of Earthquake Technology (ISET) Journal, ISET. (link)
• Editorial Board Member, Deep Underground Science and Engineering (DUSE) Journal, Wiley. (link)
• Editorial Board Member, Smart Construction and Sustainable Cities Journal, Springer. (link)
• Editorial Board Member, Journal of Rock Mechanics and Tunnelling Technology (JRMTT). (link)
• Editorial Board Member, KeAi Journal, Elsevier, (I.F. 4.996), Biogeotechnics Section. (link)
• Editorial Board member, Geotechnical Engineering (specialty section of Frontiers in Built Environment), Frontier, since 2022 (link)
• Editorial Board member, Innovative Infrastructure Solutions, 2022, Springer (link)
• Guest Editor of Special issue on "Machine learning for predicting natural disasters", 2023, Scientific Reports, Nature, (I.F. 4.6) (link)
• Editor of Special issue on "Nature-Based Solutions in Geo-Environmental Engineering", 2022, Sustainability, (Impact Factor 3.251) (Completed) (link)
• Editor of Special issue on "Landslide: Forecasting, Assessment and Mitigation", Indian Geotechnical Journal, 2020, Springer (Completed) (link)
• Guest Editor of Special issue on "State of the Art Review on Geotechnical Engineering Towards Sustainability", 2023, Indian Geotechnical Journal (IGJ), Springer, (I.F. 1.6) (link)

ELECTED FELLOW/MEMBER OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY

• Life Fellow: Indian Geotechnical Society (IGS), LF 0615
• Life Fellow: Indian Society of Earthquake Technology (ISET), LF 61
• Life Fellow: Institution of Engineers India (IEI), F-1289205
• Executive Council Member: Indian Society of Earthquake Technology (ISET) for the terms: 2021-2023, 2023-2025
• Executive Council Member (Elected): Indian Geotechnical Society (IGS) since 2019
• Executive Member: Indian Society of Engineering Geology (ISEG) (Indian National group of the International Association for Engineering Geology and Environment) for the term 2020-2021
• Life Member: European Geosciences Union (EGU), 414793
• Life Member: Indian Roads Congress (IRC), ELM-103583
• Life Member: Indian Society of Engineering Geology (ISEG), LM 1511
• Life Member: Indian Concrete Institute (ICI), LM 8667
• Life Member: Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE), LM 77045
• Life Member: Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), L 18936
• Life Member: Association of Consulting Civil Engineers India (ACCE(I)), LM 2772; Executive member, ACCE Hyd chapter 2013-15
• Life Member: Indian Society for Rock Mechanics and Tunnelling Technology (ISRMTT) (LM-2338).
• Member: Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), M 46804 (2024-2030)
• Member: Geotechnical Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change-induced Geo-disasters in Asia-Pacific Regions (AsRTC1)
• Member: Technical committee 203 (TC-203) (Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering and Associated Problems) of International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) (2022-2025)
• Member: Technical committee 220 (TC-220) (Field Monitoring in Geomechanics) of International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) (2019-2025)
• Professional Engineer (Civil Engineering): Engineering Council of India (ECI), PE/01153/16
• Member: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), IND090038, U.K. IND110155
• Member: International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRRE), India, 406/IND/2021-2040
• Member: International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), India, 9830
• Member: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), M 13174
• Member: American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE), M 974239
• Member: American Concrete Institute (ACI), 01223750