Nemkumar (Nemy) Banthia is a Distinguished Professor and Senior Canada Research Chair (Emeritus) at University of British Columbia. His primary area of research is in Sustainable Concrete Infrastructure with emphasis on nano-modified fiber reinforced composites, ultra-high performance concrete materials, waste recycling, fracture analysis, earthquake strengthening and sensor based structural health monitoring. He also leads the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS)—a Research Centre of Excellence—as its Scientific Director and CEO.

One of the most cited in the field of concrete materials and structures, Dr. Banthia has worked tirelessly to understand the performance of concrete structures under various conditions of loading and environment, developed numerous advanced ultra-high performance concrete materials with fiber reinforcement, devised innovative methods of laboratory and field testing and developed novel sensors for structural health monitoring. Dr. Banthia holds 9 patents, has published over 450 refereed papers and edited 20 volumes. He serves on the Editorial Boards of ten international journals and is the Editor-in-Chief of the J. of Cement and Concrete Composites—a journal with the highest Impact Factor in the field.

His awards include Wason Medal of American Concrete Institute, Solutions Through Research Award of the BC Innovation Council, Wolfson Merit Award of the Royal Society of the UK, Killam Faculty Research Prize from the Killam Foundation, Horst Leipholz Medal of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, Mufti Medal of Excellence of the International Society for Health Monitoring of Infrastructure (ISHMII) and the Leadership in Science and Technology Award of the Drishti Foundation. Recently, Dr. Banthia has been recognized by the Alumni UBC 2018 Achievement Awards selection committee as the distinguished recipient of the Global Citizenship Award. This award is given to a UBC alumnus/alumna in recognition of significant community or voluntary service which has gained international recognition and made a global difference. In 2018, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technolgy recognized him with Excellence in Technology and Innovation Award. More recently, in 2020, IIT-Delhi recognized him with a Distinguished Alumni Award for Contributions to Teaching and Researech. 

Dr. Banthia is the fellow of the American Concrete Institute, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, Indian Concrete Institute, Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), and the Royal Society of Canada. 

In the context of IC-IMPACTS, Dr. Banthia believes that the most effective way of improving lives of global citizens is through nationally supported research collaboration in science and technology. Through his leadership, IC-IMPACTS has demonstrated that such a collaboration brings about innovations that transform lives. Supported by both Indian and Canadian Governments, the $60 million Center is involved in applied research with India in Water, Infrastructure and Public Health and is dedicated to bringing advanced technologies to communities in Canada and India. Its long-lasting impact is already been felt through its numerous demonstrations projects in Indian and Canadian communities. In 2016, Dr. Banthia’s work in India was awarded the Global CSR Medal of Leadership and Excellence.

For more information about Dr. Banthia and his research please see the following:

• Awards

  Awards
• Materials Engineering 
• SIERA (Sustainable InfrastructurE ReseArch)