Professor (Dr) Aparna Dey Ghosh, Department of Civil Engineering; and Dean (Planning and Development), Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur.

Section 1: Personal Journey and Inspiration

Your journey has been remarkable, spanning over two decades. What inspired you to pursue a career in structural engineering and research?

I have always loved structural mechanics in physics and wanted to pursue a career that would essentially combine the elements of solid mechanics and applied mathematics to civil engineering problems. This led me to take up structural engineering as my calling. Moreover, my elder sister was also a structural engineer and that served as a motivating factor. I was also inspired by Mario Salvadori’s book Why Buildings Stand Up. Further, I realised that in order to try out something innovative, research has to be carried out and that has always stimulated me in my career.

Teaching has been a big part of your career. How do you integrate innovative teaching methods into your classes to inspire the next generation of engineers?

One innovative teaching method that I use to inspire the next generation of engineers is to make them physically experience certain concepts, for example, those of reactive stresses, through fun and engaging class demonstrations. Another method is to bring actual construction materials for demonstration in the theory class, such as different diameter rebars, so as to give the students a realisation of the end result of structural design. Yet another method is to emphasize how intelligent manual calculations can quickly validate the veracity of elaborate software structural analysis. Group solutions to problems also help inculcate the sense of team work in engineering into the students.

Section 2: Professional Achievements and Contributions

Your work emphasizes innovative structural vibration control systems and microbial concrete. Could you share how these innovations have impacted the industry or specific projects?

Innovative structural vibration control systems have an impact on the building industry, especially the sector on tall multi-storied buildings, which are vulnerable to serviceability issues from vibrations induced by environmental excitations, such as wind gusts and earthquake tremors. The dual functionality of overhead water tanks fitted with innovative appendages can provide an economic solution to the afore-mentioned vibration problem of the building structures. As regards microbial concrete, it can hugely impact the reinforced concrete (RC) industry by providing a sustainable solution to the problem of durability of RC structures. Since microbial concrete is self-healing concrete, it reduces the consumption of cement required for the maintenance of RC structures, which leads to a reduction in the carbon footprint.

Setting up the vibration test system at IIEST, Shibpur, is a significant achievement. What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

There were several challenges, one was the change of vendor for the fabrication of the shake table as the initial one executed the work poorly. The bearings and alignment had problems that required rectification. Another major challenge was to obtain a relatively dust-free partitioned workspace to house the vibration test system in the Structural Engineering laboratory. The controller and some of the transducers often had problems, and since the vendor was from Roorkee with no local office, the serviceman took several days to arrive, stalling the work.

Your development of microbial mortar mix designs and use of bacterial concrete is pioneering. Could you elaborate on the environmental benefits of these advancements?

The autogenous healing property of microbial mortar helps repair cracks in concrete structures and also improves concrete properties such as compressive strength, and reduces water absorption. This enhances the durability of concrete, which again has a direct effect on the consumption of cement required for repair of cracks in concrete structures. As is well-known, cement production is harmful to the environment as it leads to significant carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, use of bacterial concrete can help reduce the quantity of cement manufacturing and is thereby beneficial to the environment.

You’ve worked on multiple consultancy projects for prominent organisations. Which project would you say was the most challenging, and why?

The most challenging project was one concerning a blast furnace project that was being set up at Dolvi, Maharashtra. The project involved use of steel sections that were shipped to India after being dismantled from a plant in Russia. The structural drawings were in Russian, and each term in the drawings had to be painstakingly looked up a dictionary for necessary translation (there was no Google lens at that time!). The sections then had to adapted to the present design requirements, which again was another challenge. The drawings were also very large in size, much more than even the A0 sheets, and it was difficult to even handle them.

Section 3: Perspectives and Mentorship

What role does mentorship play in your career, both as a mentor to your students and as someone mentored by others during your early years?

Mentorship indeed plays a very important role in my life. To my students, I try my best to mentor them in their approach to whichever career they choose to excel in, stressing upon the need of hard work and integrity, both in the core and non-core professions. In my early years of my career, both my M.Tech and Ph.D supervisors continued to serve as excellent mentors, and I was greatly moulded by them. In my years in the industry, I was superbly mentored by my team leaders and I remain forever indebted to them. In my early academic service life too, I was mentored and trained by some of my senior colleagues.

Looking back on your professional journey, what is one piece of advice you would give to young women aspiring to excel in STEM fields?

For young women aspiring to excel in STEM fields, achieving a work-life balance is often difficult, so I advise them to never lose their focus on their professional journey no matter what obstacles come their way, the satisfaction that you will derive from your work will compensate for the sacrifices that you may have to make.

Extras: Final Reflections

What is your opinion on the role of Industrial Automation magazine in showcasing industry trends and empowering women in industrial technology and automation?

I think the Industrial Automation magazine plays a very important role in showcasing industry trends as it is a highly informative magazine by which women are kept up to date on the news of what is happening in the industry in the country. Moreover, it empowers women in industrial technology and automation by making them aware of the state-of-the-art in a wide gamut of topics that would be otherwise difficult to assimilate in one place.

What are the three words that best describe how it feels to be a finalist in the Women in Tech 2025 competition?

Satisfying. Exhilarating. Inspiring.

Aparna (Dey) Ghosh is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Dean (Planning and Development) at the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur. She was a Gold Medallist in the Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Jadavpur University. She also topped the Structural Engineering specialisation while carrying out her Master's at IIT Kanpur. She obtained her Ph.D from Jadavpur University. Her doctoral thesis, on tuned liquid column dampers for structural vibration control under seismic excitation, was one of the very early detailed works on liquid dampers, and served as the cornerstone for further research on the subject. Her chief areas of work are structural vibration control, structural dynamics, earthquake engineering, microbial concrete and offshore structures. She has guided six Ph.D thesis so far and has over a hundred publications in refereed journals, conference proceedings and book chapters.

Prof Ghosh also has industrial experience as a design engineer in thermal power plants, blast furnace and steel plant projects. She has carried out several research projects on tuned dampers under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India, and the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, India. She has won awards such as the Young Faculty Research Award by the Bengal Engineering College Alumni Association of Washington DC Metropolitan Area, the Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India, Research Award and the Railway Board's 1st Prize, from the Ministry of Railways, Govt of India.