Connecting Science and Technology for a brighter tomorrow


Name : Dr. Leon Raj
Designation : Scientist
Qualification : PDF (Structural Engineering) - Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai
Ph.D. (Structural Engineering) – Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai
ME (Structural Engineering) – A.C. College of Engineering and Technology, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Karaikudi
BE (Civil Engineering) – St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering, Nagercoil. (Affiliated to Anna University, Chennai)
Contact Details : Applied Civil Engineering Division, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, Assam. Mobile No. 9487607151
Email id : leonraj.civil@gmail.com, leonraj@neist.res.in

Research Interest
  • Design and analysis of concrete structures
  • Design of prefabricatedstructures
  • Earthquake resistant design of buildings
Projects
  • Design of secant pile wall for Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL), Munnar: 5.19 Lakhs
  • Mix design for piling and slabs (Testing services): 0.70 Lakhs
  • Design of LWE Police Station using 3D sandwich panels in Andhra Pradesh: 7.54 Lakhs
  • In house consultancy works: Proof-checking and certification of KV school building, library building, retaining wall and Engineering sciences block.
Achievements
  • Secured First class with distinction in both Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees.
  • Received Prime Minister Fellowship for four years during Undergraduate degree.
  • Received travel grant from Indian Institute of Technology Madras to attend conference at Singapore, Jordan and Malaysia and in the month of June 2013, March 2015 and August 2015, respectively
  • Awarded Institute post-doctoral fellowship by Indian Institute of Technology Madras for completing PhD thesis within a benchmark period of 4 & 1/2 years.
  • The proposal titled as “Fatigue Behaviour of Concrete Panels Subjected to Biaxial Compressive Stresses” had been selected by Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB) for National Post-Doctoral Fellow (NPDF) at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (Denied).
  • Awarded honorarium for writing full course material on “Waste Management Banks” for the MBA course in Waste Management and Social Entrepreneurship offered by Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education, MHRD.
List of Publications (Most Recent Ten)
Total No. of Publications: 6
  • Raj J.L., & T. Chockalingam (2019): Strength and abrasion characteristics of pervious concrete, Road Materials and Pavement Design https://doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2019.1596828 (Publisher: Taylor & Francis; IF: 2.24; SJR Ranking: Q1)
  • Raj J.L., Rao G.A. (2019) Issues on Design Shear Strength of RC Deep Beams. In: Rao A., Ramanjaneyulu K. (eds) Recent Advances in Structural Engineering, Volume 1. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 11. Springer, Singapore2.
  • Raj, J.L., and Rao, G.A. (2018). “Load Configuration, Geometry and Web Reinforcement Effects on Failure Modes of Sandwich Deep Beams.” Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials, 20 (7), 811–830. (IF 2.93)
  • Rao, G.A., and Raj, J.L. (2017). “Failure Analysis of 3D Sandwich Beams under Transverse Shear.” Journal of Structural Engineering(SERC), 44(1), 76-87.
  • Raj, J.L., and Rao, G. A. (2014). “Shear Strength of RC Deep Beam Panels - A review.” International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology, 3(16), 89–103
  • Raj, J. L., and Rao, G. A. (2013). “Performance of RC Deep Beams with Different Combinations of Web Reinforcement.” Applied Mechanics and Materials, 343, 21–26.
Conference papers
  • Raj, J.L., Bhavani, K.D., Rao, M.L.S.R. and Deori, S, (2018). “Limiting Shear Strength Expression for RC Corbels”. International Conference on Infrastructure ICID-2018, Jorhat, India, Dec 2018.
  • Chokalingam, T., Raj, J.L. and Vijayaprabha and (2018). “Verification of Size Effect in Pervious Concrete”. International Conference on Infrastructure ICID-2018, Jorhat, India, Dec 2018.
  • Raj, J.L., and Rao, G.A. (2015). “Shear Strength of 3d Panels as Beams at Low Shear span-to-depth ratio” The Sixth Jordanian International Civil Engineering Conference(JICEC06), Jordan, March 2015.
  • Raj, J.L., and Rao, G.A. (2015). “Failure Modes of RC Deep Beams Panels” The 7th Asia Pacific Young Researchers and Graduates Symposium; “Innovations in Materials and Structural Engineering Practices,” August 2015, Malaysia,190–198.
  • Raj, J.L., and Rao, G.A. (2015). “Issues on Design Shear Strength of RC Deep Beams”Structural Engineering Convention, India, December 2016.
Contribution towards upliftment of research
  • Published an article in “The Hindu”, emphasising research methodology and stages of Ph.D. dissertation. Leon Raj J (2017) “Earning your doctorate”, The Hindu, Edge, 14thAugust 2017.
  • Published an article in “The New Indian Express”, enlisting software useful for PhD thesis writing. Leon Raj J (2018) “Here are a few softwares that will make writing a PhD thesis easier”. The New Indian Express, EDEX Live, 24th April 2018.
Invited talks
  • Delivered talk on “Utilization of industrial waste products as construction materials” under seminar on “Swachh Bharat Mission” organised by ICAR- National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Jorhat on 25th Sep 2017.
  • Keynote lecture delivered on topic “Geometry and reinforcement configurations for material Optimization in horizontal structural members” in the International Conference on “Materials, Emerging devices and Energy-efficient Technologies MEETCON-2017” at St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu on 5th and 6th Oct 2017.
  • Key speaker for two days workshop on “Design of Special Structures and Research Methodology” at KL University, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India on 5th and 6th Feb 2018 sponsored by KL University, Ultratech Pvt. Limited and Ramachandra housing, Vijayawada.
  • Special talk on “Failure analysis of Retaining walls” given for Civil Engineering Association of Ramco Institute of Technology on 28th March 2018.
  • Resource person talk on “Design of precast members and study of material characteristics of modular bricks” in one day workshop on Recent Developments in Civil and Earthquake Engineering, RDCEE-18 at CSIR NEIST on 9th April 2018, sponsored by Bumi Zillion JV, Beardsell Pvt. Limited, Brickolite and Aimil
  • Keynote talk on “Structural Behaviour of Solid and Sandwich deep beams” in National Level Technical Symposium, BETONG 2K19 at DMI Engineering College on 22nd Feb 2019
  • Invited talk on “Issues in design and execution of secant pile wall for hydro-electric project at Munnar, India” for students of Civil Engineering Association, NIT Trichy on 06th March 2019.
  • Keynote lecture on “Sandwich construction technology” in International Conference on “Advances in Sustainability of Materials and Environment ICASME-19” at St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu on 4th & 5th April 2019.
  • Video lecturing on “Waste Management Banks”, which is one of the book chapters of ‘Waste Management Treatment Technologies and Methods’ was recorded by Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (MGNCRE, under MHRD), Hyderabad, India on 14th May 2019.
  • Addressed NEIST Science Forum: “Issues of design and execution of deep excavation for hydroelectric power project at Munnar, designed by CSIR NEIST” on 7th June 2019.
Workshop Organised/Training offered
  • One day national workshop on Recent Developments in Civil and Earthquake Engineering, RDCEE-18at CSIR NEIST as Organizing secretary. Moreover, 175 students and 24 faculty of North east region had participated and benefited.
  • Trainer of TEQUIP III sponsored workshop, “Training on SAP 2000” held at Jorhat Engineering College, Assam (6 days)