Dinesh Katti, professor of civil engineering, was named the recipient of the “John Booker Excellence Medal,” a prestigious international award presented by the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics. The award is presented very three years to recognize individuals worldwide who have made significant contributions in research in geomechanics for nonlinear and time-dependent problems including analytical and computational methods, constitutive modeling, consolidation and contaminant transport.

Katti was selected due to his major contributions to the field of geomechanics through the development of methodologies that describe the role of molecular phenomena on the macroscopic mechanical and permeability properties of swelling clays. His research impacts geotechnical engineering projects on swelling clays and geoenvironmental projects involving clay liners. His fundamental multiscale approach on mechanics of swelling clays also impacts nanoclays based composites for structural, geotechnical and biomedical applications.