Proceedings of The 4^th International Conference on Civil Engineering Fundamentals and Applications (ICCEFA 2023)

Dr. Sanjay Ranka
Concordia University, Canada

Sanjay Ranka is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Computer Information Science and Engineering at University of Florida. From 1999-2002, as the Chief Technology Officer at Paramark (Sunnyvale, CA), he developed a real-time optimization service called PILOT for marketing campaigns. PILOT served more than 10 million optimized decisions a day in 2002 with a 99.99% uptime. Paramark was recognized by VentureWire/Technologic Partners as a Top 100 Internet technology company in 2001 and 2002 and was acquired in 2002. Sanjay has also held positions as a tenured faculty member at Syracuse University, academic visitor at IBM and summer researcher at Hitachi America Limited.

Research in high performance computing and bigdata science is an important avenue for novel discoveries in large-scale applications. The focus of his current research is the development of efficient computational methods and data analysis techniques to model scientific phenomenon, and practical applications of focus are improvements to the quality of healthcare and the reduction of traffic accidents. A core aspiration of his research is to develop novel algorithms and software that make an impact on the application domain, exploiting the interdependence between theory and practice of computer science

He has coauthored one book, four monographs, 300+ journal and refereed conference articles. His recent coauthored work has received a best student paper runner-up award at IGARSS 2015, best paper award at BICOB 2014, best student paper award at ACM-BCB 2010, best paper runner-up award at KDD-2009, a nomination for the Robbins Prize for the best paper in the Journal of Physics in Medicine and Biology in 2008, and a best paper award at ICN 2007.

Topic of Plenary:
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Smart Transportation

Dr. Hany El Naggar
Dalhousie University, Canada

Dr. Hany El Naggar, Ph.D., P.Eng., is a Professor of GeoStructural/Geotechnical Engineering at Dalhousie University with more than 25 years of experience in civil construction, geotechnical and structural engineering and research in Canada and overseas. He has participated in several geotechnical and structural investigations and is experienced in the analysis and design of foundations and soil-structure interaction of buried infrastructure. Dr. El Naggar and his research team have investigated the SSI effects around buried infrastructure and explored innovative uses of tire derived aggregate (TDA) as a buffer zone to create stress arching and reduce demand on rigid pipes and culverts. They also proposed an earth pressure reduction system using a geogrid reinforced platform bridging system to reduce stresses on buried utilities and studied the effects of high-rise buildings on pre-existing tunnels. Likewise, they conducted several slope stability assessments for high embankments and dams and developed a new sand-coated glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) pile with an enhanced friction performance. Dr. El Naggar’s research findings have been reported in more than 170 technical publications covering both experimental and numerical work in the fields of SSI, resilient buried infrastructure, and concrete pipes. His research work on the seismic performance of corrugated metal culverts led to changing the seismic provisions of the new version of the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (2019) to include rigorous dynamic analysis for flexible buried structures in high seismicity zones. Besides, his work on the modelling of rigid pipes is featured in the CHBDC (2019) as an example of the best practice in modelling buried concrete structures. These research efforts received worldwide recognition.

Topic of Keynote:
Innovative Use of Recycled Materials in Infrastructure Projects

Dr. Hesham El Naggar
Western University, Canada

Dr. El Naggar is a Distinguished University Professor of Western University, Canada. He is Editor-In-Chief of Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering and past Associate Editor of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal. He published more than 450 technical papers/book chapters on foundations, soil-structure interaction and geotechnical earthquake engineering; and consulted on major projects worldwide. He is the main developer of software DYNA6 used worldwide for design of foundations for dynamic loads. He received numerous awards including: Geosynthetics, Stermac, Meyerhof, Canadian Geotechnical Colloquium Speaker, Western University Distinguished Professorship, Faculty Scholar Award, Outstanding Teaching, and Research Excellence Awards as well as the 2015 Ontario Professional Engineers Medal for Engineering Research & Development. He is an elected Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineers, Engineering Institute of Canada and the American Society for Civil Engineers.

Topic of Keynote:
Sustainable Design for Wind Turbine Foundations