EGRWSE-2019

Sustainable Engineering is the process of using resources in a way that does not compromise the environment or deplete the materials for future generations. Sustainable engineering requires an interdisciplinary approach in all aspects of engineering. All engineering fields should incorporate sustainability into their practice for an improved quality of life. Furthermore, with the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals, engineers will continue to play a decisive role in their success. The necessity for environment-friendly technologies in the future will require the expertise of engineers. Therefore, the UNESCO Engineering Initiative (UEI) is working with partners to develop engineering curricula that incorporate sustainability as an overarching theme.

The rapidly increasing population and rising living standards has caused the development of environmental geotechnology. When population increases, more land is needed; many soil deposits previously claimed to be unfit for residential housing and other construction projects are now being used. In a progressive society, rising living standards indicate an increase in industrial growth. Consequently, pollution of air, water, and land and urban refuse production becomes inevitable, thereby endangering the global environment. To cope with these problematic soil deposits and adverse environmental conditions, the present conventional construction technology requires, by necessity, a new direction. Problematic soil deposits on one hand and ground pollution problems on the other have challenged the current soil mechanics concepts and methods of analyzing soil behavior under varied environmental conditions. The environmental aspects of geotechnology have been expanded and their subsequent response to engineering behavior has paved way for the emergence of Environmental Geotechnology.

Recycling is beneficial in many ways and it primarily helps protect the environment. This is because the recyclable waste materials would have been burned or ended up in the landfill. Recycling more waste means, we do not depend too much on raw (natural) resources, which are already massively depleted. However, use of recycled waste materials require an understanding of their properties and characteristics for their beneficial use as engineering and construction materials.

EGRWSE-2018 conference marked a successful event on the state-of-the art research on sustainability, environmental geotechnics, and use of recycled waste materials for civil infrastructure. EGRWSE-2019 again aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results about all aspects of Geoenvironmental Engineering, Waste Management, and Sustainable Engineering. It also provides the premier interdisciplinary forum for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns, practical challenges encountered, and the solutions adopted in this field.

Final Conference Program [Download]

June 16, 2019

Short Course #1: “Preparing to Teach Introductory Course on Geoenvironmental Engineering”

Short Course #2: “Sustainable Engineering: Drivers, Metrics, Tools, and Applications”

June 17, 2019

Opening Session, Invited Presentations, and Parallel Technical Sessions

June 18, 2019

Invited Presentations, Parallel Technical Sessions, and Closing Session

June 19, 2019

Technical Tour-1

June 20, 2019

Technical Tour-2

June 16-20, 2019

Conference will be held on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) campus in the Illinois Room in Student Centre East (SCE) Building, 750 South Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60607, USA

Book of Abstracts will be distributed to the conference attendees.

The submitted papers were peer reviewed, and the accepted papers are being published in Scopus-indexed two books published by Springer (under the Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering). The titles of these books are “Sustainable Environment and Infrastructure” and “Sustainable Environmental Geotechnics“, both edited by Krishna R. Reddy, Arvind Kumar Agnihotri, Yeliz Yukselen Aksoy, Brajesh Kumar Dubey, and Ajay Bansal.

Website to register for the conference:

Click Here

You can also register for the short courses and field trips using the above link. If you are planning to stay in the dorms, please pay your dorm fee along with your registration using the above link.

Please note that the accommodation is not included in the conference fee and the delegates are responsible for making their own arrangements. Some options for accommodations are provided below.

University Housing

We have made reservations for housing in one of our campus student residence buildings (James Stukel Tower (JST) Dorms) from June 15th to June 21st, 2019. Currently, we have a limited number of single rooms and double rooms. The cost per person per day is $42.50 for a double room (2 people sharing), and $56 per day for a single room. Reservations must be made using the conference registration link (see the link in Registration section). Housing cannot be guaranteed if the payment/registration is not received by June 2, 2019. For more information on the JST Dorms, see: http://housing.uic.edu/halls/jst/

Crowne Plaza Hotel

Limited number of rooms are held for the conference attendees in Crowne Plaza: Chicago West Loop, 733 West Madison, Chicago, Illinois 60661 (walkable distance to conference location). Rooms reserved are 2 Double Beds Nonsmoking that can accommodate 4 people. Daily Rate $239 (subject to a city and state tax, which are currently 17.4%. Tax is subject to change).  BREAKFAST: Included in guest room rate (Up to 4 vouchers per room per day); WiFi: Included in guest room rate. Reservation cutoff date: May 24, 2019. Booking Link: UIC Civil & Matreials Engineering or mention Group Code ME6 when making reservations online or by phone:312-829-500.

Other Hotels and Hostels

• Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago Downtown: 0.7 – mile walk to UIC (Address: 506 W Harrison St, Chicago, IL 60607)
• Chicago Parthenon Hostel: 0.5-mile walk to UIC (Address: 310 S Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60661)
• Chicago Getaway Hostel: 5.1 miles by Bus to UIC (Address: 616 W Arlington Pl, Chicago, IL 60614)
• HI Chicago Hostel: 1.5 miles by walk to UIC (Address: 24 Ida B. Wells Dr, Chicago, IL 60605)
• Search for Other Nearby Hotels- Click Here

Airbnb

• Online based apartments hosted by local residents. Visit: airbnb.com

Hostelworld

• Online hostel type accommodations.
• Visit: https://www.hostelworld.com/findabed.php/ChosenCity.Chicago/ChosenCountry.USAv

Download: Travel Information

Airport

June will be peak summer vacation season, so plan your travel in advance. Out-of-town participants will arrive in Chicago by air. Chicago is served by two international airports: O’Hare International Airport (ORD), and Midway International Airport. All major airlines fly to ORD.

Local Transport

Cab fares to the conference venue or dorms location range as follows: From O-Hare airport $30 – $40; From Midway airport $20-$30. You could also use Uber or Lyft, but check the fare before taking these.

You can also take direct Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) train from O’Hare (Blue Line) to UIC-Halsted Station (closest station to UIC/conference venue). If you pay cash (no change is given), the ticket cost is $5. Instead of cash,  you can purchase a rechargeable Ventra card (valid on all CTA trains and buses) using cash or credit card. You can find more details on the vending machine or ask for help from CTA personnel present. To organize a trip, please use the online CTA trip planner, or call 312 836 7000.

If you are driving, you can find the directions and other information at: http://uic.edu/about/visit-directions

Parking

Parking is available near the conference venue/dorms location at: Halsted/Taylor Parking Structure, 760 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607, Daily Rate: $15 (24/7 on-site assistance, please pull a ticket when enter, pay at exit, there are no in and out privileges). See Map.

Outdoor Attractions:

• Millennium Park – Cloud Gate (The Bean) and Garden
• Grant Park and Fountain (Location: Near Millennium park)
•  Navy Pier
• Chicago Lakefront Trail / Chicago Riverwalk (Location: Downtown Chicago; Transportation: Walkable)
• Chicago Architecture Boat Tour: It’s a boat tour in a cruise with a guide that takes you on a ride to the world of architectural marvels in the city of Chicago (the birthplace of Skyscrapers!). You can buy tickets online at http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/270350?camefrom=CFC_CHICAGOAF&tm_link=tm_changeloc_go
• Walk along the Magnificent Mile and Michigan Avenue
• Outlet Mall (Shopping) (Location: Around 1.5 mile from Rosemont CTA Station. Transportation: Take CTA Blue line to O’Hare and get down at Rosemont Station. Then walk to the Fashion Outlet Mall.
• The Lincoln Park Zoo

Indoor Attractions:

• Willis Tower sky deck (2^nd tallest building in the U.S). You can buy the tickets to sky deck at Willi’s tower or online at http://theskydeck.com/ticketsshop/general-pricing/.
• Museum of Science and Industry: Entry ticket is required and available online at https://www.msichicago.org/tickets/#/ticketing/membership.
• Art Institute of Chicago: Entry ticket is required and available online at https://sales.artic.edu/Admissions?date=8/16/2016
• Field Museum: Entry ticket is required and available online at https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/team.asp?sponsorid=8199#.V5-A29IrLIU
• Shedd Aquarium: Located close to Field Museum. Entry ticket is required and available online at http://www.sheddaquarium.org/sheddtickets/
• Adler Planetarium: Entry ticket is required and available online at https://tickets.adlerplanetarium.org/WebStore/shop/ViewItems.aspx?CG=PGA&C=GA
• John Hancock Observatory (360 CHICAGO): Follow the link for tickets http://www.360chicago.com/
• Devon Avenue (Mini India)
• Rush Street (Bars/Night Life)
• UIC – University of Illinois at Chicago

Following are some of the links to some information about the places mentioned above:

• http://www.citypass.com/chicago/things-to-do-chicago
• https://www.timeout.com/chicago/things-to-do/chicago-attractions-the-25-best-sights-and-attractions-in-chicago
• http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/chicago-us-il-chi.htm

CityPASS: The CityPASS offers entry to top 5 major attractions of Chicago. The PASS costs about $106 and includes admission to the following:

• Shedd Aquarium – VIP ENTRY
• Skydeck Chicago – FAST PASS
• The Field Museum – VIP ENTRY
• Museum of Science and Industry – VIP ENTRY   OR   360 CHICAGO – EXPRESS ENTRY
• Adler Planetarium – VIP ENTRY   OR   Art Institute of Chicago – FAST PASS
• For more information about the purchasing of CityPASS online please visit: http://www.citypass.com/chicago

Good Indian Restaurants in Chicago

• India House Restaurant: Location: 59 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654, (312) 645-9500
• Indian Garden Restaurant: Location: 247 E Ontario St., Chicago, IL 60611, (312) 280-4910
• Bombay Wraps, Location: 330 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60611, (312) 955-0733
• Nepal House Restaurant -Indian Restaurant, 1301 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605, (312) 922-0601
• Ghareeb Nawaz Express (at UIC), Location: 807 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL 60608,(312) 433-0123
• Note: One can also visit West Devon Avenue in Chicago for any kind of delicious Indian food.

More About Chicago

For information about Chicago, how to get around Chicago, public transportation, transportation to and from the airport, click on the links below:

• City of Chicago
• Encyclopedia – Chicago 
• Choose Chicago – Chicago Fun Facts 
• Choose Chicago – Transportation 
• Encyclopedia – Chicago: Getting Around 

EGRWSE-2019 is being organized by the Department of Civil and Materials Engineering (CME) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA, and the Department of Civil Engineering at the National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, India.

The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is located in the heart of one of the world’s great cities, UIC is a vital part of the educational, technological and cultural fabric of the region. As Chicago’s only public research university with 30,000 students, 15 colleges, a hospital and a health sciences system, UIC provides access to world class excellence in vivid fields. The CME department at UIC offers programs leading to the BS, MS and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering, and the MS and PhD degrees in Materials Engineering. In particular, the Sustainable Engineering Research Laboratory (SERL) and the Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Laboratory (GAGEL) at UIC is focused on addressing the trending challenges in the development of sustainable and resilient civil infrastructure and safeguarding the earth and environment by integrating the knowledge from emerging areas of sustainability, resiliency, infrastructure, water, energy and environment. The research at SERL and GAGEL has continually demonstrated a high level of technical excellence and quality in research through the development of innovative and pragmatic approaches that have been widely recognized and adopted for use.

National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar (erstwhile REC Jalandhar), was established in the year 1987 and attained the status of National Institute of Technology on October 17, 2002. As NIT, the Institute has a responsibility of providing high quality technical education in Engineering and Technology to produce competent technical manpower for the country. The Institute offers B. Tech. programmes in twelve disciplines of Engineering and Technology along with the research programmes leading to MSc, MTech and PhD degrees. The Institute has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with many foreign institutes such as Ecole Centrale de Lille, France, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, the University of Bolten, UK, and the University of South Alabama, USA for the mutual academic exchange program and further strengthening of the academics and research.

American Society of Civil Engineers- Illinois Section

Sustainable Remediation Forum (SURF)-UIC Student Chapter

UIC-Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Laboratory

UIC-Sustainable Engineering Research Laboratory

Check this conference website for updates.

For general enquiries, send an e-mail to:

geoenlab@gmail.com