The information about the Keynote Speakers of ICEEES2015 is as follows, which will be updated regularly.

Dr. Liya Jin

Biography: Mr. Liya Jin was born in Qinghai, China. He successively completed his B.Sc. (Meteorology, 1985), M.Sc. (Atmospheric Science, 1991) and Ph.D. (Physical Geography, 2006) from Lanzhou University, China. Dr. Liya Jin presently works as a Professor at the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University. He conducts researches in the area of climate dynamics, paleo-climate simulation and climate changes in Asian monsoon region and inland central Asia, and visited and collaborated with many international/national institutes (e.g. National center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), USA), Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), Germany) over the last 10 years. More than 60 research articles in his research have been published. He is as a reviewer of many international/national journals (such as Climate Dynamics, Nature Communications, International Journal of Climatology), and a member of sub-commission on Arid Environmental Change in Commission of Chinese Association for Quaternary Research (CHIQUA).

Topic: Asian summer monsoon climate during the Holocene in simulations and reconstructions and a comparison with that in inland central Asia

Abstract: Multi-paleoclimate proxy records show variable trends in boreal summer precipitation during the Holocene in the Indian and East Asian summer monsoon regions. To investigate the mechanisms behind Holocene climatic change and the evolution of Asian summer monsoon (ASM), equilibrium simulations for time slices of 9.5 ka BP (thousand years before present, ka BP) and 0 ka BP as well as transient simulation from 9.5 ka BP to 0 ka BP were performed by using a coupled climate model. The transient simulation tests the response of climate change in Asian summer monsoon area to changes in orbital parameters in terms of eccentricity, obliquity and precession. Model results show regional different precipitation patterns in the Indian and East Asian summer monsoon regions during the Holocene. A shifting of the Asian summer precipitation belt during the Holocene is closely related to the south/northward movement of the Inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ), which resulted from the response of a coupled tropical and subtropical monsoon system to the orbitally forced change in insolation.
Our research also indicates a significant inverse relationship in summer moisture evolution but a positive relationship in the speleothem δ18O between inland central Asia and the ASM region during the Holocene. Changes in the seasonal cycle of incoming solar radiation driven by Earth’s orbital changes have probably played an important role in the out-of-phase relationship between the moisture evolution in inland central Asia and the ASM region during the Holocene.

Dr. Bhagwanjee Jha

Biography: Dr. Bhagwanjee Jha was born in 1966 at Vill-Bangaon, Dist.-Saharsa, State-Bihar, India. His early education was completed in Kalawati High School in his village and after school, got intermediate level education from Science College, Patna (1982-1984). He has been an alumnus of National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra University, Haryana after completion of B. Sc. (Civil Engg) and M. Tech. (Structures Construction Techniques) degrees in 1989 and 1991, respectively. Afterwards, he preferred to start his career as a faculty member of Civil Engineering and continuing in the same profession from 1992 to till date. In the beginning of his academic career, he worked in the then Bokaro Institute of Technology (a self financed institution), Bokaro Steel City up to Aug’ 2000. Later, he continued his career in Dr. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Government Polytechnic, Karad (D.P.), Dadra and Nagar Haveli since October 2000. Till today, he possesses a teaching experience of 23 years. In addition to his regular teaching responsibilities, he engaged in various researches as a part of academic requirements. During his M. Tech. dissertation, he had worked for establishing fly ash as an alternative to conventional cement by using mixtures of fly ash and hydraulic lime. In the recent past, during his Ph. D. program (2009-2013) of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay he explored much for further value addition of fly ash as zeolites. Based on his research findings, he could successfully publish several research papers (> 12 Nos.) in many referred international journals of repute with his Ph. D. supervisor, Dr. D. N. Singh, Institute Chair Professor, Geotechnical Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
His teaching, and students’ project based research, training and developmental activities are in quite diversified areas of Civil Engineering (viz., construction techniques, environmental clean-up, exploring reuse potential of fly ash and other wastes, zeolitation of fly ash, advanced macro- to micro- level characterizations (viz., physical, chemical, mineralogical, morphological, thermal, porous) of materials.
Looking to his innovative thoughts, dedication and interest in quality research, he was invited twice by the Gujarat Technological University, Ahmadabad as an expert speaker in two different workshops on quality research organized in the university in 2014, specially for Ph.D. and M. Tech students.
Recently for his innovative efforts in diploma level teaching, he was awarded with Pedagogical Innovation Award-2015 of the Gujarat Technological University, Ahmadabad.
Over last two decades, he had guided more than 300 students for successful completion of around 30 diploma level projects. Presently, he is engaged in gray water treatment (an environmental clean-up project) by using fly ash zeolites, and many more innovative research based projects (viz., pre-stressing of long span concrete beams and construction of light weight non-structural components by using ferro-cement).
In addition, he had been reviewer of Civil Engineering journal (series-A) of Institution of Engineers, India.

Topic: Value Addition of Coal Fly Ash as Absorbent for Environmental Clean up

Abstract: Coal fly ash has been serious threat to cleaner environmental for last many decades after the growing demand of energy and thermal power plants. In order to reduce such issues, fly ash has been profoundly used and established as a construction material. However, much of the fly ash produced still remains unused in the ash lagoons, situated in the thermal power plants, which faces problems of land scarcity and contamination of soil of water sources, all leading to serious public health problems. In order to open up new areas of specific application of fly ash, several latest researchers suggest value addition to the silica enriched fly ash as potential material for synthesis of fly ash zeolites, comparable to the conventional zeolites, used in heavy metal up take processes (viz., waste water decontamination and soil remediation). Accordingly, fly ash zeolites have been synthesized by adopting alkali activation of the fly ash, by resorting to various techniques for activation of fly ash (viz., hydrothermal, fusion and microwave irradiation). Out of all sequential activation of fly ash under hydrothermal technique has been ascertained to be more effective, in terms of the characteristics (viz., cation exchange capacity, pores, hydroxylation, mineral transition, morphological transition and chemical transitions) of the synthesized fly ash zeolites. Sequential hydrothermal activation of fly ash with Na(OH) has yielded higher grade fly ash zeolites, as composites of polycrystalline Na-P1 and Na-Y zeolites having cation exchange capacity up to 840 meq/100g. Such improved fly ash zeolites can be used as effective absorbent for various environmental cleanup projects related to soil and water decontamination.