Past Directors

Prof. Satish Chandra (2016-2022)

It gives me immense pleasure to invite you to visit the website of Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which was established in 1952. The scientists in CRRI have been working in frontal areas of research relevant to society in general and transport sector in particular. The institute has acquired some state-of-the-art equipments like Accelerated pavement testing facility (APTF), National Survey Vehicle (NSV), Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD), Universal Testing Machine (UTM), Large wheel tracker and many more. The institute has seven R & D divisions namely Traffic Engineering and Safety, Transportation Planning & Environment, Bridges and Structures, Flexible Pavements, Rigid pavements, Pavement Evaluation, and Geotechnical Engineering. The institute has developed and transferred several technologies in recent past. Prominent among them are mobile bridge inspection unit (MBIU), Driver diagnostic simulator, cold mix technology, soil nailing technique, white topping for city roads & intersections. The scientists have recently completed a very challenging project of road alignment from Sasoma to Saser Brangsa near China border, sponsored by Boarder Roads Organization. We have developed the maiden issue of Indian Highway Capacity Manual which was released by the Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, on February 12, 2018. We have completed a world bank sponsored international project on “Megacity Logistics: Metrics, Tools and Measures for Sustainability”, in association with TNO Netherlands and TU Delft. The institute is working on creating the national facilities for testing of expansion joints for highway bridges with the funds provided by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. Our scientists are working on upgradation of pothole repair machine in association with one industry partner. They are also working for development of a mobile app for supply – chain and freight transportation management for farmers. The institute provides technical and consultancy services to various user organizations in India and abroad. It regularly organizes national and international training programs in different areas of highway and traffic engineering for capacity building of human resources in the country.

Dr. S. Gangopadhyay (2009-2015)

Dr. S. Gangopadhyay (2009-2015) Dr. Subhamay Gangopadhyay took over as Director of the Institute from 29 May, 2009 and retired on 30 November, 2015. Dr Gangopadhyay started his carrier as Scientist B at CRRI in June, 1979 and became Acting Director from August 2008. His field of specialisation includes Traffic Engineering, Transportation Planning and Modelling, Traffic Flow Theory, Traffic Safety and Transport and Environment Interaction. Dr. Gangopadhyay published number of research papers, guided M.Tech and Ph.D thesis during his service at CRRI. He was responsible for carrying out number of Transportation studies for several cities in India including metropolitan cities.During his tenure as Director the Institute witnessed the initiation of 12th Five year plan projects viz., Sustainable Transportation System, Highway Capacity Manual & Development of Driver Simulation Laboratory, revival of APTF for development of specifications for using fly ash in rural roads, development and licensing of Mobile Bridge Inspection Unit, and design and development of Expansion Joint Testing facilities. Besides this, number of projects were carried out in the areas of use of locally available and marginal materials, new and alternative pavement materials and evaluation, Development of Bridge and Road Management System and Road Safety Audit projects. As the Director of the Institute he made every effort to enhance the the research publications and also the increase of ECF for the Institute. During his six year period many of the renovation activities of the labs and the other infrastructure facilities were undertaken and completed. The AcSIR activities were in full swing during his tenure after its commencement jointly with CBRI during 2010. He has started a unique research based Integrated Master's Pogramme (M.Tech) on Transportation Engineering.

Dr. Vikram Kumar (2007-2008)

Dr. Vikram Kumar (2007-2008) Dr. Vikram Kumar, under his dynamic leadership has initiated studies on development of Geographical Information System (GIS) based Highway Information System for planning and management of the National Highway throughout the country. Another important study has been initiated on development of management system for maintenance, planning and budgeting of high speed road corridors. This system will enable engineers and decision/policy makers to pre-conceive funds requirement for maintenance of road network in order to bring them to a desired level of serviceability. The system would also assist in minimizing wasteful losses occurring every year on account of poorly maintained roads. It is a powerful tool to the road authorities in allocating maintenance funds judiciously and in prioritizing the maintenance treatments in view of limited resources.

Dr. P.K. Nanda (2004-2007)

Dr. P.K. Nanda (2004-2007) Dr. P.K. Nanda, joined as Scientist 'B' and rose to the rank of Director. His area of interest were in Pavement Design, Materials Characterisation & Pavement Evaluation. He has coordinated the study on Axle Load Spectrum for 32,000 km of National Highways and determination of Vehicle Damage Factors (VDF). He was associated with formulation of guidelines for functional improvements of roads and development of maintenance based Riding Quality Models. He was also associated with Long Term Pavement Performance Study for developing Pavement Deterioration Models. He has done substantial work in formulating Pavement Management System using HDM-4. He was also associated with studies on Master Plan for Improvement of Delhi Roads. His research area include Polishing characteristics of road aggregates, Functional evaluation using Bump Integrator, µ-meter and Skid-trailer, Structural evaluation of pavement using FWD, La-Croix Deflectograph, Dynamic Plate Load Testing Equipment, Pre-Cast Block Pavement System for Sandy Terrains, Interconnected Block Pavement System, Design and Improvement of Haul Roads, Improved design of Airfield Pavements etc

Prof. P.K. Sikdar (1998-2004)

Prof. P.K. Sikdar (1998-2004) Prof. P.K.Sikdar also came from academic institution and started injecting research mindset among the scientists of the Institute. He was a hole timer in the true sense and experimented by reorganising the setup to achieve maximum output. During his tenure Institute witnessed maximum external cash flow year after year and research and conference papers. He prepared base documents on Pardhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) - a project to connect all rural habitats with highways through all weather road. Many significant and important projects such as Golden Quadrilateral Project, Training and dissemination of HDM-4, Delhi Metro Network (DPR), Update of Road User Cost Study, Landslide and Natural Disaster Mitigation were completed during his time. Institute's contribution in Fly Ash Mission, came to it's peak. Modernization of R&D labs with latest state of art equipments and better utilization of Computer Center by introducing Local Area Network, Intranet, Website, GIS Laboratory are some of his notable achievements.

Prof. A.K. Gupta (1996-1997)

Prof. A.K. Gupta (1996-1997) Prof. A.K. Gupta was a distinguished academic served the Institute for a short period. He instituted research on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in CRRI and intensified interactions with the World Bank. Prof. Gupta formulated CRRI VISION 2000: AN ACTION PLAN document. He was planning for initiating research in newer areas, but unfortunately, he passed away in November 1997.

Prof. D.V. Singh (1992-1996)

Prof. D.V. Singh (1992-1996) Prof. D.V. Singh came from academic environment and he stressed on close bonding with world's advanced research Institutes on road and environment. He forged strong connections with International Road Federation (IRF), World Road Association (PIARC), US Strategic Highways Research Program (SHRP), US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Australian Road Research Board (ARRB), and initiated dialogue with many others, including the World Bank. Through his initiative, India became the founder member of PIARC's World Information Network (WIN), and CRRI became the first WIN Node in India.He was nominated as Chairman of Flyash mission, which was set up by Department of Science & Technology. He has made invaluable contributions for large scale utilisation of flyash in India especially for Infrastructure projects in India. He initiated a number of management development activities in the Institute. He converted Institute's Computer Centre into "Computer and Road Informatics Centre (CRIC)". He crusaded for the creation of a National Accelerated Load Testing Facility for expeditious testing of the specifications, materials / mixes and designs for their adequacy

Dr. M.P. Dhir (1983-1989)

Dr. M.P. Dhir (1983-1989) Dr. M.P. Dhir joined CRRI as Scientist 'B' & became director in 1983. He had carried out extensive studies on material characterisation & pavement evalution. He has developed and improved many equipment for better monitoring of surface characteristics & developed a system for surface data collection in a scientific manner. He also introduced the concept of block pavement for road construction especially in desert area. During his tenure, study on the surface characteristic and geometry of the national highway network, study on axle load, study on lateral placement of vehicles, study on traffic simulation modeling, study on Road Technology - Future Needs were completed. He was also instrumental in developing a design for low cost bullock carts. Several bullock carts were developed based on his design & distributed in some rural areas. Under his guidance, structural evaluation of runway pavements of National Airports were completed.

Prof. C.G. Swaminathan (1977-1983)

Prof. C.G. Swaminathan (1977-1983) Prof. C.G. Swaminathan, a specialist in flexible pavement and bituminous materials made significant effort to explain the importance of mix design and construction of bituminous pavement in the country. During his time large size and prestigious studies including "Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Study for Bombay Metropolitan Region" , "Road User Cost Study in India" was completed and he played a very active role in organizing, deployment of resources and monitoring of progress in these studies. For his outstanding contributions in the area of road & road transportation, he was elected as President of Indian Roads Congress in 1981-82.

Dr. Bh. Subbaraju (1968-1977)

Dr. Bh. Subbaraju (1968-1977) Dr. B.H.Subbaraju gave importance in carrying out field research programme. During his tenure, Flexible Pavement Performance study, Concrete Pavement Temperature Differential Study, Study on the Design of Cement Concrete Pavement, Study on Bituminous Overlays on Cement Concrete Pavement, Study on Bonded Concrete Overlays for Concrete Pavement were taken up. Heavy test bed, 40 tonnes semi-mobile loading frame, mobile laboratory van were the new facilities added by him. He organised the Institute's quality control inputs to concrete airfield construction projects in the mid 60s.The cement concrete roads constructed in 1961-62 inside Institute campus under his direct supervision, stands even today as a proof of his engineering acumen and quality monitoring. Appraisal of rural roads constructed under crash scheme for rural employment and study of the problem of state public works departments in the north eastern region was done under his supervision.

Prof. S.R. Mehra (1955-1968)

Prof. S.R. Mehra (1955-1968) Prof. Mehra, who was a man of vision led CRRI during its formative years and brought it to a position of recognition and laid foundations for its future advancement. He had ability to pick right person for the right job. He was an able administrator who knew how to inspire others. He mooted the idea of highway research board for the country. He helped to establish Central Assessment Committee of the Govt. of India for promotion of New Road Technologies. He introduced refresher and training courses for different levels of engineers in the beginning of 60s when very little such facilities were available in the country. He advocated for improved machinery for construction of roads, quality control and personnel trained in new technologies.

Dr. E. Zipkes (1950-1954)

Dr. E. Zipkes(1950-1954) Dr. E. Zipkes was the first director of the Institute and one of the founder member of the Institute who created the building infrastructure and basic laboratories and made the laboratory functional.