Madhavi Latha Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Madhavi Latha

• Madhavi Latha wanted to be a doctor, but her family’s financial situation did not allow it. After that, she became the first engineer in her community.

• During her studies at NIT Warangal, Madhavi Latha got a gold medal for doing well in her studies.

• After completing her PhD, she did postdoctoral research at the Indian Institute of Science from 2002 to 2003.

• She then served as an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, from April 2002 to June 2003.

• In June 2003, Madhavi Latha started working as an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in the Department of Civil Engineering. She served in the position till May 2009.

• In June 2009, Madhavi Latha was promoted to the position of associate professor. She served in the position till May 2015.

• She then became a professor in June 2015 and served in the position till July 2024.

• In July 2021, Madhavi Latha was appointed as the chairman of the Centre for Sustainable Technologies at IISC.

• In July 2024, she began working as an HAG Professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Karnataka.

• Madhavi Latha has supervised many graduate students and contributed to geotechnical engineering education and research in India.

• During her post-doctoral studies in Rock Engineering at IISc Bangalore, Latha also worked as a faculty member.

• Madhavi Latha was the first woman to become a faculty member in her department at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

• During this period, she had to fight for basic facilities like a women’s toilet at the institute.

• Her area of study includes how soil behaves and how to make the ground stronger using reinforcements.
  

  Madhavi Latha while inducted as a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (FNAE) during the INAE Annual Convention (2024)

• Madhavi Latha researched how soil interacts with materials like geosynthetics, especially focusing on friction at the points where they meet.

• She used images to study small surface changes in materials and linked those changes to how much stress or movement happens.

• Madhavi Latha worked on improving soil strength using geocells and tested how they work under foundations, walls, and slopes.

• She studied how roads built with reinforced materials handle repeated pressure (like vehicle movement).

• Madhavi Latha researched how retaining walls behave during earthquakes.

• In rock engineering, she worked on modelling cracked rock masses, checking slope stability, and designing ways to keep rock slopes safe.

• On 6 June 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenab Bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge in Jammu and Kashmir. It is 359 metres above the river, taller than the Eiffel Tower, and 1,315 metres long. 

• After the inauguration, Latha’s role in shaping and building the bridge was highlighted by IISc.

• IISc praised her and her team on social media for helping with slope stability, foundation design, and rock anchor systems to handle dangers.

• Madhavi Latha worked as an advisor for the Chenab Rail Bridge, which is built in the Himalayan region.

• Her team used a ‘design-as-you-go’ method to adjust plans based on the area’s changing rock and ground conditions.

• Madhavi Latha helped in designing rock anchors to keep the structure safe in weak and unpredictable rock areas.
  

  Madhavi Latha posing near the Chenab Bridge with her team members

• She also worked on slope stability and the design of the bridge’s foundations in difficult and risky areas.

• After the inauguration, Madhavi Latha made a post on social media and congratulated India on the opening of the Chenab Railway Bridge. She praised the bridge and gave credit for the planning, design, and construction to Indian Railways and the company AFCONS.

• She requested the media not to make her famous and said that she was in Spain at a conference.

• Madhavi Latha asked everyone to respect her privacy and repeated that all credit should go to Indian Railways.

• She was put into the project in 2005 by Northern Railways and the contractor Afcons as part of IISc’s support team.

• Madhavi Latha worked on this project for 17 years as a geotechnical consultant.