Who Is Madhavi Latha? All About The Engineer And One Of The Key Minds Behind J&K's Chenab Bridge

Who Is Madhavi Latha?

Dr G Madhavi Latha is a highly respected civil engineer and academic, currently serving as a professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. Hailing from a small village in Andhra Pradesh, she has dedicated 17 years of her life to the Chenab Bridge project. Her work focused on ensuring slope stabilisation and foundation safety in one of the most geologically challenging regions in India.

We are proud of Prof Madhavi Latha & her team's contribution to the #ChenabBridge inaugurated by Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi🎉
The team worked on stability of slopes, design & construction of foundations, design of slope stabilisation systems incl. rock anchors to withstand hazards. pic.twitter.com/BApCSJTRZX

— IISc Bangalore (@iiscbangalore) June 6, 2025

As a geotechnical consultant for Afcons Infrastructure, the firm responsible for the bridge’s construction, she helped navigate the difficult terrain, extreme weather, and seismic risks. Her contributions were key to making the bridge a reality.

Madhavi Latha: Education, Career, And Family Background

Dr Latha completed her BTech in Civil Engineering from JNTU Hyderabad in 1992. She went on to pursue her MTech in Geotechnical Engineering from NIT Warangal, where she was awarded a gold medal. In 2000, she earned her PhD in Geotechnical Engineering from IIT Madras.

Her academic journey took her to IIT Guwahati, where she worked as an Assistant Professor before joining IISc Bengaluru in 2003. She currently teaches in the Department of Civil Engineering and serves as the Chair of the Centre for Sustainable Technologies at IISc.

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Over the years, she has received several accolades, including the Best Woman Researcher in Geotechnical Engineering, the Prof SK Chatterjee Outstanding Researcher Award, and the SERB POWER Fellowship. In 2022, she was also named among the Top 75 Women in STEAM in India.

In addition to her research and teaching, she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Geotechnical Journal for six years and continues to contribute to international journals.

Madhavi Latha’s Response To Media And Spotlight

Despite the national recognition following the bridge’s inauguration, Dr Latha has remained remarkably humble. She publicly stated that the credit for the Chenab Bridge’s success belongs to the entire team of engineers, workers, and unsung heroes who worked tirelessly under difficult conditions.

In fact, she expressed discomfort with headlines calling her “the woman behind the mission” or attributing the entire success to her, calling such labels baseless. She clarified that her role was that of a consultant, helping with slope stabilisation and foundation design, not the sole builder of the bridge.

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Moved by letters from young students and proud parents, she shared that many fathers had written to her saying they wanted their daughters to become like her. Children expressed interest in pursuing civil engineering after learning about her contribution, something she said made her “extremely happy.”

She concluded by saying, “Please don’t make me unnecessarily famous. I am one of thousands who deserve appreciation for the Chenab Bridge.”

Image Credits: X/@IISc Bangalore

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