Civil Engineering Department at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati is one of the most vibrant departments of the institute with largest number of faculty and students. Structural Engineering is one of the five specializations offered by the department, and earthquake engineering is one of the primary focuses within this specialization. Faculty members are also working in other research areas related to structural mechanics, fracture mechanics, finite element analysis, durability of structures, construction management and non-destructive testing.

Guwahati is located in one of the most seismically active regions of India (seismic zone V). Out of the four great earthquakes in India in last 110 years, two have occurred in Assam with devastating effects. Therefore, working towards earthquake safety of the region is a natural choice for the young faculty members of structural engineering specialization. The faculty members are involved in training the practicing engineers, students, and other stake holders on earthquake resistant design. Within a short period of time, IIT Guwahati has been able to build up the necessary infrastructure for carrying out advanced research in earthquake engineering and has been equipped with state-of-the-art scientific and engineering instruments. IIT Guwahati is also actively involved in the outreach and training activities undertaken by different Government and Non-Government organizations (NDMA, MHA, NPEEE, UNDP, etc). Large number of sponsored research projects and consultancy work has been undertaken by the Structural Engineering faculty of the institute and many projects are currently in progress.

The Structural Engineering Lab is equipped with the necessary infrastructure for carrying out advanced research in earthquake engineering and has been equipped with state-of-the-art scientific and engineering instruments. This laboratory is equipped with servo-controlled hydraulic MTS actuators (100T, 25T, and 10T compression capacity) and required data acquisition systems, which are used for cyclic testing of reinforced concrete and steel specimens. A uniaxial shake table of 5T vertical load carrying capacity, maximum stroke of 500 mm, and maximum horizontal acceleration of 2g is also available in the laboratory for simulating actual ground motions to understand the behavior of structures under dynamic loading. Other major equipment include a 100T electronic UTM, a 200T CTM, Servo-control hydraulic jacks, LVDTs, Electrical strain gauges, accelerometers, etc. Sophisticated equipment to perform Non-destructive tests like Ultrasonic pulse wave, Rebound hammer, Half-cell potential, Resistivity, Potentiometric Titrator, Resonant frequency, Digital pH meter and Rebar locator are available in this laboratory. Facilities for conducting experimental studies on model/prototype of structural elements and assemblies under various static and dynamic loading conditions are also set up in this laboratory.