Formed in 1972, with Professor Dinesh Mohan, the then Director, Central Building Research Institute, as its founder Chairman. Subsequently, eminent geotechnical engineers of Roorkee such as Professor Bharat Singh, Professor A.S. Arya, Professor Swami Saran, Professor Gopal Ranjan, Professor Shamsher Prakash, Professor Jagdish Narain and Dr. R.K. Bhandari, headed this chapter and brought glory to the geotechnical community at large. This chapter has also the privilege of producing several IGS Presidents namely Dr. A.N. Khosla, Professor Dinesh Mohan, Professor Shamsher Prakash, Professor Jagdish Narain, Professor Gopal Ranjan and Dr. R.K. Bhandari. Professor Dinesh Mohan has also the distinction of being the first Vice-President of the Asian Region, International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ISSMFE). Dr. B.G. Rao, the then Scientist, CBRI had the honour of becoming the Secretary of the National body (1990-91).

The first course on Geotechnical Engineering in the prestigious University of Roorkee was introduced by none other than Padma Vibhusan Professor Jai Krishna, another member of Geotechnical Society from Roorkee, way back in 1959, with the active participation of other faculty members.

 This chapter has always been active since its inception. Several National and International Conferences were organised. To name a few, International Symposium on Soil-Structure Interaction (1977), National Symposium on Rock Mechanics (1985), INDIAN GEOTECHNICAL CONFERENCE (IGC 1985), Application of Rock Mechanics in River Valley Projects (1989). Application of Rock Engineering in Nation’s Development (2001) and Geotechnicalnvestigations for Infrastructural Development (2002).

The chapter contributed usefully in the nation’s development, particularly in the area of geotechnical engineering. Since 1990 till date, the chapter took lead in organising many short term courses, hosting the delegates of XIII ICSM&FE 1994, National Seminars and very recently (April 27-28, 2001) National Workshop on Application of Rock Engineering in Nation’s Development, in honour of Prof. Bhawani Singh. Roorkee Chapter had also the distinction of organising International Symposium on in-situ Testing of Soils and Rocks and Performance of Structures (1979) and Rock Mechanics in Engineering Practice (1975). It is worth mentioning that Geotechnical Highlights and Audio visual on Taj Mahal prepared by the Local Chapter under the leadership of Prof. S.C. Handa, presently Chairman of Roorkee Chapter attracted a thunderous applause from the august gathering of delegates of XIII ICSM&FE held in New Delhi in 1994.