Has been at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, since 2004. He is currently the Dean for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research, and the Prof. V.S. Raju Institute Chair Professor, Department of Civil Engineering. He graduated from the Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, with B.E. (Honours) degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Madras. He later studied in the USA and obtained an M.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Marquette University, Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. degree in Structural Engineering from Northwestern University, Evanston. In 1990, he moved to Barcelona, Spain, and became the Director of the Structural Technology Laboratory of the Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya in the School of Civil Engng. of Barcelona. He was recognised as Doctor Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos (equivalent to Doctor of Civil Engng.) by the Spanish Ministry of Education in 1998. The areas of research of Dr. Gettu have been fracture mechanics of concrete and rock; nonlinear behaviour of cement-based materials; high strength, fibre reinforced and self compacting concretes; sustainability and the effective use of chemical admixtures. His research has been funded by public organizations, as well as the construction industry, helping him focus on applied research and technology transfer. He has co-authored more than 460 publications, of which more than 100 are peer-reviewed journal papers. He has also given about 26 keynote/invited lectures at international conferences. He was honoured for outstanding contributions at the Gettu-Kodur Symposium on Advances in Science & Technology of Concrete, organized by the India Chapter of the American Concrete Institute, Mumbai, in 2018; and the Third International Conference on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies (Kyoto, Japan) organized by the Japan Concrete Institute, Coventry University (UK) and UWM Center for Byproducts Utilization (USA), in 2013. He has guided 20 doctoral researchers to completion and is part of probably the most well-known construction materials research group in India. He was elected as a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in 2018. He is President and Fellow of RILEM, the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Structures and Systems, based in France. He is a core member of the UN Environment Network: LowCarbon Cementitious Materials (LCCI), part of UNE 10-Year Framework Programme on Sustainable Building and Construction. He has been an Associate Editor of the Materials and Structures Journal and is on the editorial boards of several other journals.
