CIV Faculty & Students at 17AIC, Students win poster competition!

 

DLSU Faculty and Grad Students at 17AIC: Ongpeng, Valerio, Oreta, Baylon and Ramos

CE Faculty and students actively attended the 17^th ASEP International Convention (17AIC) held on May 28-30, 2015 at the Marco Polo Hotel, Pasig City. The biannual convention organized by the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. (ASEP) has the theme, “Advancing Structural Engineering for Cross-border Practice.”

Faculty Papers. Technical papers were presented by the faculty. 

• Jason Maximino Ongpeng, CE Dept. chair presented his paper co-authored with R. De Jesus, A. Oreta and S. Hirose on “Utilization of Nonlinear Ultrasonic Parameters in Detecting Interior Damage in Concrete.” 
• Teaching Associate Daniel Nichol Valerio presented his paper co-authored with his adviser at Chulalongkorn University on “Reactive Powder Concrete Columns Exposed to Fire.” 
• Asst. Professor Alden Paul Balili presented his paper co-authored with Dr. L. Garciano on “Derivation of Resistance and Load Factors for New Cold-Formed Sections Taking into consideration Updated Wind Load Models.” 
• Professor Dr. Andres Oreta presented his paper co-authored with N. Arcilla and J. Ong on “Introducing Sustainability Concepts in the Design of Structures.”

Student Papers. DLSU Graduate students also presented papers. MSCE-ERDT student, Daniel Jerome Ramos presented his paper co-authored with his adviser, Dr. L. Garciano on “Seismic Analysis of a Multi-span Birdge Structure subjected to Spatially Varying Ground Motion and Liquefaction-Induced Soil-Structure Interaction.” 

 

3rd Place - Student Poster

1st Place - Student Poster

Student Poster Competition. BSCE senior students also participated and won 1^st and 3^rd place in the 3^rd ASEP Student Poster Competition. Winning 1^st place is the poster on “The Propagation Behaviour of Pile Driving-Induced Vibration Done on Soil at Varying Distances and its Effects on Existing Buildings” by Dwayne Acosta, Modwena Juego, Heisen Sanchez, Ivy Sanchez and Dr. Jonathan Dungca (Adviser). The 3^rd place winner was given to the poster on “A Proposed Methdology for Quantifying the Environmental Impacts of Structural Elements of Standard Bridge Designs” by Kevin Atienza, Carla Gonzales, Mitchel Martinez, Jorge Joaquino and Dr. Andres Oreta (Adviser).

Alumni Papers. DLSU alumni Michael Baylon (BSCE), Dexter Lo (MSCE) and Cesar Vallejo (M.Eng) also presented papers in the convention.

CE Papers presented at IABSE Conference Nara 2015

The DLSU delegates (L-R: Yu, Ongpeng, Oreta and Mendoza)

DLSU faculty members (all members of IABSE) led by CE Department chair, Jason Maximino Ongpeng and Prof. Andres Winston Oreta, chair of the Philippine Group of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) attended the IABSE Conference Nara 2015 held on May 13-15, 2015 at the Nara Kasugano International Forum, Nara, Japan, The conference which had the theme, “Elegance in Structures” was organized by the Japanese Group of IABSE. Attending the conference were Jason Ongpeng, Andres Oreta, Rodolfo Mendoza (Part-time faculty) and Kirk Yu (BSMS-CIV student and ERDT scholar).

Jason Ongpeng during the open forum on his paper presntation

Jason Ongpeng presented his paper co-authored with A. Oreta and S. Hirose on “Non-linear ultrasonic test for fiber-reinforced concrete using 3^rd harmonic generation” in the session on New Technological Adavnces in Sustainability 3 (May 15, 2015, 14:00-15:45).

Kirk Yu presents his paper on risk assessment of hritage buildings

Kirk Yu  presented his paper co-authored with A. Oreta on “Mulit-hazard risk and asset value assessment of heritage bildings (Case study in Iloilo City, Philippines)” in the session on Historical Structure 2 (May 15, 2015, 14:00-15:45).

The paper by Kenneth Toral and Bernardo Lejano on “Structural retrofitting of building: Turnbuckle exterior post-tensioning” is also included in conference proceedings although the authors were not able to present the paper.

Dr. Oreta chairs the session on Historical Structure 1 with Prof. Tada (Osaka U)

Prof. Andres Oreta also chaired a technical session on Historical Structure 1 (May 15, 2015, 10:50-12:40).

With IABSE Geneva acting director, Chep Uytiepo ( A Filipino!)

CIV & MEM Students at Tokyo Tech Student Exchange Program 2015

The DLSU Participants - Students and Faculty (Photo by Jason Ongpeng)

Last April 29 to May 8, 2015, an intercultural exchange collaboration took place in Tokyo, Japan. 23 Civil Engineering (CE) and 16 Manufacturing Engineering and Management (MEM) students from De La Salle University were invited by the Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT) for a 10-day socio-cultural program. DLSU faculty,  Ronaldo Gallardo (CE)  and  Dr. Nilo Bugtai (MEM) and TIT Phils Offcie staff, Ms. Ioulany Esguerra and Dianne Buagas accompanied the students. The purpose of the program was to expose students to the cultural and the technological development of Japan as well as to promote closer ties with the TIT students and professors. The itinerary included various locations such as the TIT campus, museums, temples, and other iconic landmarks found in Tokyo. 

 

TIT Students' Exhibit of Inventions

                One of the highlights of the exchange program was the TIT campus tour. Here, the students were exposed to the university life in Japan as they visited different areas in the campus. Students were able to witness projects done by the TIT students as well as Japan’s most powerful super computer known as the TSUBAME 2.5. This high-speed supercomputer is used to process and store a large amount of data. The types of data processed include the simulation of earthquakes, wind patterns, water molecule movement, and much more. One of the locations also included in the campus tour was the TIT library, which is also known as the Cheesecake Library due to its architecture. In this segment of the campus tour, students were able to observe the study habits of the TIT students as well as the structural design of the buildings at the University.

TIT's Cheesecake Library

                Aside from the campus tour, students noted the efficiency and unparalleled public transportation scheme of Japan, particularly its railway system. With a delay rate of only 7 seconds/year, Japan’s subway system proves to be one of the most reliable transportation lines globally. The train system provides linkages among different cities and provincial towns, making pedestrian transport convenient and more accessible. 

                Other locations that were of note in the program were the Miraikan Museum, Rainbow Bridge, and the Tokyo Skytree. The Miraikan Museum showcased the ingenuity of the Japanese through their advanced technology. An example of this would be the famous robot called ASIMO, which had the capability to perform human movements such as walking, running, and jumping. The Rainbow Bridge can be considered as an engineering marvel by the Japanese due to its state of the art design. It is a suspension type bridge and is one of the longest in Tokyo. The Tokyo Skytree, on the other hand, stands as the tallest tower at 624 meters.

Aside from the exposure to the advanced engineering and progressive technology of Japan, students were also given the chance to look back and experience the rich culture of the country. The Meiji Shrine, situated in the heart of Harajuku, and the Asakusa Temple showcased and preserved centuries of Japanese heritage and history. Students marveled on how temples could tell stories of the Japanese people and their practices. The students also learned how to pay respect in the temples and engage in rituals to show such reverence.

                The last destination for the students in the itinerary was Hino Motors, Ltd. The corporation is a leading manufacturer of trucks and buses in Japan. It has expanded to various locations around the world. One of which is in the Philippines. The tour allowed the students to observe the production of Heavy Duty Trucks (HDT) from start to finish. 

 

DLSU Students in Green. Animo Lasalle!

                All in all, the program was a fruitful experience that brought about many lessons and insights with a responsibility instilled in the aspiring engineers of DLSU. With that, students may bring home what they learned and apply it to future engineering projects in the Philippines. 

Article by Kevin Atienza, Carla Gonzalez and Jorge Joaquino

Photos by Beatrice Liu and Nestor de Ocampo