DLSU CE Faculty share DRRM papers at the 7ICBR - Bangkok

Dr. Mutuc, Dr. Juanzon and Dr. Oreta at Swissotel< Bangkok, Thailand

DLSU CE Faculty - Prof. Andres Oreta and part-time lecturer, Dr. Joseph Juanzon presented papers at the 7^th International Conference on Building Resilience (7ICBR) held on November 26-29, 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand. On Nov. 27, 2017, Dr. Joseph Juanzon presented the paper on  “An assessment on the effective preparedness and disaster response: The case of Santa Rosa City, Laguna" while Prof. Oreta presented the paper co-authored with  Engr. Rizalyn Illumin  on “A Post-Disaster Functional Asset Value Index for School Buildings.”

Dr, Juanzon in the session on DRR and Governance

Dr. Oreta in the session on Health & Education

The conference is also part of the activities under the URCO RPW on Building Resilient Cities & Communities. Hence, on November 28, 2017, a meeting with  UK partners in the Newton Fund Research Links was held. Dr. Jose Edgar Mutuc (IE Dept) and Prof. Oreta met Prof. Dilanthi Amaratungga, Prof. Richard Haigh and Dr. Ezri Hayat University of Huddersfield University to discuss the incoming workshop on January 22-26, 2018 which will be held in Manila with DLSU as host university.

Dr. Mutuc, Prof. Dilanthi, Prof. Oreta and Prof. Haigh

Incidentally, Murphy Mohammed, a recent MSCE graduate of DLSU under the CHED Offshore Program at St. Louis University presented also two papers in the conference. Dr. Jose Edgar Mutuc and his advisee, M. Guttierrez also presented two papers.

The papers presented in the 7ICBR will be published in the Scopus-indexed Procedia Engineering.

Dr. Oreta also met Prof. Naveed Anwar of the Asian Institute of Technology on Nov. 27, 2017 to discuss the 7th Asia Conference on Earthquake Engineering (ACEE) to be hled in Bangkok, Thailand on November 2018. The 7ACEE is co-organized by ASEP.

ASEP member Ruel Ramirez, Dr. Naveed and Dr. Oreta at Asiatique, Bangkok

Two best papers from DLSU at GEOMATE 2017

GEOMATE International Society in coordination with Japan Geotechnical Society, and Mie University Research Center for Environmental Load Reduction  organized The Seventh International Conference on Geotechnique, Construction Materials and Environment, GEOMATE 2017, on November 21 to 24, 2017 at Tsu City, Mie, Japan. The conference aims to provide an opportunity to share researches on geo-engineering, construction materials, environmental issues, water resources, and earthquake and tsunami disasters.   

Civil Engineering Department Professor Dr. Jonathan R. Dungca, Associate Professors Dr. Mary Ann Q. Adajar, Dr. Lessandro Estelito Garciano, Dr. Bernardo A. Lejano and Dr. Nicanor Roxas Jr.,  Assistant Professors Richard M. De Jesus and Cheryl Lyne C. Roxas, PhD student Erica Elice S. Uy, and BS-MS students James Matthew De Jesus, Kyle Solomon Pineda and Edward Ephrem T. Codilla II went to the conference to present their respective researches.

Thirteen best paper awards from 190 accepted papers were awarded during the welcome dinner. Two out of 13 awardees were from De La Salle University. These were the following.

”A Comparative Settlement Prediction of Limestone Blended Materials Using Asaoka and Hyperbolic Method" by Jonathan R. Dungca and Erica Elice S. Uy

”Soil- Structure Interface Behavior of Cemented-Paste Backfill Material Mixed with Mining Waste" by Mary Ann Q. Adajar and Wincent Nicole K. Pabiloña

Congratulations CE faculty and students! 

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DLSU Civil Engineering graduate students participate in the Sakura Science Exchange Program 2017

Five graduate students in Civil Engineering of DLSU participated in the Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program 2017 (Sakura Exchange Program in Science). Tokyo City University (TCU) hosted the delegates at their Setagaya Campus from October 9 to 16, 2017. Dr. Lessandro Garciano, Chair of the Civil Engineering Department of DLSU accompanied the students during this exchange. Being an alumnus of TCU, Dr. Garciano introduced the students to the different professors and laboratories of the urban and civil engineering department of TCU.

The student contingent included Randy B. Salazar (MS CE), Erjosh O. Salvame (BS/MS CE), John Carlo R. Samarita (BS/MS CE), Jomari F. Tan (BS/MS CE) and Rainier Lawrence A. Valdez (BS/MS CE).

DLSU delegates arrive in Tokyo

The program commenced with a welcome address from Dr. Koji Homma, followed by a primer on history of TCU by Dr. Toshio Kinoshita. Professor Osamu Maruyama, Chair of the Civil Engineering Department of TCU, also gave a discussion on the week-long activity. The entire program focused on a collaborative research activity between DLSU and TCU wherein each DLSU student is paired with a TCU faculty adviser to conduct a short-term research on a pre-determined topic. The themes of the research activity are the following:

·         Disaster mitigation and reduction engineering

Prof. Ikumasa Yoshida

·         Structural and safety engineering

Prof. Osamu Maruyama and Prof. Hiromi Shirahata

·         Geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering

Prof. Kazuya Itoh)

·         Water environmental engineering

Prof. Takahito Mikami

The DLSU contingent were also accompanied by select TCU students and faculty to a campus tour which showcased various facilities in the university including the engineering laboratories where the short-term researches will be conducted for the remaining duration of the program.

To balance with the fast-paced research engagements, TCU students accompanied DLSU students to a tour in Tokyo, visiting city sights in Shibuya and Akihabara.

DLSU delegates and TCU students visit Akihabara "Electric Town"

The exchange program also included site visit at Tokyu Construction Institute of Technology where breakthrough researches in structural integrity and construction methodologies are developed. Several features exhibited in this tour included the shaking table, reaction wall, artificial weather simulator, wind tunnel, and the variable guide frame for tunnel inspection.

Wind tunnel at Tokyu Research Institute

The highlight of the Exchange Program was the presentation of the short-term researches conducted by DLSU graduate students in the respective laboratories. Each student was allotted fifteen minutes to present the work they have done and five minutes for the Q&A forum.

A certificate of achievement from the Japan Science and Technology Agency and TCU was given to each participant (including Dr. Garciano) after the presentations. This certificate also meant entry into the Sakura Science Club.

The program ended with a farewell party attended by faculty and students from both universities.

Write-up by: Jomari F. Tan

DLSU MSCE Offshore Program research papers presented at SLU Research Forum

The presenters in the SLU 1st CE Research Forum - DLSU Faculty and DLSU MSCE Graduates 

The CHED-funded DLSU Civil Engineering MSCE Offshore Program with St. Louis University (SLU) College of Engineering culminated with a Research Forum organized by SLU last Oct 28, 2017.

Ten out of the 12 graduate students in the batch of the offshore program - all CE faculty members coming from various schools in the North - SLU, Univ. of the Cordilleras (UC), Pangasinan State Univ. (PSU), Univ. of Pangasinan (UPang), Mariano Marcos State Univ. (MMSU), Cagayan State University (CSU) and Tarlac State Univ. (TSU) -  completed the requirements and graduated MSCE  during the Graduation Ceremonies held last Oct. 14, 2017. Nine papers based on the thesis of the MSCE students were presented:

1. Comparison of trip attraction between schools and malls in the city of Dagupan - John Zamora (UPang) and Dr. Alexis Fillone (DLSU Adviser)
2. Development of a seismic evacuation safety index for public schools - Jan mae Carino (SLU) and Dr. Lessandro Garciano (DLSU Adviser)
3. Public utility jeepney demand and supply analysis: The case of Baguio City, Philippines - Lovely Ranosa (SLU) and  Dr. Alexis Fillone (DLSU Adviser)
4. Flood  risk-based analysis and its impact to the strawberry fields of La Trinidad, Benguet - Dexter Hansel Apnoyan (UC) and Dr. Renan Tanhueco (DLSU Adviser)
5. Post-disaster functional asset vlaue of school buildings - Rizalyn Ullumin (PSU) and Dr. Andres Oreta (DLSU Adviser)
6. Tourist spot choice analysis in Sagada, Mountain Province and Banaue, Ifugao - Jan Nicholas Baldo (UC) and Dr. Alexis Fillone (DLSU Adviser)
7. Post-earthquake recovery strategy of a water distribution network: Case of La Trinidad, Benguet - Janice Kaye Aquino (SLU) and Dr. Lessandro Garciano (DLSU Adviser)
8. Slope stability assessment of Carabao Mountain in Baguio City - Eleazar Santaigo (SLU) and Dr. Mary Ann Adajar (DLSU Adviser)
9. Optimization of mix proportion of compressed earth blocks with rice straw using ANN - Emerson Gapuz (SLU) and Dr. Jason Maximino Ongpeng (DLSU Adviser)

Dr. Lessandro Garciano (CE Dept. chair), Dr. Alexis Fillone (TRE Division head) and Dr. Andres Oreta (STE Professor) attended the forum. Dr. Garciano delivered the welcome remarks and presented the research themes of undergrad and graduate themes at DLSU. Dr. Fillone promoted the CE Graduate Programs at DLSU, while Dr. Oreta presented the paper (#5) in behalf of Engr. Illumin who is  now in Tokyo, Japan pursuing a Master's in Disaster Management. 

The DLSU faculty held a meeting with SLU Dean Posadas and SLU faculty to explore the possibility of an Off-site program for PhD students.  Moreover, SLU consulted the DLSU faculty on how DLSU can support SLU's  new CHED-funded M.S. program in DRRM to be offered in 2018 with Conventry Univ of UK. 

Dr. Lessandro Garciano and Engr. Janice Kaye Aquino (SLU)

Dr. Alexis Fillone

Engr. Dexter Apnoyan (UC)

Engr. Lovely Ranosa (SLU)

CE Faculty at the PICE NCR 14th Regional Technical Conference

Certificate of Appreciation presented by the hosts officers

Prof. Andres Winston C. Oreta delivered a lecture on "Learning Seismic Retrofitting Methods and Practices from Japan" at the 14th PICE NCR Regional Technical Conference held on Oct. 6-7, 2017 at the AVR, Valenzuela City Hall, Vallenzuela City. The conference, hosted by the PICE North MM Chapter with Prof. Dr. Victor Macam, Jr as president had a theme, "Civil Engineers: Serving the Nation & Sustaining Development."

Engr. Frederick Sison, CE Dept. Professional Lecturer and past president of ASEP also delivered a lecture on "Updates on the National Structural Code of the Philippines."

The conference was attended by about 200 PICE members from various MM chapters - Manila, Makati, Quezon City and East and North Metro Manila. There were 15 lectures on various topics - CPD, BIM, Codes, Retrofitting, Construction Management, Pile Dynamics, Gender Sensitivity, Transportation Engineering, Fire Technology Occupational Safety and Water Resources.

Also at the conference were former UP classmate, Albert Molina and her daughter, a former student at DLSU in 1994

DLSU participated in the 11th SSMS and 5th RCND 2017

The recently concluded 11^th SSMS (Society for Social Management Systems) and 5^th RCND (Regional Conference on Natural Disasters) 2017 International Symposium with a theme “Managing Smart and Resilient Society” was held in Swissotel Le Concorde, Bangkok, Thailand last September 20-21, 2017 and hosted by Chulalongkorn University partnered with AUN-SEED Net. Several research studies were presented with topics that includes Disaster, Resilience and Management, IoT and Smart Cities, Environment and Security of Water, Energy and Food, Infra and Asset Planning and Management, Sustainability, among others. There were about 96 papers and 5 plenary lectures presented in this conference. 

11^th SSMS and 5^th RCND 2017 hosts and members of the organizing committee

Engr. Richard De Jesus from DLSU Civil Engineering, a RCND sponsorhip awardee, participated and presented a paper entitled “Developing a CO2 and carbonation parameters map for selected RC structures surrounding railways stations in Metro Manila”. The paper aimed to establish a CO2 map for selected areas in Manila and assessed RC structures for carbonation. The study was co-authored by RDJ’s former thesis advisees: F. Alejo, C. Biscocho, J. Patawaran, and L. Piojo.

RDJ participating in 11^th SSMS and 5^th RCND 2017

Engr. De Jesus, DLSU Manila, during his paper presentation

RCND 2018 will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia. Formal announcements regarding the next conference will be announced soon.