Fillone & Oreta at CECAR8 - Tokyo

Prof. Alexis Fillone and Prof. Andy Oreta attended and presented papers at the 8th Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR8) held on April 16-19, 2019 at Tokyo, Japan. CECAR is a major activity of ACECC (The Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council) held on a triennial basis, and started in 1998 (http://www.cecar8.jp/about/). ACECC (http://www.acecc-world.org/) was established in 1999 with the aim of promoting the acquisition and transfer of civil engineering knowledge for advancing the design and construction practices that ultimately improve the quality of life of all citizens from ACECC member countries. ACECC is currently comprised of member societies from 13 countries (Australia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, S. Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan, USA, and Vietnam). Among the organizers of CECAR are the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE), Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE).  CECAR8 is organized by JSCE. 

Prof. Fillone presented his paper on "The impact of truck lane on vehicular flow along an arterial road in Metro Manila". Prof. Oreta presented a paper co-authored with Kevin Lawrence Atienza, Carla Maria Gonzalez, Jorge Jason Juaquino and Maria Krisia Martinez on “Quantifying the Environmental Impacts of Structural Elements of Standard Bridge Design." 

Some insights from the CECAR8:

"I have learned the future directions of civil engineering in the Asian Region. Among the topics emphasized in the sessions I attended are how civil engineering can address the Sustainable Development Goals. Another interesting topic is related to initiatives on recycling of construction and demolition waste. The exhibits also introduced me to new technologies such as the “floatless method” for reducing damage of utility holes due to liquefaction. Another exhitbit is on the Disaster Prevention Portal specifically designed for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The solar heat-blocking pavement is another product that may be appropriate in the Philippines." - AWC Oreta

New CIV Faculty Members for Term 3, AY 2018-2019

Let us warmly welcome the new CIV Faculty Members for Term 3, AY 2018-2019!

Dr. Lea B. Bronuela, a licensed Civil Engineer, has completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Adamson University Manila. She took up the joint Masters-Doctorate Degrees in Civil Engineering major in Highway and Traffic Engineering from Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea. She has been working for horizontal structures for seven years, which mostly consist of investigation and design of highway, tunnel, and airport pavement structure in South Korea. She is involved in the improvement of pavement management system in various Korean airports, which is a collaboration between Chung-Ang University, Korean Airport Corporation, and Federal Aviation. She worked as an Assistant Highway Designer in Arcadis GEC Manila, as Engineer 1 at JGC Philippines, as Lecturer at Adamson University, and as Office Engineer at R.T. Soncuya.

Engr. Kenneth Jae Elevado graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University, Manila with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering with Specialization in Construction Technology and Management. He was awarded the DLSU Student Leadership Award, Outstanding Civil Engineering Student and Outstanding Contribution to the CE Department. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the same institution through the BSMS program. In pursuing his Master’s Degree, he was granted the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) scholarship funded by the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI). His recent SCOPUS-indexed journal publications focused on numerical modeling and optimization of waste utilization in concrete. Likewise, his research interests include urban resiliency of built environment, construction management and sustainability in construction practices among others.

#ANIMOCIV

PRISMH team held a Stakeholder’s Forum

The PRISMH team and participants of the Stakeholders’ Forum

The PRISMH team held a Stakeholder’s Forum last April 30, 2019, at the Roof Deck of Henry Sy, Sr. Hall (HSSH) of De La Salle University. In that Forum, the PRISMH research team members presented what they have accomplished in this 2-year research endeavor, as it is set to end in August 2019.

The forum opened with Ms. Dina D’Ayala’s (Principal Investigator, UCL) introduction of Epicenter, and UCL. She also talked about the relationship between British Council, CHED, UCL, DLSU, and XU and the importance of the collaboration between all these units with regards to the PRISMH project. Dr. Andres W. C. Oreta (Co-investigator, DLSU) followed with the introduction of the PRISMH project and the CSS (Comprehensive School Safety) framework. Engr. Richard De Jesus (Co-investigator, DLSU) discussed the overview of school typology and the relevance of school inventory to the project. Dr. Arash Nassirpour (Co-invetigator, UCL) talked about the vulnerability of schools from multi-hazards. The forum was capped off by a report from Ms. Rebekah Yore (Co-investigator, UCL) regarding emergency sheltering and evacuation of school infrastructure.

Attendees of this Forum were representatives from the British Council, PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), DepEd (Department of Education) Engineers and DRR officers, Faculty from St. Louis University (Baguio), ASEP (Association of Structural Engineers of the Phil.), DPWH, PICE (Phil. Institute of Civil Engineers), and LGU. 

The PRISMH (Philippines’ Resilience of Schools to Multi-Hazards) is an on-going 2-year project that aims to develop an advanced resilience assessment framework for school infrastructure subjected to multiple natural hazards in the Philippines. In particular, the project addresses risk from seismic, wind and flood hazards. (please see attached primer). The PRISMH project is funded by the British Council and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). It is a joint research collaboration between experts from the University College London (UCL), Xavier University - Engineering Resource Center (XU-ERC) and De La Salle University.