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. 

   

CE Faculty at DRSD2019 - AIT

DLSU GCOE Faculty and CESDR DRU Members inside the wind tunnel of AIT-Thamassat University

 CE Faculty members, Dr. Andres Oreta, Dr. Renan Tanhueco and Dr. Marla Redillas attended and presented papers the International Symposium on Disaster Resilience & Sustainable Development (DRSD2019) hed on March 7-8, 2019 at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. Read related article at CESDR DRU blog.

Dr. Tanhueco presented a paper on "Developing teaching and learning modules for a disaster readiness and risk reduction subject. Ths paper is co-authored by a team of DLSU faculty who developed the DR&RR modules for the senior high school students.

Dr. Oreta presented the paper on "Identifying research interventions on resilience building using the ten essentials for “making cities resilient” global campaign."  This paper is co-authored by members of the URCO RPW on Building Resilient Cities & Communities.

Dr. Redillas presented her paper co-authored with students on "Investigation on the potential of LID in urban land uses in the Philippines."

The CE Faculty represented the DLSU CESDR Disaster Resilience Unit and joining them as presentors were Dr. Mutuc (IE Dept) and Dr. Lawrence Materum (ECE Dept).

CESDR DRU Presentors

After the symposium, the team had a lab tour of the Wind Tunnel of AIT and Thamassat University.  The research staff of AIT Consulting facilitated the tour.

Briefing about the wind Tunnel at AIT Consulting Office

3D-printed models tested at the wind tunnel

3D-Printned models on display at the AIT-Consulting Office

A Megawide Expedition

On February 23, 2019, Students taking up BS CIV-CTM and BS CIV-STE went on a field trip entitled “Megawide Expeditions: A Site Visit to Megawide Precast Plant”. The field trip was quite a fun and informative experience for us undergraduate students as it was a first time experience for most of us to visit a Precast Plant. What a new experience it was as we had a glimpse in an actual plant that who knows? maybe in a few years we will be working for the same large and successful pioneering construction company like Megawide.

 
The field trip began with a short orientation led by Mr. Christopher Ganotice and Mr. Emelito Durano Jr. The group of 55 student participants in the field trip were split into two groups with the two facilitators at that point and for the rest of the field trip as to have a smoother program flow. The orientation focused on a little bit of history on the establishment of the Precast Plant and on the various sections we are to visit in the plant. Once we set out to the main part of the tour, we were told that photos were restricted especially for the machines.

 
Our facilitator Mr Ganotice who is the Senior Planner for the site, was able to explain quite eloquently the use of each sections of the plant and how each of the sections of the plant were crucial to the manufacturing of precast concrete. We were able to visit the Warehouse, Stockyard and the two factories of the plant. It was really interesting to see their methodology and observe first hand as it really gave light to how some of the things we study like concrete is applied in real life.

 
Overall, it was a very new and exciting experience for all of us and personally, it the trip gave me goosebumps of excitement to get right on down to the field once I pass my boards. I personally would like to thank the CE department together with all the faculties involved, and CES together with all the student leaders that also helped and all the people that made this field trip possible, I hope this field trip can also be experienced by the next batches as it really made me feel one step closer to my dream.

By: Edward Inciong