CE Faculty to present at CECAR 5 - Sydney, Australia

DLSU-M faculty members, Prof. Andres Winston Oreta, Assoc. Prof. Danilo Terante and Assoc. Prof. Alexis Fillone and Lasallian alumni (COE Graduate Studies) will present papers at the 5th Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Resion (CECAR 5) which will be held on August 8-12, 2010 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia. The theme for the Conference is Innovative Community Building. This conference will be an "opportunity to discuss innovative civil and structural engineering projects and to network with colleagues". It will also "provide engineers with the opportunity to hear presentations from academia and industry leaders on their visions for building enhancement in the community."

The papers that will be presented by the faculty are as follows: (Click the title to view the link to the abstract)

(1) A Concept for the Campaign of Promoting Safe Schools and Hospitals

by Dr. Jerry Velasquez (UNISDR), Dr. Andres Oreta (DLSU- CE Dept), Dr. Renan Tanhueco (DLSU-CE Dept) and Dr. Florante Salvador (DLSU - CCS)

(2) Risk-Based Analysis of a Flood Plain: A Case in the City of Malabon, Philippines

by Dr. Danilo Terante (DLSU CE Dept), Albert Lamberte (DLSU BSCE Student) and Emilia Sevilla (DLSU BSCE Student)

(3) The Use of Remote Sensing and GIS for Parking Inventory Study

by Dr Alexis Fillone (DLSU CE Dept) and Dr Maria Cecilia Paringit (DLSU CE Dept)

The papers that will be presented by the DLSU alumni (COE Graduate Studies) are as follows:

(1) Seismic Risk Mapping at Microscale: The Case of Brgy. Carmen, CDO, Phils.

by Dexter Lo (Xavier Univ. ) and Dr. Andres Oreta

(2) Rapid Visual Screening of Buildings in the City of Manila, Phils.

by Dr. Cesar Vallejo (Isabela State University)

Dr. Alfaro: Geotechnical Engineering Expert to hold lectures

The Department of Civil Engineering, in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) invites everyone to a two-day lecture on Geotechncial Engineering by visting lecturer, Dr. Marolo C. Alfaro, a Civil Engineer specializing in Geotechnical Engineering on August 2-3, 2010. The schedule and topics of his lectures are as follows:

• August 2 (Mon) 9AM - 5PM : Design and Construction of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil (GRS) Structures
• August 3 (Tue) 9AM- 12NN: Riverbank Stabilization Using Rockfill Columns

Dr. Alfaro is a registered professional engineer in the Province of Manitoba, Canada. He is a member of the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS), Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), International Society of Geosynthetics (IGS), and International Association of Lowland Technology (IALT).

His research interests include: geosynthetics in civil engineering applications, soil and ground improvement techniques, soft clay engineering, and transportation geotechnics. Dr. Alfaro has authored or co-authored technical papers in international refereed journals and conference proceedings. He is a co-author of the book Improvement Techniques of Soft Ground in Subsiding and Lowland Environment published by Balkema Publishers, Netherlands. He co-authored a book chapter on Seismic Aspects of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Walls and Slopes in Geosynthetics and Their Applications published by Thomas Telford in England.

If you are attending the lecture, we would appreciate if you send us your name and organization on or before July 29, 2010 (Thursday) to avoid any inconvenience in entering the campus. Send to bernardo.lejano@dlsu.edu.ph.

The Luzon 1990 Earthquake Symposium

Last July 15-16, 2010, The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) commemorated the 20th anniversary of the July 16, 1990 Luzon Earthquake by holding a symposium with papers from seismologists, geologists, civil engineers, structural engineers, disaster managers and researchers presented during the two day symposium.

Dr. Andy Oreta presented a paper on "AIJ Level 1 Seismic Screening of Some RC Buildings Damaged by 1990 Luzon Earthquake." He also presented the paper of Lasallian post-graduate alumnus (MSCE), Engr. Dexter Lo of Xavier University on "Seismic Risk Mapping at Micro-Scale: The Case of Barangay Carmen, CDO, Philippines."

Twenty years ago, on July 16, 1990, an earthquake with magnitude 7.8 struck central Luzon. The human consequences were severe - at least 1200 people were killed and more the 3000 injured. Major destruction occured in Baguio City where hotels and school buildings collapsed like pancakes and Dagupan city where extensive liquefaction caused settlement of buildings and bridges. What lessons can we learn from this earthquake? This video - part of the "Understanding Earthquakes and Disasters: Photo-Video Presentations" by Dr. Oreta highlights some lessons from the 1990 Luzon Earthquake.

DLSU and other Lasallian schools should learn lessons from the Luzon 1990 earthquake. As a start, it should hold earthquake drills in the campus to help prepare the students and staff on how to respond in case the big ONE occurs. Another possible project is to install an eletronic alert system (similar to the Bruin alert of the UCLA) wherein students and staff can receive alerts via email and text message during an emergency.

Welcome CE Frosh 2010

The Civil Engineering Society in cooperation with the Civil Engineering Department held the CE Freshmen Convocation on June 18, 2010 at the Yuchengco Hall from 2:00 PM. CE Dept. chair gave the welcome remarks and introduced the CE Faculty and staff. Lasallian alumni, Engr. Dan Aquino and Engr. Yen Ubay gave their talks about their experience as students at DLSU-Manila. (Photo by Joenel Galupino)

DLSU-Tokyo Tech Socio-Cultural and Technical Exchange Program

A Lifetime Experience

by

El-Rey Morales (DLSU BSCE STE Student)

Setting aside our introspections about the recently concluded national elections, 31 DLSU students comprising of 21 Civil Engineering (CIV) and 10 Manufacturing Engineering Management (MEM) students flew to Tokyo, Japan last May 14, 2010 for the annual DLSU-Tokyo Tech Student Exchange Program. Spearheaded by professors Engr. Ronaldo Gallardo and Dr. Nilo Bugtai, this 10-day trip is designed to provide students the opportunity for extended learning and exposure to Japan’s socio-cultural and technical aspects. Furthermore, it is also a way of encouraging students to venture into pursuing graduate studies at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) by availing the scholarship program provided by the Japanese government.

The weather in Japan was around 14 °C when we arrived at the Narita International Airport. All of us were glad and thankful to escape even for a while the extremely hot weather in the Philippines during that time. Immediately after disembarking from the plane, we were enthralled by the modern facilities they have such as the automatic doors, faucets, immigration screening devices, transit system and other amusing things that most of us had never seen before. At times, we felt ignorant to some extent about the many splendour things Japan has to offer. After undergoing a series of inspections in the airport, we then went to our respective accommodations located at the Tamagawa and Nakanobu stations.

The exchange program officially commenced with a campus tour at the Tokyo Tech led by the Japanese professors and students. In the morning, we walked around their spacious campus and became fascinated at some of the high-tech facilities they have. We were amazed to see the huge centrifuge machine and load testing equipment in their structural laboratory. The supercomputer TSUBAME which is one of the largest computing clusters ever built was also shown to us during our tour. Student representatives from Tokyo Tech and DLSU delivered a brief presentation in the afternoon about some of the highlights of the respective country and school. The campus was also the venue for the welcome party prepared by the Japanese. Overflowing with food and drinks, that night gave everyone a chance to get to know each other and have a great time. Alvin Christopher Varquez and George William Hong, both alumni of DLSU and are currently taking up graduate studies at the Tokyo Tech also joined us in the said event.

The vibrant city of Tokyo has an incomparable combination of modern and traditional architecture. It presents a unique travel experience for tourists who wish to spend their holidays. That is why we grabbed this opportunity to visit some of the famous tourist destinations in Tokyo. We went sightseeing on our first day at the panoramic observation deck in Tokyo Metropolitan Government building located at Shinjuku where an overlooking of the city skylines of Tokyo is possible. We also explored the serene environment of the Meiji Temple in Harajuku where we walk through the long, scenic and spiritual path to the temple. At the temple, we were fortunate enough to witness a Shinto ceremonial wedding. A newly built entertainment area and known to be a perfect dating spot in Tokyo is found on a reclaimed area in Odaiba. This is where we took pictures of the amazing replica of the Statue of Liberty and saw the latest Toyota cars at the Toyota City Showcase in Megaweb. Our visit in Japan would not be complete without going to the Disney theme park. It was a very fun experience going to the Disney adventure since they have everything you can ask for. From the exciting rides to the grandiose parade, indeed it is a one of its kind entertainment venue and a must visit for every tourist travelling to Tokyo.

Aside from the city tour, we also devoted two days for the company visit at the two distinguished companies in Japan. The first company is the Kajima Technical Research Institute (KaTRI) of the Kajima Corporation. KaTRI is a leading company when it comes to performing extensive research and development of construction materials and construction-production technologies to build high-quality structures efficiently, safely and yet economically. Highly innovative state of the art technologies were introduced to us such as the base isolation seismic resistance method for high rise buildings, 1:1 scale of loading test equipments, wind tunnel testing facilities to examine the wind-induced vibrations in different structures and the technique of incorporating fiber materials to produce a high strength, high fluidity and high performance concrete. The second company we visited is famous for its mass production of small pumps as well as refrigerating machines, fans and blowers. This is the Fujisawa District of the Ebara Corporation. We toured around their modern laboratories and observed how the pumps and other materials are being manufactured.

Tokyo is absolutely a paradise for shopaholics. With its numerous shopping malls, you can find anything and everything you need as long as you take some time to explore. Some of the shopping centers that we visited are the streets of Ginza, Harajuku, Ueno, Akihabara and Asakusa. Ginza which is situated at the center of Tokyo is known for luxury shopping streets. There is an almost infinite array of fashion outlets such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Coach, Armani Exchange, etc. The narrow and populated streets of Harajuku is packed with young fashionable people and lined with fashion boutiques and cafes. While you might find it difficult to find your way around the Ameyoko shopping district in Ueno at first, you will be blown away by the wide selection of shops like food, shoes and clothing. If there’s one place where most of us went back several times to shop, it was at Yodobashi-Akiba in Akihabara. As the definitive shopping center for all things technological, you will be dazzled by the many storeys of electronic devices available such as digital cameras, computers, gaming consoles and collector’s items. Lastly, if you’re looking for something affordable, the Asakusa shopping street provides tourists with a variety of traditional snacks and souvenir items of reasonable price.

Before returning back to Manila, we attended a farewell party organized by the Japanese to celebrate the success of this event. It was the time where we expressed our deepest gratitude and bid our goodbyes to the Japanese students who wholeheartedly spent their time and efforts in guiding us on our trip. We are all very grateful for the opportunity of providing us this once in a lifetime experience of learning, adventure and enjoyment that we’ll truly treasure for many, many years. A special thanks goes out to all those who made this event possible!