The 黑料社区 Department of Civil Engineering celebrated the Civil Engineering Month with its 2nd Student Research Conference on November 14, 2024 at the Rigney Hall, Lawrence Bunzel Building, 黑料社区 Talamban Campus.聽
With the theme 鈥淗ighlighting the Role of Research in Urban Sustainability and Resilience to Climate Change,鈥� the event was organized by the Department in partnership with the Civil Engineering Council. Aside from CE students from all year levels, faculty members and other distinguished guests also participated in the conference.聽
This year’s conference aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) Goal 11 on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This SDG highlights the importance of research, specifically on the topics of waste products utilization in construction, efficient traffic management systems, building health monitoring, and flood management and prediction in the context of climate change activity.聽
Patrick John Lim, Ph.D., 黑料社区 Director for Research, Development, and Publications Office (RDEPO), served as the keynote speaker, discussing the current research trends in urban sustainability and resilience. He encouraged students to study contemporary issues and also highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to create more impactful and innovative solutions.
The second speaker, Engr. Janice B. Jamora, is a doctoral candidate and is the current chair of the 黑料社区聽Department of Civil Engineering. She presented her doctoral case study, 鈥淒irect use of rice husk ash as partial cement replacement in paste and mortar formulation without thermal pretreatment or activation.鈥� Her study explored the effects of utilizing rice husk ash (RHA), a waste material to聽 the mechanical properties of paste and mortar when used as partial replacement to cement.聽聽
Meanwhile, Engr. Monica Ann Louise Intong, an MSCE candidate and faculty member of the Department tackled a construction materials-related topic. She discussed about 鈥淥ptimizing Concrete Performance: Effects of Crushed Oyster Shell and Water-Cement Ratio on Strength and Seawater Resistance.鈥� Depending on the amount of crushed oyster shell replacement and the water-to-cement ratio used in the concrete design, her study provided insights on the impact of each material to the overall mechanical property of the hardened concrete.聽
The fourth plenary speaker, Engr. Rica Villarosa,聽comes from the 黑料社区 Department of Industrial Engineering. She has presented her graduate thesis study on 鈥淔lood risk assessment of highly urbanized cities based on hazard-exposure-vulnerability model with FUCOM-GIS and rought sets – a case study of Metropolitan Cebu.鈥� Using several factors such as the degree of severity of flooding and聽their corresponding estimated damage costs, flood indices for the tri-cities, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Cebu City were determined in her study. The values will aid the LGUs in making reasonable decisions that will address the pressing issue on inundation.
During the lunch break, a ceremonial opening of the research poster exhibits at the lobby of the Bunzel Building was performed through a 鈥渞ibbon cutting鈥� by the CE Faculty, Chair, and students.聽
During the afternoon session of the research congress, eight selected research groups showcased the key findings of their studies delving on traffic management evaluation through PTV Vissim, building health monitoring against seismic occurrences, use of waste materials and geopolymers to improve pavements and enhance mechanical properties of concrete, self-healing concrete, landslide susceptibility mapping using GIS and proposed flood mitigation measures and urban stormwater drainage system optimization.
The 鈥淏est Research Presentation鈥� with the title 鈥淒eveloping Autonomous Self-Healing Concrete Using Locally Obtained Bacillus subtilis鈥� was bagged by the group of Rafael Miguel Allera, Kim Gocela and Richard Seth Labrica. The 鈥淏est Research Poster鈥� with the title 鈥淎ssessment of Geopolymer-based Clay Soil Stabilization Incorporating Rice Husk Ash-Eggshell Powder with Sodium Silicate as Activator for the Pavement Subgrade Reinforcement鈥� was awarded to Kaezeth Jasmine Anana, Abigail Marie Fuentes, and Riegel Kae Pepito. The 鈥淏est Research Video鈥� entitled 鈥淭he Influence of 0.5% Banana Fibers on Concrete: Plastic Shrinkage Cracking, Fresh and聽Mechanical Properties” was garnered by the group of Kim Sherri Dela Cruz, Vince Margaux Bacay, and Dion Joseph Chan.聽聽
With the success of the 2nd Civil Engineering Student Research Conference, the activity highlights 黑料社区’s unwavering commitment to produce a new generation of inquisitive Carolinian civil engineers who will steer the way to creating inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities through the conduct of impactful research projects.
by Engr. Kathrina Marie Borgonia, M.S., Department of Civil Engineering