IAC News
IAC News No.27, January 2015
Japan Society of Civil Engineers International Activities Center Jan. 6, 2015 IAC News No.27
 International Forum November. 20, 2014
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A New Year’s Message from the President
A happy new year to you all! This year we move on from last year's 100th anniversary events with a push towards further expansion.
Our International Roundtable Meeting and International Forum were held on November 19th and 20th last year. The 3rd International Roundtable Meeting was marked by detailed, high-quality presentations regarding the worsening natural disaster situation, starting with the storm surge in the Philippines in 2013, and there were wide-ranging discussions about countermeasures.
At the International Forum, there was a JSCE presentation commemorating the 100 years since our founding. Covering the past and future of civil engineering in Japan, the presentation made clear that the current mission of civil engineering is to construct the foundation for a sustainable society. Regarding disaster prevention, an important element of sustainability, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism described how roads were reopened soon after the Great East Japan Earthquake. In particular, the representative explained the "Operation Comb" strategy and introduced their plan for future road developments. Then the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) presented the results of calculations they had made for the actual cost of maintaining the social infrastructure in the future, with emphasis on the need for a proper allocation of resources. These talks were followed by extremely interesting presentations from the Chinese Institute of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering (CICHE), the Royal Institute of Engineers in the Netherlands (KIVI NIRIA), the Philippine Institute of Civil engineers (PICE), the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Korean Society of Civil Engineers (KSCE), the Indonesia Society of Civil and Structural Engineers (HAKI), the China Civil Engineering Society (CCES), Engineers Australia (EA), and the Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Associations (VFCEA).
Today, with the whole earth seriously affected by the scale of mankind's activities, our task is a pressing one. We must take action to build a sustainable society of enriched lifestyles. This includes sustainability in resource utilization. In the civil engineering field, we need to face each and every specific issue in order to reach this goal. The issues are innumerable, and include disaster prevention, energy utilization, environmental conservation, industrial infrastructure development, and urban development. Only through international collaboration will we be able to effectively and efficiently meet the demands on us. I believe that the key to improving the welfare of humanity in the future lies in each country learning from the experience and lessons of others. We must all help each other.
I wish all our members and all those associated with us the very best of wishes in their activities in this coming year.
On the 40th National Convention of Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers“Civil Engineers at the Forefront of Innovative Infrastructure Systems”
1.Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers PICE
In 1974, Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers was established as the merge of Philippine Society of Civil Engineers and Philippine Association of
Civil Engineers. Owing to the achievements acquired in spite of its short history, the 72,000 members enjoy a high social reputation today.
This year, PICE Legazpi Chapter hosted the 40th National Convention from November 13 to 15. 2,000 participants were welcomed by the beautiful Mayon Volcano Mountain.
2.Opening Ceremony
The presidents of 110 chapters including 9 from overseas were parading in with the chapter colors. After the parade of National Standard, PICE Standard, Doxology, National Anthem and PICE Anthem, the opening of the convention was declared.
After the welcome remarks by the Provincial Governor, the Mayor of Legazpi, the key note was delivered by Hon. Congressman, Fuentabella. All of them focused on the significance of infrastructure and the expectation to PICE.
At the introduction of personages, the presidents of concerned engineering societies were introduced including the author, myself as the delegate of Japan Society of Civil Engineers.
It is also worth noting that many women hold PICE membership, and female participants were as many as one third of the entire participants in this convention.
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Certificate of Appreciation with the picture of Mayon Volcano to the speaker |
Participants of 40th PICE National Convention |
3.Election of Leaderships
Engr. Eugenio R. Pipo, Jr., Assist. Undersecretary of Department of Public Works and Highways was elected to the National President.
4.Special Lectures
I delivered a presentation “100 years of JSCE – from Modernization to Sustainable Development“ which highlighted the friendly history between the Philippines and Japan.
Its contents:
(I).Friendship Between the Philippines and Japan, PICE and JSCE
(II).Infrastructure of Japan before Meiji Restoration
(III).Modernization by Transfer of Western Engineering
(IV).Establishment of JSCE in 1914
(V).Contribution of JSCE and Civil Engineers
(VI).Activities of JSCE, Today and Future
I concluded my presentation with the announcement of JSCE 100th anniversary commemorative ceremony, to which the participants were encouraged to attend.
My presentation was followed by three special lectures:Dr. Ernest S. de Castro on “Innovated Civil Engineering”, Engr. Efren R. Abratique on “Modern Traffic Signal System”, Dr. Eric Con “Storm Surges and Waves.”5.Technical Track
5.Techinical Track
Issues on project management, hydro, traffic, geotechnical, and environment were actively discussed.
6.Fellowship Night
Until midnight, the participants enjoyed dinner with songs and dances performed by not only professionals but also amateurs including the leaderships of Legazpi Chapter.
Centenary of Founding Japan Society of Civil Engineers International Events (Preliminary Report)
During the Japan Society of Civil Engineers Centenary Week (November 17 to 21, 2014), the following international events were held. You find the summary of those events in this issue.
１．Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC Meeting)
Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC) the 27th Executive Committee Meeting (ECM) was held on November 18-19, hosted by Japan Society of Civil Engineers in Tokyo. On this occasion 11 out of the 12 affiliated civil engineering societies participated. On the day before the ECM, a technical tour to Tokyo Skytree was held, and after the ECM, on 19th a Technical Seminar was held, moderated by Professor Eiki Yamaguchi of Kyushu Institute of Technology and Associate Professor Eiichi Sasaki of Tokyo Institute of Technology. In the technical seminar there were presentations on ITS, high speed rail, and the Metropolitan Expressway by Japanese engineers.
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２．Round Table Meeting on Disaster Management
On 19th November 2014 the 3rd Round Table Meeting on Disaster Management (3rd RTM) was held, hosted by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers
at the Auditorium in the JSCE HQ. The chairperson was Professor Keiichi Toda of Kyoto University Graduate School of Engineering, and specialists from the civil engineering related societies of 9 countries in Asia, Europe and other regions, made presentations regarding their efforts, policies, plans, and measures for disaster risk reduction.
Mr. Yusuke Amano, Director of International Affairs Office, Water and Disaster Management Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism discussed the viewpoint and approaches of the government. In the third part of the International Forum, which was held on the following day, Prof. Toda the RTM chair provided the summary of each presentation given on the previous day and provided the overview of RTM, referring future directions for the RTM.
３．International Forum and Welcome Reception
The International Forum on “Contributions of Infrastructure to Life of Affluence” was held, chaired by Kiyoshi Kobayashi, JSCE Vice President at JP Tower Hall on November 20. Prof. Masahiko Isobe the JSCE President delivered a keynote speech at the opening, followed by the presentation by Hideo Tokuyama, Vice-Minister for Engineering Affairs, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Then, 10 representatives of overseas civil engineering societies discussed unique and useful approaches and perspectives. This forum was a nice information exchange opportunity for those participants as well as the audience of over 250 people including 95 guests abroad. They also had time to meet with each other at the welcome reception which was held soon after that forum, and enjoyed conversations with new and old friends.
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Prof. Isobe delivers the keynote speech |
 Mr. Howard of EA, Prof. Yeung of ACECC, and Dr. Ohnishi of JSCE (from left to right) |
４．International Workshop on Sustainability and Resilience of Infrastructures Based on Maintenance and Management”
The International Conference on “Sustainability and Resilience of Infrastructures Based on Maintenance and Management” was held, hosted by Structural Engineering Committee at the JSCE HQ on November 20. It had the audience of 48 people, 7 civil engineering experts shared their knowledge, experiences and views in the panel discussion in the first half of the workshop. Then, Japanese experts participated in the discussion session in the latter half.
【Reported by International Activities Center】
What's Happening
Updates
●The summary of feature articles in the JSCE Magazine is available on the JSCE website.
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine
●Concrete Committee International Newsletter No. 38
http://www.jsce.or.jp/committee/concrete/e/newsletter/Newsletter.htm
●Journal of JSCE
The Journal of JSCE is the collection of research papers which can be viewed on the JSCE website.
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce
●JSCE 100th Anniversary Postal Stamp was released in September, 2014.
http://jsce100.com/node/250（Japanese Only）
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Editor's postscript
A Happy New Year! We have greeted the New Year 2015. This is the year in which Marty, a hero in the famous movie, “Back to the Future Part II,” made time travel to the future world. The goods we could not expect thirty years ago, such as eyeglass-shaped wearable communication tools, tablet PCs, 3D videos and video conference, appeared in the movie but now they become easily available even in this real world. I admire the creativity of Steven Spielberg, but I also would like to start the year with much creativity and vision for the future. （H.I.）
