The National University-College of Engineering was given the opportunity to present in the International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management held last March 11-14 in Annapolis, Washington D.C., USA.

National U was the only university from the Philippines that was invited to the four-day event, which is an annual conference for researchers, educators, government officials, consultants, managers and community leaders from all over the world where they discussed topics related to all aspects of solid waste technology and management.

NU team was composed of professors — Engr. Allan Alzona, Engr. Manny Anthony Taguba and Engr. Franz Santos, and fifth year Civil Engineering student Mary Rose De Leon.

The team presented their studies in “Experimental Investigation of the Compressive Strength of Hair Fiber Reinforced Concrete with Superplasticizer” in Use of Wastes in Construction session, “Optimization and Prediction of the Compressive Strength of Superplasticized Hair Fiber Reinforced Concrete Using Central Composite Design” in Innovative Technologies session and “Artificial Neural Network and Phenolic Aqueous Solution Treatment Using Crude Enzyme Peroxidases from Waste Cabbage (Brassica oleracea capitata var. alba L.) Leaves” in the Agricultural and Food Wastes session.

According to CE program chair Engr. Alzona, this is a good start for the college since they are now giving importance and shifting focus on research presentation and publication.

“One of the best results from this experience I guess is the exposure of the student who went with us. According to Ms. De Leon, she was able to learn the level of research studies that other countries are doing, so it also served as a benchmark for us. She said that she will talk to the next batch of students who will conduct research and thesis, so she can share what she saw and learned from this event.”

Meanwhile, some of the College of Engineering’s faculty and student researches were also accepted and set to be presented in the following local and international conferences, the 8th International Conference on Intelligent Systems, Modelling and Simulation on May 8-10, 2018, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and 3rd International Multidisciplinary Research Conference, on April 25-27, 2018 in Cagayan de Oro City.