2nd International Conference on Civil and Environmental Engineering (ICCEE2022)

Group photography session

UTAR Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction (CDRR), together with co-organisers University System of Taiwan, Kobe University and the University of Nottingham Malaysia, hosted a virtual conference titled “2nd International Conference on Civil and Environmental Engineering (ICCEE2022)” from 6 to 7 January 2022 with the aim to provide opportunities for the delegates to exchange ideas and research experiences and to establish research collaborations with global partners.

The conference attracted researchers, scholars, engineers, technologists, and students from universities and industries throughout the world, involved in Civil and Environmental Engineering. More than 90 research papers were presented. Nearly half of them were submitted by international participants from Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Egypt, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Italy, India, Ukraine, Philippines, Australia, Algeria, Bulgaria, Kuwait, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa, Oman and Portugal.

Prof Ewe delivering his speech

At the opening ceremony, Prof Ewe said, “Unlike our first conference, this conference is a virtual conference. Despite that, we received an overwhelming response from researchers all over the world to showcase their work and contributions in the fields of civil and environmental engineering. We always believe in community engagement and in facilitating enriching activities not only for our students but also for the community. With the current pandemic and other challenges faced by the world today, civil and environmental engineering is expected to play an important role in the recovery of our economy as well as in building the resilience of our society to face unexpected challenges in the future.”

He added, “This conference is organised to bring together academics and researchers to share their experiences, ideas and approaches related to contemporary issues in civil and environmental engineering that affect our communities as well as to showcase new and innovative technologies to build a more resilient and sustainable society. I hope that the diversity of local and international participants will bring in fresh perspectives and ideas for a more enriching conference experience for all participants.”

Dr Lim welcoming the participants

ICCEE 2022 Chairman Dr Lim Ming Han welcomed the participants and said, “The diversity in research areas is beneficial for participants in seeking new knowledge and looking for potential research collaboration with researchers from all around the world. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the keynote speakers for sharing their experiences and research with us today. Thanks to the organising committee for their support and dedication throughout the process of holding this conference. I also hope the participants will enjoy the conference.”

UTAR Adjunct Prof Emeritus Dr Yasuo Tanaka presented the first keynote address titled “2030 Issues and Evolutions Needed in Civil Engineering” whereby he spoke about issues that would be posed by global warming in the year 2030 and how civil engineers can help and rectify the current course of global society towards a sustainable and harmonious future.

The second keynote address “Structure Health Inspection, Monitoring and Diagnosis of Bridges in Taiwan” was presented by National Central University, Taiwan Prof Dr Wang Chung-Yue. In his address he spoke about structural health monitoring (SHM) systems that have been built for severely degraded or important life-sustaining system bridges, using strain gauges, inclinometers, accelerometers, thermometers, gyroscopes, wind anemometers, displacement meters, subsidence meters, bridge weigh-in-motion, etc. to grasp the influence of external loads and environmental factors on the behaviour and function of the bridge. These monitoring data will be combined with engineering mechanics and various statistical analysis, deep learning, artificial intelligence and other methods to perform structural safety, function and service diagnosis.

In the third keynote session, Kobe University, Japan Prof Dr Yusuke Uchiyama presented on “A Post-disaster Assessment on a Storm-induced Flood and Associated Coastal Dispersal of the River-derived Suspended Radiocesium Originated from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident”. He spoke about two-month numerical hindcast including the storm and flood event associated with Typhoon 201326 (Wipha) passed off the Fukushima Coast in October 2013 using a coupled river-ocean-wave-sediment model along with a static absorption model to account for radiocesium attached to sediments. In the research, they carried out a quantitative assessment of the accumulation and erosion of the sediments and resultant suspended radiocesium distribution around the river mouth and nearshore areas along the Fukushima Coast.

Concordia University, Canada Prof Dr Chen Po-Han presented the fourth keynote session with his speech titled “Improving Architectural Design Comprehension Effectiveness through the Use of Mixed Reality”. In the research, they assessed the effectiveness of design review through Mixed Reality (MR) using the “Microsoft HoloLens” versus traditional 2D methods such as printed plans, renderings elevations and sections.

“Perspectives on Multi-facet Impacts of Global Warming to the Hydrosphere & Cryosphere” was presented by University of Alberta, Canada Prof Dr Gan Thian Yew during the fifth keynote session. In the session, Prof Gan shared about the global energy balance, greenhouse effects and examples of observed changes to the hydrosphere. He also discussed the possible implications to the future global climate, hydrology, and water resources under the potential impacts of climate change as well as the possible implications to the future global cryosphere under the potential impact of climate change.

A total of 94 papers were presented from five tracks, namely Infrastructure and Building Construction, Construction Materials and Technologies, Earthquake and Geotechnical Engineering, Water and Environmental Engineering and Disaster and Construction Management.

Top to bottom: Prof Emeritus Dr Yasuo Tanaka, Prof Dr Wang Chung-Yue, Prof Dr Yusuke Uchiyama, Prof Dr Chen Po-Han and Prof Dr Gan Thian during their presentations