DTU students were ranked 7th in the final round of the competition entitled “2012 - Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools” (IDEERS 2012), held in Taiwan.
The competition attracted one-hundred and two teams worldwide and was held by the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), the British Council in Taiwan and Bristol University.
The DTU students’ entry in the 2012 IDEERS contest
The model was designed by a team of four DTU students: Nguyen Van Tien, Truong Van Bach, Chau Quang Huy and Vu Dang Bien. It received high compliments from the judges and could be implemented in the Song Tranh area in Quang Nam Province.
The first model had been made from paper was not as successful as anticipated. Machines were not used to make it and there was no precise historical data about earthquakes in Vietnam.
After they were sent to Singapore for a one-week training course, thanks to the support of the DTU Board of Provosts, they decided to use bamboo trees instead to build their model. “Bamboo trees can survive strong winds and other forces very well, so we believed that they would be more suitable for the second model”, added Mr. Tien.
On the very date that the DTU team competed in the 2012 IDEERS in Taiwan, there was an earthquake in Tra My, in Quang Nam Province. One of the organizers said: “We hope to discover the best ways to effectively reduce the damage of earthquakes globally”.
The DTU team is going to visit Bac Tra My, in Quang Nam Province, to study how earthquakes affect the lives and homes of local residents. Hopefully, their new idea can be applied to reduce earthquake damage.
(Board of Website Editors)