A Research Cooperation Agreement Concluded with Pukyong National University in the Republic of Korea
 Mr. Kawamura, Director-general of CERI (left) shakes hands with Dr. Chung, Director of the Institute of Environment Geological (right) |
 Participants in the signing ceremony |
 Conceptual diagram of the cooperation agreement |
On Aug. 11th, 2010, CERI concluded a research cooperation agreement with
the Institute of Environment Geological of Pukyong National University
in the Republic of Korea. The purpose of the agreement is the promotion
of research exchange, including research cooperation activities beneficial
for both the Pukyong National University and CERI, and exchange of research
results concerning underground environmental surveys and development of
evaluation technologies that are especially related to the regional characteristics
of both parties.
Pukyong National University has its campuses in two areas - Daeyeon and
Yongdang, in Busan Metropolitan City. It is one of the largest national
universities in Republic of Korea with approximately 940 teaching staff
and 27,000 students (according to the university's bulletin and other documents)
in its six colleges and five graduate schools. The Institute of Environment
Geological is committed to finding solutions to issues in a diverse range
of geology-related fields, including landslides, land subsidence, depletion
of groundwater and geological environments.
Some of the Institute's research subjects and tasks are common to those
of CERI's Geological Hazards Research Team. They have held annual symposiums
since FY 2006 to exchange research information together with the National
Institute for Rural Engineering's National Agriculture and Food Research
Organization.
Specific research activities scheduled for the future include exchange
of technical information, materials and publications, and organization
of joint workshops and joint R&D in fields related to geophysical exploration,
groundwater survey and underground/slope stabilization surveys, within
the scope of cooperation that covers research on methods for adapting underground
environmental surveys and evaluation technologies to regional conditions.
(Contact: Planning Division, CERI)
International Symposium "Floods - A global problem that needs local solutions" and "3rd ICHARM Advisory Board Meeting are Held
 Photo1. ICHARM Advisory Board meeting |
 Photo2. Memorial Photo of Members and Participants in the Board Meeting |
 Photo3. Opening Address by Dr. Uomoto, Chief Executive of PWRI |
 Photo 4. Q&A between Panelist and Observer |
ICHARM holds an advisory board meeting every two years with international board members. In the meeting, we report on our activities in the previous two years and explain the action plan for the next two years. Then the board members ask questions and give advice on the activities and plan.
This year, the 3rd ICHARM Advisory Board meeting was held on Sep. 29th at the International Conference Room on the 8th floor of the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management.
The ICHARM advisory board consists of 13 prominent individuals. Some are
members of the UNESCO International Hydrology Programme, representing each
regions of the world, while other come from international organizations,
such as the UNESCO Headquarters, World Meteorological Organization (WMO),
and United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR).
The board highly praised the global contributions ICHARM made for the past two years and also gave useful comments and advice on various issues, such as the importance of cooperation with other international organizations in research and training and the necessity of training designed specifically for policy makers in addition to engineers. The board also suggested the importance of research on hydrologic cycle from a viewpoint of climate change as a future research topic.
ICHARM will revise its "Action Plan 2010-2012" based on the feedback from the board members and publish it in the near future.
The ICHARM-UNU Joint International Symposium, entitled "Floods - A
global problem that needs local solutions", was held at the United
Nations University (UNU) on Sep. 28th on the occasion of the 3rd ICHARM
Advisory Board meeting.
The purpose of the symposium was to contribute to the mitigation of water-related disaster damage by introducing latest problems on floods throughout the world to the general public and by having discussions on local coping measures with those active in domestic and overseas disaster-related organizations.
The symposium started with the organizers' opening remarks by Dr. Taketo Uomoto, chief executive of PWRI, and Dr. Konrad Osterwalder, rector of UNU, followed by a series of congratulatory addresses by Mr. Kenyu Komura, vice minister for Engineering Affairs of MLIT, Mr. Nobuo Fujishima, director-general for International Affairs of MEXT and Mr. Hiroki Owaki, deputy director-general of the International Cooperation Bureau of MOFA. Then, Prof. Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, director of ICHARM, and Prof. Srikantha Herath of UNU introduced activities of ICHARM and the International Flood Initiative (IFI). In the afternoon, experts from various parts of the world each made presentations as regional reports, followed by a panel discussion such as "Global cooperation to help local solutions", moderated by Mr. Katsuhito Miyake, a team leader of ICHARM, and Prof. Srikantha Herath with representatives of international disaster-related organizations.
The discussion confirmed the necessity of long-term cooperation between organizations with resources including manpower, funds and expertise, the importance of stronger ties at the practical level between such organizations and those in need of help, and the significance of improving the quality of regional governance by capacity development.
(Contact: ICHARM)
8th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics Held
 Table: Subcommittee organization and committee meeting attendees |
 The Committee |
 The Late Chairman Tamura: At the 2008 Committee Meeting |
The 8th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics (ISE) was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from September 12th to 16th, 2010. ISE is an international conference established for the purpose of international communication and exchange between researchers in the fields of hydraulic engineering, biology, ecology and water quality who are engaged in work on environmental problems, particularly the preservation of water quality and ecology.
PWRI delivered eight presentations at the 8th ISE, i.e. six oral presentations and two poster presentations. The oral presentations addressed research on water quality, ecosystem modeling, fishways, environmental hydraulics and marshland preservation as well as describing the current status of PWRI's research activities. The audience responded to the presenters with various questions, which led to active discussion between the PWRI researchers and audience. The poster presentations focused on research on fish ecosystems and habitats. Many researchers and engineers read our poster presentations and conducted active discussions.
During the Symposium, a workshop was also held to focus on the tasks that
should be addressed by research institutes and universities and to discuss
the necessity for cooperation. Six research institutes, including PWRI,
provided topics for discussion at the workshop. While reporting on its
ongoing tasks, PWRI stressed that information sharing among the relevant
countries is necessary for ensuring widespread and versatile utilization
of research results. Many participants expressed opinions in support of
this view. In the latter half of the workshop, a proposal - citing part
of PWRI's research principle - was put forward to "set tasks whilst
considering the society 100 years into the future". As can be seen,
PWRI was able to fulfill a central role in the discussions of the workshop.
A site tour of environmental hydraulics projects in Republic of Korea was conducted during the Symposium. The projects for preservation of the water environment that the participants visited included a project for the Han River - Republic of Korea's major river - and a project for marshland restoration accompanying water development for irrigation. The participants were able to experience firsthand the eagerness and vitality of the country's water environment research and technology.
During the ISE, personal contact and information exchange with researchers from various countries around the world working in the same field not only allowed us to present and collect research result data but also provided us a large stimulus for our future research activities.
(Contact: River Restoration Research Team)
3rd CAESAR Symposium Held
 Photo-1: Prof. Banthia (center) answering a question, with Prof. Rokugo standing on the right |
 Photo-2: Prof. Banthia shaking hands with Dr. Uomoto, Chief executive of PWRI on receiving a commemorative gift |
 Program |
 Photo-3: Audience |
 |
CAESAR held the "3rd CAESAR Symposium" at Seiryo Kaikan Hall,
Tokyo, on Aug. 24th (Table 1).
At the symposium, an invited speaker's lecture was given by Prof. Rokugo,
Gifu University, presenting an outline and major causes of the De La Concorde
Overpass collapse that occurred in Canada in 2006 and its main causes,
under the title "Learning from Concrete Bridge Collapses". Following
this, Prof. Banthia, University of British Columbia, Canada, spoke about
measures taken and repercussions that occurred after the accident, fields
that require research, responsibilities and lawsuits, compensation for
the victims, and the responsibilities of the road administrator. In the
Q&A session after the lecture, Prof. Banthia was asked a question regarding
the thoughts of Canadian citizens with respect to an institutional structure
allowing engineers to accurately diagnose damage and how they felt about
the responsibility of the road administrator with regard to the collapsed
overpass. To this question he replied "It had been the common assumption
that infrastructure never collapses. So the collapse naturally drew the
attention of both government and citizens. Of course, the government cannot
escape responsibility, and it is natural that they have been criticized
as negligence and oversights." A questionnaire survey of the audience
was conducted after the opening lectures, showing that a large number of
respondents considered the presentation of the accident case studies to
be very informative. (Photo-1)
The presentations on the bridge collapse were followed by a lecture entitled
"How Bridges should be dealt with in the Age of Renewal," which
focused on the necessity of "reasonable, waste free and wise"
maintenance and development whilst taking existing problems into consideration.
The Symposium was concluded with a report from CAESAR presented by three chief researchers who outlined the latest cases of damage and the future direction of research.
Among those who attended the Symposium, there was an increase in the number of engineers engaged in bridge management, particularly road administrators for local governments. The audience also included personnel from inspection equipment manufacturers. The Symposium was a considerable success, attracting a large audience of around 420 participants.
Table 2 shows the main opinions expressed by respondents to the questionnaire survey conducted at the hall. We intend to make good use of these in our future activities and welcome your continued support.
Material regarding the lectures is available on the CAESAR website.
http://www.pwri.go.jp/caesar/lecture/lecture03.html
(Contact: CAESAR)
Site Tour for Participants from Overseas to 2010 JSCE Annual Meeting
 Commemorative photo at Otaru-City General Museum (the statue in the background is that of Crawford, who provided technical guidance on the building of the railroad) |
 Tour to Otaru Port |
 Sloping structure of the north breakwater of Otaru Port |
2010 Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) Annual Meeting was held at Hokkaido University, Sapporo, from Sep. 1st to 3rd. As part of the program, PWRI, together with the International Activities Committee of JSCE - some of whose members are from PWRI - held a site tour for participants of the meeting from overseas on Sep. 2nd. A total of 24 participants from six countries, including Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Bangladesh and Indonesia, attended the tour. They visited the Otaru-City General Museum and Otaru Port to see the civil engineering techniques used in Hokkaido back in the days of the Meiji Era (1868-1912).
Located at the former Temiya Station, the starting point of the railroad
that was opened in 1880 as the third railroad service in Japan, the General
Museum exhibits the steam locomotive "Shizuka" and other items
from the railroad construction of those days.
At Otaru Port, the participants visited the north breakwater, constructed to the design and under the guidance of Dr. Isami Hiroi some 100 years ago. A feature of the sloping structure adopted for the north breakwater is its generation of resistance to wave force by layering concrete blocks diagonally, shifting the center of the blocks and causing them to generate mutually supporting forces. The most advanced technology of the time, the sloping structure is still functioning and fulfilling its purpose even today.
After observing the north breakwater from aboard ship, the tour members listened to a detailed explanation of the sloping structure given in the Otaru Port Office. A lively discussion followed regarding how the sloping structure came to be adopted and test methods for concrete.
The participants from overseas showed great interest in civil engineering technology at the start of the modern era in Hokkaido. It is our hope that international exchange relating to civil engineering technology can be further promoted through site tours of this kind.
(Contact: Advanced Materials Research Team)
A Delegation from the Heilongjiang Institute of Highways and Transport Research, China Visited CERI
 Mr. Kawamura, Director-general of CERI (right) gives a welcome speech |
 Tour of the facility in which many questions were asked |
 Continuous research exchange in the future was promised |
On Sep. 9th, a 9-member delegation led by Director-General Wen Hezhe of the Heilongjiang Institute of Highways and Transport Research visited CERI for the first time in four years.
We have been conducting research exchange with the Institute since the conclusion of a memorandum to promote technical exchange concerning civil engineering in cold regions on Mar. 7th, 2002.
On the day of the visit, Mr. Kawamura, Director-General of CERI, first gave a welcome speech, in which he presented an outline of the past research exchange activities between the two institutes and expressed his wish to further strengthen the ties between them, which were almost lost at one stage.
Then a representative of CERI gave an overview of the institute's research
and expressed its expectations for exchange not only on roads but also
in various other fields.
In response, Director-General Wen Hezhe said, "When I was assigned
to this post in 2007, I found out that exchanges (with CERI) had continued
since 2002, and I feel very honored about that," adding that they
"hope to make the most of this opportunity for further promotion of
exchange."
When we exchanged opinions, the delegates were extremely interested in
CERI's operation system and expenditure conditions, and asked questions
enthusiastically since their Institute in recent years has been promoting
cooperation with private companies and introducing private management methods
under the national policy.
The delegation then moved to observe rumble strips installed in the facility, and the wheel running test machine in the experiment building no. 3, and showed interest as they came into contact with equipment that had actually been used in experiments.
It has already been eight years since the conclusion of the memorandum. Further development of exchanges between the two institutes and dissemination of research results are expected based on the past achievements in research exchange.
(Contact: Planning Division, CERI)
Students on the JSCE Study Tour Grant Visit for Training
 Commemorative photo taken with a moving unmanned loading vehicle in the background (the students undergoing training are the four people on the right) |
 Water is run onto a drainage pavement to observe how drainage occurs Pavement test field |
 Students listening to an explanation of the fatigue of a reinforced concrete slab Wheel running machine can be seen in the background |
 A student making a presentation at the JSCE Summer Symposium, Nihon University (photo: JSCE) |
Four students from Asian countries invited by Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) as part of its Study Tour Grant Program visited PWRI on Sep. 14th, 2010. This was their second visit to PWRI for training.
The Study Tour Grant represents a program that invites to Japan civil engineers belonging to overseas academic societies with which the JSCE has formed a cooperation agreement. Its purpose is to promote an understanding of actual conditions and activities in the civil engineering field in Japan. The participants are given financial support for the travel and other expenses necessary for them to attend training provided at civil engineering related facilities and institutions. After completing the program, the students are required to submit reports to both related academic societies (in Japan and in their own home country).
The students, who were from Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Indonesia and Turkey, have had specialist training in civil engineering in their respective countries, and underwent training in Japan for around one week. They attended lectures and tours to research institutes, construction companies and construction sites, and presented their reports on the results of the training at the JSCE Summer Symposium held at Nihon University at the end of the program.
At PWRI, all explanations and lectures were given in English. The training started with a visit to the experiment facility and ended with explanations of an M.A. thesis and IFAS (Integrated Flood Analysis System) using Power Point.
The students saw how the Geotechnical Dynamic Centrifuge is operated and listened to explanations by the researcher whilst watching videos showing the liquefaction phenomenon that occurs at a river embankments and an experiment on antiseismic measures for retaining walls. In the pavement test field, the students were given an introduction to heat-shield and water-retention pavements as measures against heat island problems, and were able to feel the temperature difference by actually touching the pavement with their hands. In addition, they visited an unmanned loading vehicle while an experiment was in progress and had a commemorative photo taken with the vehicle seen in the background. At the dam hydraulic laboratory, after listening to explanations on the experiments in progress at the laboratory and on various types of dam, the students saw experiments using models of dams that are currently in operation or under construction in Japan. During an experiment using the wheel running machine, the students observed from beneath the degree of damage occurring to a deck slab, whilst listening to an explanation on the background and purpose of the corresponding research.
To conclude the training, Mr. Saha Partha Pratim, who was a graduate on the "Water-related Risk Management Course of Disaster Management" master course provided by ICHARM, presented his M.A. thesis to the students. Nabesaka, a researcher of the Hydrologic Engineering Research Team, gave a Power Point presentation on the IFAS, which analyzes flood phenomena and predicts flooding using rainfall information from satellite observation in areas where hydrological observation is insufficient, such as developing countries.
The students enthusiastically asked questions about the latest information and research results, in preparation for their scheduled presentations at the JSCE Summer Symposium at the end of the Study Tour Grant Program.
(Contact: General Affairs Division)