The university's civil engineering program was awarded the EERI certification

Quito, martes 8 enero 2019
Members of the EERI group
Members of the EERI group

 

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute from the University of Oakland (California, USA) awarded the civil engineering undergraduate program of Universidad Politecnica Salesiana (UPS) the certification Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) for its contribution to research in this field.

The EERI is a non profit international society that educates engineers, geo scientists, architects, planners, public workers and social scientists that seek to reduce the risk of earthquakes, promote science and the practice of seismic engineering as well as improve the understanding of the impact of earthquakes in physical, social, economic, political and cultural terms.

"In Ecuador, we are the second university to obtain this certificate. We are proud to represent UPS and thankful for the significance of our research in this field nationwide and in Latin America, there are only a few studies on earthquakes related to civil engineering", said Deysi Chicaiza, a student and the coordinator of the EERI research group at UPS. The other members of the research group are Paola Aguilar, Leonardo Chávez, Santiago Changoluisa, Luis Merchán, Jacqueline Jácome and Ximena Ibarra.

Diana Quintana, geotechnical specialist and tutor of the group, said "this certification makes us known about nationally and internationally at an academic level, we can propose and intervene in earthquake-resistant designs, improve the types of construction and give talks on issues of risk and prevention in the country"

The civil engineering undergraduate program will officially be awarded this certificate on January 17th during research meetings and scientific talks that have been organized by the university.