This summer, UH Engineering hosted over 40 college students from the South China University of Technology for the first-ever, three-week resilient civil infrastructure summer workshop.
The program (July 19- August 12, 2019) led by Yi-Lung Mo, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Gangbing Song, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of mechanical engineering, provided students an inside look into college life at the University of Houston. Students lived in a UH dorm, interacted with Cullen College faculty, visited research labs and attended course lectures concentrated on two areas, civil infrastructures and structural health monitoring.
Song stressed the importance of sharing knowledge of structural health monitoring with other universities. There are many rural areas around the globe that do not have access to modernized infrastructure, leaving them especially prone to damage caused by earthquakes and other natural disasters. Creating a larger base of knowledge for better monitoring and preparing building structures could have the potential to alleviate damage and save countless lives in the future.
Song and Mo plan to continue growing the program over the coming years. In addition to growing in size, they also hope expand their research beyond the lab and to use this program as a platform to work directly with communities in developing countries. Additionally, the program will encourage students from South China University of Technology (SCUT), along with other foreign universities, to relocate and pursue graduate studies at the University of Houston. The hands-on experience involved in the summer workshop will also make students aware of research career options available in the United States.
Click here to view photos of the UH-SCUT experience!