Kathmandu Geo Lab hosts symposium on earthquake resilience with IOE, Duke University students.

KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Geo Lab on Friday held the "Kathmandu Geo Lab Symposium", a session of poster presentations by students from the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk (IOE) and Duke University, USA. The programme addressed the complex challenges of earthquake resilience in Nepal.

The Kathmandu Geo Lab is a venture co-founded by Rachel Lau, PhD, who orchestrated the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between IOE and Duke University in 2019. The lab is a cross-disciplinary, international student collaboration that is driving technological advancement in disaster preparedness.

Lau said, "When it comes to disaster, no single perspective is going to solve the problem, so we really want to make sure that we have perspectives from different socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. We have different opinions in one space today and everyone has something to learn from each other. We encourage interaction between the social sciences and engineers, or students from Duke University and IOE."

With space for 14 research groups, the Kathmandu Geo Lab hosted poster presentations on findings related to seismic activity. Students with backgrounds in civil, electrical and computer engineering, as well as those from the social sciences at IOE and Duke University, took part in the session.

Om Prakash Sharma, a contributor to multiple research projects, shared plans to install 200 sensors in different states across Nepal to create a network of early warning systems hosted on a private network. Three sensors are currently installed at Thapathali and three at North Carolina, and work is underway to reduce latency.

Presenters from IOE were Akriti Pandey, Aditya Timalsina, Om Gautam, Sagar Khanal, Jeevan Acharya, Ashim Paudel, Archit Aryal, Kshitij Shrestha, Bibek Pathak, Ashma Sharma, Om P Sharma, Diwash Thapa and Khem R Shah. Presenters from Duke University were Abhishek Chataut, Taran Srikonda, Siri Gullapali, Hannah Ford, Marshia Ahsan, Rittik Barua, Lishi Qu, Trailokaya Raj Bajgain and Alba Uriarte Jiminez.

Henri Gavin, PhD, said, "We are training students to become technical experts in aspects of earthquake preparedness so that they can provide Nepal with a system that is designed by Nepali, built by Nepali, maintained by Nepali and for Nepal." He advised most groups presenting at the event.

IOE alumnus Sagar Khanal said, "Presenting repeatedly for four hours is challenging, but engineering students get the opportunity to explain their research to people with different levels of understanding. With every presentation, they refine their ability to explain their work."