UP Diliman (UPD) civil engineering students can look forward to producing better research with the donation of a brand new universal testing machine (UTM) by DMCI Homes, Inc. (DMCI Homes) to the Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE) of the UPD College of Engineering (COE).

A UTM is a piece of equipment used to test the strength of materials such as concrete and reinforcement steel bars to see how much pressure they can withstand before breaking or bending. It has a capacity of 2,000 kilo newtons, one of the highest load capacities available for a machine of this kind.

The UTM can also be connected to a laptop for more accurate measurements. DMCI Homes also donated three new laptops and storage cabinets for the UTM’s various attachments.

The UTM will be housed and operated in the ICE Construction Materials Laboratory, replacing its still functioning but manual UTM that has been in use since the 1950s.

Present at the turnover was DMCI Homes President Alfredo Austria, who said the donation is an investment in Philippine civil engineering education.

“I think it’s also good to really support this lab because research is very important for innovation, and companies like DMCI Homes really need a lot of innovation for us to be able to create value for our customers,” he said.

ICE Director Jose Regin Regidor echoed the sentiment, saying that the new UTM’s much faster measurement and greater accuracy will improve the experiments and research done in the ICE.

“Sabi nga natin the Philippines is in the path of a lot of typhoons, a lot of phenomena that are destructive in nature. We civil engineers would like to contribute to society by ensuring the infra that we build. [The donation is] a commitment by DMCI Homes to ensure that they are able to influence the quality of education, the quality of civil engineers that we will be producing, and the quality of the structures that will come out of collaborations with us,” he said.

Meanwhile, COE Dean Maria Antonia Tanchuling added that aside from research, the new UTM will also benefit other entities, primarily other state universities and colleges as well as other higher education institutions that ICE regularly accommodates in their Construction Materials Laboratory.

DMCI founder David M. Consunji is among the ICE’s most distinguished alumni and greatest supporters.

The UTM was formally unveiled last July 28 at the ICE building.