Gilberto Ortiz, a Colombian doctoral student of civil and earthquake engineering from the University of Macau (UM) Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), recently passed his doctoral dissertation oral defense and became the first doctor from a Spanish-speaking country to graduate from UM. Ortiz believes that the academic journey of each student is different and good supervisors play a crucial role in helping students achieve their full potential.
In his dissertation, Ortiz proposed a novel Bayesian nonparametric technique that has a wide range of applications, such as predicting the peak ground acceleration (PGA), modelling of seismic attenuation, and structural health monitoring. Ortiz’s supervisor was Prof Yuen Ka Veng, the registrar of UM and a professor from the FST, who specialises in real-time structural health monitoring system for large infrastructure and buildings. Ortiz attributes his repeated breakthroughs in research to the guidance of Prof Yuen.
After completing his master’s studies in Colombia several years ago, Ortiz decided to pursue a doctoral degree, with focus on the application of Bayesian inference methods in civil engineering problems. It was then that the name of Prof Yuen came to his mind. ‘Prof Yuen is a well-known expert in the field and has published many books and research papers on the subject I am working on. His publications are my main source of information,’ says Ortiz. ‘So I summoned up my courage and contacted him. I expressed my interest in doing a PhD under his supervision. Fortunately, Prof Yuen was looking for two PhD students at that time and I was selected to fill in one of the positions.’
Each postgraduate supervisor from UM upholds a high standard of ethical and professional conduct. Ortiz appreciates the expert guidance and support provided by Prof Yuen, which enabled him to carry out his research and present his results to the best advantage. ‘Prof Yuen was always ready to provide guidance and give clear directions for my work. His expertise on Bayesian inference, his clear understanding of the theory, and his constructive criticism were a great source of inspiration,’ says Ortiz. ‘Also, he often challenged my opinions, which I really valued, because it taught me how to defend my ideas and helped me to grow intellectually.’
