BPI-DOST Science Awards recognizes budding scientists

MANILA, Philippines - Today, three science and technology students from all over the country will receive a boost from the BPI-DOST Science Awards, an annual search that recognizes and gives incentives to outstanding young men and women whose S&T projects are entered in the competition.

The Science Awards aims to encourage budding scientists and researchers to scale higher levels in fields of mathematics, physics, engineering, chemistry, biology and computer science.

First started by BPI in 1989, the Science Awards has since 2005 become a joint undertaking with the Department of Science and Technology.

The Science Awards is a manifestation of the bank’s belief that science, research and technology development are essential components in nation building, and as such, the entries from 10 partner universities are carefully screened for their potential contributions to industry and economic development.

These universities include the Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Manila University (Quezon City), De La Salle University (Manila), Saint Louis University (Baguio), Silliman University (Dumaguete), University of the Philippine (Diliman and Los Baños), University of San Carlos (Cebu), University of Santo Tomas (Manila) and Xavier University (Cagayan de Oro).

Seven finalists will present their research projects this morning before a distinguished panel of judges. From the seven finalists, the top three winners will be named and honored in a special program tonight at The Mind Museum at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

The Best Project of the Year winner will receive P50,000 and a scholarship grant from the DOST Science Education Institute; the first runner-up, P30,000; and the second runner-up, P10,000. This cash prize is on top of the P25,000 and a plaque of appreciation they will receive as one of the 29 science awardees for the year.

This year’s Science Awards, a celebration of its 25th anniversary, will also gather past awardees, including 2001 awardee and ADMU alumna Roselle Ambubuyog, the first blind student to graduate from the Ateneo and the first in the Philippines to use various speech-and-Braille portable computers in her studies. She is presently an access technology specialist working for various software and hardware companies based in Europe and North America.

These year’s finalists, in no particular order, are:

• Alyssa Tricia Eloise L. Vintola, BS Electronics and Communications Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University, Study/Project Title: “Developing a System for Harvesting Energy from Road Humps”

• Roman Christopher T. Arellano, BS Chemical Engineering, Saint Louis University, Study/Project Title: “Zinc (II) Chloride Impregnated Carbon-based Acid Catalyst form Carbonized and Sulfonated Cassava Root Peelings for Biodiesel Production”

• Alexander John Cruz, BS Chemical Engineering, University of the Philippines-Diliman, Study/Project Title: “Design, Optimization and Field Testing of a Plasma-Enhanced Optic Fiber Reactor for Hydrogen Production via Visible Light-Driven Photocatalytic Water-Splitting”

• Alvin James E. Asaytono, BS Chemical Engineering, University of the Philippines-Los Baños, Study/Project Title: “Enzymatic Modification of Dietary Fiber from Waste Cacao Pod Husks (Theobroma Cacao) for Use as a Potential Food Ingredient”

• Jessa Marie V. Makabenta, BS Chemistry, University of the Philippines-Los Baños, Study/Project Title: “Sodium Caseinate Encapsulation of Coconut Oil-Extracted Astaxanthin from Shrimp (Penaeaus Monodon) Wastes for Enhanced Stability, Bioavailability and Bioactivity and Controlled Release”

• Kevin S. Colina, BS Computer Science, University of San Carlos, Study/Project Title: “Electronic-Storybook Creator with Cebuano Natural Language Processing-Based Animation for Kindergarten Educators”

• Francisco G. Bolinao IV, BS Biology, University of Santo Tomas, Study/Project Title: “Functional Elucidation of Mrc20 by RNA Interference”