UST NEOVATION 2013

[voltairemad]

www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/305348/cbb/winning-student-researchers-at-ust-neovation-2013-named

Winning student researchers at UST NeoVation 2013 named
April 24, 2013 4:40pm

Seven research projects ranging from the utilization of Philippine indigenous materials to the development of instrumentations have been chosen as winners in the 2013 NeoVation held as part of the 50th founding anniversary celebration of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Research Center for Natural and Applied Sciences. The awards were presented on March 15, 2013 during the NeoVation Gala held at the Plenary Hall of the Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The 1st grand prize winner was awarded to a study on “Lareen, anti-acne liquid foundation” formulated by Engineering and Pharmacy students Lara Angeline Briones, Diane Colleen Briones, Reanne May Tiru, Desiree De Castro, Lara Elize Lamigo and Janine Paula Monta. The team adviser was Dr. Aristea Bayquen. The study came up with a liquid solution made of natural ingredients like atis seeds and lagundi leaves extract, which have been proven to inhibit the growth of bacteria while giving coverage for the face as a cosmetic product.

With human health and environmental problems caused by the use of insecticides becoming a matter of concern, this year’s 2nd grand prizewinner was given to the versatile and beneficial properties of the “Roachant Air Freshener” created by Engineering students, Karen Castro, Karen Farolan, Precious Jill Lacuna, Anthony Justin Veneracion and Fine Arts student, Eula Andrea San Juan with team adviser, Engr. Michael Francis Benjamin. The Roachant Air Freshener is an organic, two-in-one gel product that serves as an insect repellent and air freshener at the same time.

The 3rd grand prize went to a research on coconut water as energy drink titled “Hercules Coconut Drink.” The study was conducted by Engineering students Russel James Bernabe, Ana Janine Bulasag, Tiffany Faye Caranto, Ma. Kristine Lim, Alyssa Angelaine Tolentino, Jem Zamora with team adviser, Engr. Carol Encarnado. The team used microfiltration method to prolong the shelf life of coconut water while maintaining its isotonic drink quality.

The winners received P100,000, P50,000, P30,000 for the first, second and third prizes, respectively.

Meanwhile, the runners-up included: “Autonomous Person Trailing Function Integrated in an Automobile Utilizing RGB and Depth Machine Sensors” (1st runner-up) by Engineering and Fine Arts students with Engr. Edison Roxas as adviser; “SILICOLORS: Colors from nature” (2nd runner-up) by Engineering and Fine Arts students with Engr. Lola Domnina Pestaño and Dr. Maria Natalia Dimaano as advisers and “A wide-band low-cost and portable bio-impedance instrumentation and its potential applications” (3rd runner-up) by Engineering and Science students with Engr. Angelina A. Silverio and Engr. Angelito A. Silverio as adivers. The three runners-up received P10, 000 each.

Four entries were also chosen as the Thomasian’s Choice Award based on a survey conducted among the Expo attendees through online voting. The Best Presentation and Most Marketable category was awarded to “A wide-band low-cost and portable bio-impedance instrumentation and its potential applications”; the Most Innovative category was given to “Implementation of Central Control Unit for the Automation of Dam Level Monitoring, Control and Flood Warning System via SCADA” adviser, Engr. Irineo Quinto and Engineering students while the Imbentong Tomasino category was conferred to “SILICOLORS: Colors from nature.” The Thomasian’s Choice Awardees received a cash prize of P10, 000 each.

This innovative challenge aimed to set the “gold standard” for iThomasian (innovative Thomasian) in different areas, for the industry as well as local and international research institutions to recognize the usefulness of the activity’s output and to establish partnerships among the industry, academe and the government.

Press release from University of Santo Tomas (UST)

[voltairemad]

Congratulations to the winners and winning researches. Kudos to the advisers as well. I hope that this endeavor of the University will encourage more researches in the field of Science and Technology.

Great research topics from the Faculty of Engineering. Congratulations! Special mention to the Faculty of Pharmacy, College of Architecture, Collge of Fine Arts and Design, and the College of Science.

I was expecting more accolades from the College of Science though. Though I believe the College of Science won awards in a different competition and got many citations, I was hoping they would make as much impact at home.

How about the Health Sciences (College of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Nursing, Faculty of Pharmacy and Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)? Is there a separate category or award giving body for that? How about those from the Graduate School?

And how about the Social Sciences (Faculty of Arts and Letters, Ecclesiastical Faculties)?

After all, the Faculty of Sacred Theology was declared Center of Contextualized Theology in Asia, and the Faculty of Philosophy declared as CHED COE. I wish there would be more PR as well for the Social Sciences.

[Tom A. Saiyan]

UST students win MMDA Manila Bay cleanup solutions contest
By Jaymee T. Gamil
Philippine Daily Inquirer
4:07 pm | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013

MANILA, Philippines—How do you clean up a heavily littered and polluted coastline? With a giant ‘dustpan,’ that’s how.
This is the simple premise behind an engineering contraption designed by two University of Santo Tomas students who won the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s Manila Bay Cleanup Competition on Friday.

The contest, launched last April, challenged students to think up of “innovative engineering solutions to the Manila Bay garbage problem,” which may eventually be prototyped by the MMDA.

Fourth-year Electronic Communications Engineering students John Beljoe Abao and Ariel Manalaysay bested a total of 11 other designs from seven schools in the metropolis, and received a P25,000 cash prize, on top of a P5,000 prize for being finalists.
The UST students’ design involved the construction of concrete V-shaped seawalls with a tube in the middle, leading to an underground garbage containment tank where the trash could be extracted in bulk.

The design relies on “big waves” or strong tidal force to sweep floating debris up the wall and into the chute and tank.

Abao said the “simple logic” behind the contraption was based on sheer imagination.

During the final presentation of the top six ideas beside Roxas Boulevard in Manila on Friday afternoon, with a panel of judges from the MMDA, the Departments of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Science and Technology, and the Manila government, Manalaysay admitted the design was basically “like a dustpan.”

“It collects the trash into a bin,” he said.

From the tank, the garbage could be harvested through a net, or through the DPWH “scraper” already being used in cleaning up sewers, Abao said.

“It is made of concrete so it can withstand natural calamities. Its simple design makes it easy to implement. It’s low in maintenance because it has no moving parts or automation. The only manual labor required is during extraction,” Abao said.

He admitted, however, that the design in itself had no capability of treating chemicals in the water.

Public Works Assistant Secretary Maria Catalina Cabral, who led the panel of judges, said that in choosing the winning design, they looked for “innovation and engineering.”
The entries were judged 60 percent on innovation, 30 percent on implementation feasibility, and 10 percent on the clear presentation of the idea.

“The concept is doable. We saw there was potential for this to be built and developed. MMDA and DOST will make more studies to develop and make more improvements on this proposal,” Cabral said of Abao and Manalaysay’s design.

The panel of judges made some initial suggestions after Abao and Manalaysay’s presentation, such as the use of steel reinforcement on the structure, or making the structure “collapsible” and transferable instead of permanent, and to put a flap check valve at the mouth of the chute to prevent backflow.

Overall, however, Cabral was impressed by the contestants. “The youth today are truly skilled. When you graduate, you’re welcome to apply in government agencies,” she told them, before she announced the winning design.

The other finalists included a proposal to use biosorpents —”biological materials that are known to remove heavy metals from the environment”— by the Ateneo de Manila University students; “The Flushmaster” and “The Groovemaster” to mechanically suck or scoop out floating garbage into a containment barge, designed by students of the University of the Philippines-Diliman; Manuel L. Quezon students’ V-shaped River Gate Fence to trap floating trash to the sides of a river; and Mapua Institute of Technology students’ Clean Bay Rover.

MMDA chair Francis Tolentino said, “We can merge the other ideas [with the winning idea]. All your ideas were good.”

Students from the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology and the Technological Institute of the Philippines submitted concept papers, but did not make it to the final cut.

Nevertheless, Tolentino said in a statement that he was pleased with the youths’ participation. “It only showed their concern to help in addressing our environmental problems,” he said.


Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net/431065/ust-students-win-mmda-manila-bay-cleanup-solutions-contest#ixzz2XlIzgYKm
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[Tom A. Saiyan]

SOLAR NIGHT LIGHT, NAIMBENTO NG ENGINEERING STUDENT




GMC | Naimbento ng isang engineering student sa University of Santo Thomas na si Ricky Macolor ang solar night light. Sa ngayon ay nakakatulong na rin ang kanyang imbensyon sa mga nasalanta ng bagyong 'Yolanda'. Ulat ni Gary De Leon