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By Kendrick Go, Special to The Manila Times
Now on its 19th year, the annual BPI-DOST
Science Awards are given to outstanding students from all over the
country who have excellent research projects in mathematics,
physics, engineering, chemistry, biology, and computer science.
The awards were established in 1989 by the BPI
Foundation to stir the youth’s interest in science and technology.
Since then, 30 students from 10 participating universities have been
chosen yearly to showcase their scientific discoveries. And three of
them are adjudged as top winners.
Since 2005, BPI and DOST have placed added
emphasis on the research projects of students. This resulted in the
creation of the Best Project of the Year Category.
Chell Jacobs, Associate Director of BPI
Foundation, says the foundation decided to take up the cause of
science and technology because it was an area that other foundations
were not paying attention to. Jacobs notes that few students go for
science and technology courses because other courses offer
better-paying jobs immediately after graduation.
The selection process
The preparation for the awards is a very long
and tedious process. Every year in June, the BPI Foundation selects
three entries from the 10 partner universities. By July all the
invitations, materials, and all preparations are ready. Acceptance
of formal nominations close in October. By February, all the
preparations for the awarding ceremonies are completed.
Each year, the foundation gathers the three best
entries from each of the 10 partner universities. These are
University of the Philippines (Diliman and Los Baños), Ateneo de
Davao University, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle
University, Siliman University, St. Louis University, University of
San Carlos, University of Sto. Tomas, and Xavier University.
To qualify, the nominee must be a Filipino
citizen and a regular student majoring in the following fields:
mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, computer science, and
biology. The nominee must have a consistent and outstanding
academic, leadership, and research record in their school.
The schools must submit their nominees to the
BPI-DOST Science Committee.
The BPI handles the business feasibility of the
research while DOST assesses the scientific aspect. From 30 research
projects, the evaluators trim down the entries to 12 semifinalists.
DOST again narrows them down to six finalists.
The finalists then undergo oral evaluation by a
joint BPI-DOST panel of experts. The experts choose the winners of
the Best Project of the Year Awards.
The main criteria for judging projects are
adherence to scientific soundness, relevance and impact on knowledge
advancement, commercial viability, and the originality of the study.
Winners get a P200,000 research grant, a P50,000
cash incentive and a trophy. First- and second-prize winners receive
P30,000 and P10,000, respectively, and trophy each.
All the original 30 students chosen get P25,000
cash prizes, trophies and an invitation to work as BPI junior
officers.
This year’s winners
The grand prize winner this year is UP Diliman
student Carla Gisela Ysabel Concepcion with her project” Cloning
of Alcyonium Green Fluorescent Protein [GFP] as a Potential Tracker
of Cancer Metastasis.” Her study involves developing an agent to
track the metastasis of cancer cells. Her work could save many lives
by allowing doctors to detect and stop cancer metastasis at an early
stage.
The first runner-up is Christina Lora Leyson,
also from UP Diliman. Her research is “Heterologous Expression of
Abaca Bunchy Top Virus [APTV] Coat protein [CP] Gene &
Production of Antibodies for APTV Early Detection.” Her study
would allow for the early detection of APTV in abaca plants. APTV is
a virus that renders abaca commercially useless. Abaca is a prime
export product and is a main source of livelihood for farmers in the
Bicol region.
The second runner-up is UST’s Juan Paulo
Antonio for his research project “Extraction, Transesterification,
& Characterization of Bitaog [Calophyllum inophyllum] Seed Oil
as Source of Biofuel.” His study is particularly important due to
the looming oil crisis. His work gives an environmentally friendly
alternative to other biofuels that might have unexpected impact on
the local food supply.
Editor’s note: Mr. Go is a student of The
Manila Times College.
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