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To showcase the talents of budding Filipino
scientists, the Department of Education on Wednesday will send 10
high school students to the United States for the Intel Science and
Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Atlanta, Georgia, which will be held from
May 11 to 14.
Education Secretary Jesli Lapuz
said the ten students were selected after bagging the top awards in
the Intel Philippine Science Fair (IPSF). The IPSF team and
individual winners as well as the representatives for the Intel-ISEF
were recognized recently during its culminating event in Tagaytay,
Cavite. This year’s theme was, “Excellence in Science and
Technology starts with me.”
The Education department
organized the IPSF, which is held annually, to provide a venue for
young scientists to showcase their talent and be recognized.
“It develops well-rounded
learners who are not only consumers of knowledge and information but
also producers and innovators of knowledge and information,” Lapuz
said.
The winning individual entries
are: Jed Sidney Oliva, Ballesteros National High School, Cagayan,
for the “Jedoque Process of increasing the compressive strength
and lessening the water absorbency of hollow blocks”; Andrew
Diamante, Visayas State University Laboratory High School for
“Prediction of total soluble solids in ripe mangoes based on their
electrical resistance”.
Also included in the winning
entries were Steven Tan, Quantum Academy Inc., General Santos City
for “Pharmaceutical compounds (antibacterial immunobooster) from
Barringtonia Asiatica and Garcinia Mangostana”; and Louie Lugto,
Don Alejandro Roces Sr. Science and Technology High School, Quezon
City for “Isolation and characterization of the most cytotoxic
fraction of selected Philippine poisonous crabs.”
On its 11th year, the IPSF
considered 3,500 research project entries nationwide. Of this
number, 113 projects made it to the finals.
Winning team-entries include
Michelle Borbon, Rachel Bernadas and Mary Cris Corpuz, Gingoog City
Comprehensive National High School for “A comparative study on
mangrove species diversity at different locations in Pangasihon
forest”; and Marvin Ambrosio, Rachel Cahilig, and Adrian Patacsil,
Philippine Science High School, Quezon City for “Construction of a
mechanical prototype of a micro tremor recorder.”
“Looking at these different
projects really showed us the promise the Filipino youth in math and
science,” said Jay Tulao, education manager of Intel.
--James Konstantin Galvez
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