|
Nine
winners in the regional level had been chosen in the
industry and energy competitions conducted by the
Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and
Development (PCIERD). They will vie in the national level
on March 14 as part of the celebration of PCIERD’s 26th
anniversary celebration at the Dusit Hotel Nikko.
Mounted
from February 13 to 15, PCIERD, a sectoral planning
council of the Department of Science and Technology
(DOST), said a total of 110 entries were submitted but
only 23 qualified: eight for
Luzon, five for Visayas-Mindanao and 10 for the National Capital
Region (NCR) clusters.
The
qualifiers presented their researches conducted from 2002
to 2007 at the Seventh PCIERD S&T Fora and Competitions in
Industry and Energy R&D. The best product, process, or
equipment developed in the sectors on energy, food,
housing and construction, metals and engineering, process,
mining and minerals, transportation, environment and
disaster management were chosen.
Each
cluster competition had a corresponding board of judges
with a permanent chairman and vice chairman for all
clusters. Abner Villahermosa, a packaging specialist from
the private sector who had been involved in a number of
projects and activities not only with PCIERD but with the
DOST as a whole, served as the chairman.
Dr. Luz
Paca, former dean of
San Carlos
University, was chosen as vice chairman in consideration
of her expertise on biotechnology and engineering
education. All three clusters had entries on
biotechnology, and she has also been involved in many S&T
activities in the DOST.
The
members of the board of judges were experts in the
sectoral areas of PCIERD from the private and government
sectors.
The first,
second and third prize winners from each cluster received
P125,000, P100,000 and P75,000, respectively, on top of
the P5,000 cash incentives, plaques and certificates of
recognition that each of the qualifiers received. Bigger
prizes are at stake for the national winners.
The
regional winners are as follows:
Luzon cluster:
• First
prize winner—Validation of a Paradigm: The Philippine
Carabao as a Model for Cellulosic Ethanol Production;
researcher: Prof.Perla Florendo (Philippine Carabao
Center)
• Second
prize winner—Enhancing Recovery of Rice Hull, Chichacorn
and Bamboo Processing Waste as Bioenergy Source and
Environmental Mitigation; researcher: Dr. Stanley C. Malab
(Mariano Marcos State University)
• Third
prize winner—Commercial Production and Marketing of
Animal Probiotics; researcher: Dr. Laura J. Pham (Biotech)
Visayas-Mindanao
cluster:
• First
prize winner—Biotechnological Utilization of Sago Starch
into High Value Products; researcher: Dr. Dulce M. Flores
(UP-Mindanao)
• Second
Prize Winner—Technical Improvement of the Dried Cassava
Grates Processing System; researcher: Dr. Daniel Leslie
S. Tan (Visayas State
University)
• Third
prize winner—Constructed Wetland System-Natures
Technology, An Alternative Wastewater Treatment System;
researcher: Dr. Danilo T. Jaque (Hydronet Consultants
Inc.)
NCR
cluster:
• First
prize winner—Catalyzed Photooxidation: Alternative
Technology Option for the Destruction of Polychlorinated
Biphenyls; researcher: Dr. Carmela R. Centeno (College of
Engineering-DLSU)
• Second
prize winner—The Wijose Attached Film Semi
Batch/Continuous Bioreactor System (WAFS/CBS)- A Cheaper
and Simpler Alternative to Conventional Wastewater
Treatment System; researcher: Dr. Wilfredo I. Jose
(Department of Chemical Engineering, UP-Diliman)
• Third
prize winner—The Search for Groundwater in a Geologically
Complex Area Evaluating the Effects of Tectonism on the
Groundwater System in Some Islands of the Romblon
Province; researcher: Dr. Carla B. Dimalanta (National
Institute of Geological Sciences, UP-Diliman). | 
