THE Department of Science and Technology-Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) made it to the 2016 R&D 100 Awards finalists, joining 100 others from world-renowned research and development (R&D) agencies, companies and universities around the globe.
“By becoming an R&D 100 Awards finalist, your institution is now a member of a select R&D community recognized for their excellent contributions to advancing science and technology,” said Bea Riemschneider, editorial director of the ABM Science Group of the R&D Magazine, which, through the awards, honors the 100 most innovative technologies and services of the past year.
“You should be very proud, indeed, of your exemplary R&D achievements and the teams that are responsible for these new products,” Riemschneider said.
The DOST-ITDI’s innovative products that bagged the awards under the Process/Prototyping category are the Pack of Hope Ready-to-Eat Chicken Arroz Caldo as First Stage Disaster/Relief Food, and the Philippine Mosquito Ovicidal-Larvicidal (OL) Trap System: DOST Anti-Dengue Device.
Pack of Hope
The ITDI’s Packaging Technology Division developed the Pack of Hope Ready-to-Eat Chicken Arroz Caldo as a disaster mitigation/relief food that can be immediately made available to disaster/calamity survivors, responders and emergency-service providers (medical, military personnel and volunteer groups) within the 48 hours.
Arroz caldo (rice porridge) is a complete meal in the Philippines, and considered as “comfort food,” especially to the sick and unwell.
The Pack of Hope is categorized as a first-stage disaster food, which means it is ready for consumption and can be eaten without preparation. Conveniently packed in an easy-to-open standup retort pouch, the product can be consumed from the package. The retort pouch and transport packaging is designed to withstand grueling distribution by land, sea surface and aerial drop.
The product went through field-testing and validation studies in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units, and had been successfully commercialized.
OL Trap
Developed by the ITDI’s Chemicals and Energy Division, the OL Trap is an antidengue device that helps control the population of the Aedes mosquitoes through its ovicidal and larvicidal effect that prevents the next generation of mosquitoes from developing to the adult stage.
It has been successfully commercialized and rolled out nationwide in households and public schools. In partnership with selected schools, the DOST launched a dengue vector surveillance web site (dengue.ph) to provide information on mosquito density in a certain area. Mousing over certain locations in the map will draw up balloons that contain specific warning alerts, health advisory and actions to be done by households in the area and the local government concerned.
R&D 100 Awards
Now on its 54th year, the R&D 100 Awards, also often referred to as the “Oscars of Invention,” honors the 100 most innovative technologies and services worldwide. These include promising new products, processes, materials, or software developed throughout the world and introduced to the market the previous year.
Awards are based on each project’s technical significance, uniqueness and usefulness compared to competing technologies or services, according to the R&D Magazine web site.
This year’s R&D 100 Awards winners were presented with honors at the annual black-tie awards dinner held on November 3 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland (Washington, D.C.).
The finalists were selected by an independent panel of more than 50 judges and represent many of industry’s leading R&D companies and national laboratories, as well as many newcomers to the R&D 100 Awards.
