Three graduating students from the Faculty of Engineering and College of Science received the 2005 Bank of the Philippine Islands-Department of Science and Technology (BPI-DOST) Science Awards last Feb. 7 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex Auditorium.
Thomasians Allan Norman Baldonado, Christian Bendicio, and Sarah Camille Concepcion emerged as the top three students based on their scholastic achievements, leadership capabilities, and researches.
Established in 1989, the BPI Science Award recognizes student excellence in specialized fields of science and technology, particularly mathematics, physics, engineering, chemistry, biology, and computer science.
Baldonado, a Mechanical Engineering major, developed an add-on to the jeepney exhaust. His paper, “An Initial Analysis on the Structure of Particulate Traps Used for the Exhaust System of Public Utility Vehicle,” aims to minimize if not prevent air pollution.
For his part, Chemical Engineering major Bendicio addressed the issue of metal contamination and the high cost of waste treatment in his study, “Optimum pH Determination in Lead (II) Biosorption Using Vesicular dubyana or java moss.” According to this research grantee of the Science and Technology Advisory Council of Japan, the disposal of lead, a major environmental hazard, can be possibly treated with cheaper and more abundant materials like the java moss.
Meanwhile, Concepcion, a Chemistry major, studied the anticancer potential of the food flavoring ingredient turmeric in her paper, “A Preliminary Study on the Potential Anticancer Activity of Turmeric (Curcumin).” According to her study, once the anticancer potential of turmeric has been explored, people can avail ourselves of an inexpensive and accessible cure for the disease.
Concepcion is the University’s nominee for the best project entry for the BPI awards. Jefferson O. Evalarosa
