A FUTURE physicist, mathematician, and chemist are Ateneo’s recipients of the 2010 Bank of the Philippine Islands-Department of Science and Technology (BPI-DOST) Science Awards.
Leo Miguel Paolo Baylon (IV BS Ps), Emerson Escolar (IV BSM AMF), and Mari Kaira Leal (IV BS Ch-MSE) were part of the 30 BPI-DOST awardees for 2010, selected based on their potential contributions to nation-building, and their nominations from the school. Baylon was also one of the six finalists for the BPI-DOST’s ‘Project of the Year’ award.
Baylon, Escolar, and Leal were awarded on March 3 at the Escaler Hall. During the ceremony, they discussed their research and received their respective trophies.
Aside from a BPI Express Teller account with an amount of P25,000 and a job offer from BPI, the awardees will also have their names permanently engraved in a tablet located in the first floor of Faura Hall.
Addressing environment, finance, health
Despite the lengthy title of Baylon’s project, the concept was simple—addressing the lack of cheaper air quality monitoring in developing countries like the Philippines.
“Ground stations [for air quality monitoring] are really expensive. Therefore, we want to look for alternative air quality data sources,” he said.
By playing with the satellite data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Baylon explored the possibility of using satellite data as surrogates of ground-measured data. He said, “Similar studies have been conducted around the world—such as Italy, China, Japan—and as far as we know, this type of research has not been done here in the Philippines.”
Escolar’s research involves the pricing of options, a financial contract.
“There are models that price these [options], but the more complicated [models] give equations with no known explicit solutions. My paper applies the numerical method called spectral collocation in order to solve these equations by approximating numerically,” he said.
Meanwhile, Leal’s research aims to provide a more cost-effective wound dressing and drug-delivery system for burn patients through the use of hydrogels, materials that absorb a large amount of water.
Leal’s hydrogels were composed of chitosan and polyacrylic acid. Chitosan is a polymer obtained from shells of crabs, shrimps, among others, while polyacrylic acid is a polymer capable of absorbing a large amount of water.
In terms of biomedical application, Leal said that “[The] high water-absorbing capability of the hydrogels enable them to serve as a wound dressing that both hydrates the wound and protects it from external sources of infection.”
Christmas in March
For Baylon, his dream of becoming a BPI-DOST Science awardee finally became a reality, especially since he was also a finalist for ‘Project of the Year.’ “Winning the award is really a confirmation that the projects I am doing are considered by the community as relevant to the Filipino people.”
“To feel that what I am doing is recognized as relevant in reality—especially the financial world—is already a big reward,” said Escolar.
Leal said in her speech during the awarding ceremony, “It feels like Christmas has come in March.”
On behalf of her fellow awardees, Leal thanked BPI for giving them the opportunity to share their science.
“We’d also like to thank DOST for continuing to uphold science and technology here in the Philippines. We know how hard it is to promote science and technology within our current Philippine society, but together with [them], we believe in the importance of sharing this belief to our fellow citizens,” she added.
Scientists for others
Since 1989, the BPI-DOST Science Awards recognizes young men and women in the Philippines specializing in the sciences, namely mathematics, physics, engineering, chemistry, biology, and computer science.
Escolar said that “The [BPI-DOST Science Awards] is a good way to encourage further entry into the field of research.”
Leal also said that the BPI-DOST Science Awards motivates young scientists to pursue research geared towards improving the quality of life for Filipinos.
“As an Atenean science major, the award serves as a reminder that I’m being called [not just be a scientist, but also] a scientist for others.”
