Kevin Jer David & Orven Jules Dumaoang (Pisay09) win at Intel ISEF competition :)

Way to go, Jer & OJ!!!

O ayan OJ, ha, may greeting din kayo :P

Go libaaag :D

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4 Pinoy studes win awards in US science fair

By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:04:00 06/06/2009

Filed Under: Good news, Awards and Prizes, Science (general), Education, Animals

MANILA, Philippines—Four Filipino high school students have won prizes in an international science competition proving that science education is alive and well and thriving in the Philippines.

Sixteen-year-old Jovani Tomale’s passion for numbers is helping save the Philippine Eagle and has earned for him second prize in the Animal Sciences category during the International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) held in the United States last month.

Two other high school science projects won in the Intel ISEF competition: One by Kevin Jer David, 16, and Orven Jules Dumaoang, 16, and another by Angela Joyce Yap-Dy, 14.

The annual contest, sponsored by Intel Corp., brought together some 1,600 students from 50 countries. Nine students from the Philippines competed by presenting six science projects.

Tomale came up with a mathematical formula to help identify the sex of an eagle, proving that tinkering with numbers and equations is both fun and relevant.

“This is my share to save the Philippine Eagle,” Tomale told the Inquirer.

His project started with a simple field trip more than a year ago when he was still a senior high school student at the Davao City National High School in Davao del Sur.

Listening to talks by officials of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), a Davao City organization that aims to save Philippine Eagles from extinction, Tomale was struck by a simple problem that hampers the breeding of eagles in captivity.

“It was hard for them to determine the gender of an eagle,” he said.

Visual sexing

The foundation usually resorted to what it called “visual sexing” or determining gender by observing the eagle for several days, a method that is very susceptible to error.

“This problem led me to think of something to help the foundation,” Tomale said.

The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is a huge, broad-winged forest raptor endemic to Luzon, Leyte, Samar and Mindanao. It is one of the world’s largest and rarest eagles. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources lists the Philippine Eagle as “critically endangered.”

It was difficult to identify the sex of the Philippine Eagle because male and female have the same physical features, Tomale explained.

If there was an easier and faster way to tell an eagle’s sex, this could help increase its threatened population.

Formula

Tomale worked with his uncle Vladimir Kobayashi, an applied mathematics graduate of the University of the Philippines, who taught him the basic principles of statistics.

Several months later, he came up with a formula that included information like the length of an eagle’s bill and leg. His formula correctly identified the sex of at least 17 eagles.

Tomale has given his formula to the PEF. He said he would pursue his love for numbers by taking up accountancy at the Ateneo de Davao University.

Other winners

Winning the grand prize in the Plant Sciences category were David and Dumaoang, both graduates of the Philippine Science High School. The two, who are incoming medical students at the University of the Philippines, studied how disease-causing bacteria can “communicate.” By being able to disrupt the communication, they can prevent the disease-causing bacteria from becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Meanwhile, Dy won a special second prize award from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. She discovered that milkfish bile, which is usually discarded when cooking, could be converted into an anti-cancer drug. It works especially against lung and colon cancers, which are among the top killers in the world.

Intel presented the winners in a press conference yesterday.

Real science

Education Undersecretary Vilma Labrador said the four students represented that 20 million public school students who “are doing their best.”

Labrador noted: “Is the quality of education falling down? ... This is a proof [that it is not].”

David, one of the grand prize winners, said his experience in the international contest showed him that science “is not just memorizing concepts, real science is when you get to answer your own questions.”

He said the country “needs more scientists” and while he acknowledged that support for science research in the country has been increasing, “there is still room for improvement.”

Intel’s higher education manager for corporate affairs Joselito Tulao said the contest aimed to “develop science and technology in the country.”

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Proudly Pisay.
Proudly Field Bio ;)

Ten random FB2009 things

1. Like last year, it takes a bit of getting used to NOT waking up to a room/house/compound full of people.

2. I looove my bug-free house! Damn the ants of the forest - anlupit nila! My bug bites still itch from time to time (like, now, or in the middle of the friggin' night), it's annoying!

3. Ang mga walang kamatayang catch phrase ng mga FB batch! This year, it was: A-log, ang mahiwagang hiwa (damn that song to hell!), what the f?!, at kung anu-ano pa...

4. Pusoy dos :D Though this batch was totally NOT as card crazy as FB2008...di mabubuo yung pinlano namin last year na Pisay Dos club hehehe...But we did have a few converts (read: adik sa pusoy nang matutunan - Papa Esge, Papa Chu, and A-log, na matutulog nalang ay aabot pa ng cards :D)

5. 90's rock! I had a blast 'jamming' with Ren and Gorio - mga ka-wavelength ko sa tugtugan! These kids, who were toddlers during the 90's, love that period of music as much as I do! And they dig the classics too! Astig :)

6. Transient houses rule! Ours at Alaminos offered free use of videoke (where Alvin the Videoke King was born), while the one in Bolinao offered free trips to the sari-sari store for Coke, trips to the panaderya for Spanish bread, and trips to the church for those who like to start their day on a holy note :)

7. FB playlist: Andrea already posted Bahay Kubo, Ang Mahiwang Hiwa, and something else. Let me add Jai Ho to the list. Isip pa ko...

8. A-log! Bilib kaming teachers sa natural high mo, kid! :))

9. Transpo galore! We had all means of transpo at our disposal - vans nina Tutti, Mia, Joker; the Pisay bus (which, thankfully, did not break down while WE were the passengers); motor boats; tricycles; delivery truck (yun yung panalo!) :D

10. Sinong di mababaliw sa ulaaaaaaaaaaan? :) Kung kailan kami nasa beach, saka uulan. Kung kailan kami nasa bahay, saka sisikat ang araw *rolls eyes*

Disappearing for a while

Off to school in a few minutes. Field biology (actual field work) commences today. We're off to Hundred Islands in Pangasinan today, then Bolinao, also in Pangasinan, by Friday, then Subic by May. I hope we have fun with this batch of students :)

In the meantime, photodump (mightydacs98.multiply.com, elenadacs.multiply.com) muna bago mawala ng dalawang linggo. Hehehe.

Yesterday was the longest day ever. But it was fun. I got to watch Peryodiko at SM Sucat! :) At sa wakas may album na rin ako. Ang gandaaa! I hope they get to distribute nationally soon. Buti nalang mababaon ko siya sa field bio, else it'll be two more weeks without hearing them Peryodiko songs.

So there. Hope I have lots of good kwento (and the time to blog about it!) after field bio. See ya folks in two weeks!

Home in a bit...in the meantime...

Field bio 2008's almost up. Here now at a net cafe in Olongapo, photocopying last minute handouts Last leg in a while - JEST Camp in the forests of Subic In the meantime, let me leave you with some breathtaking scenes from where we've been.

Mt. Pinatubo - Sir Espinas, Ma'am Lhen, Ma'am Dacs, Sir Jun. Brrrrr.

Tondol Beach, Anda, Pangasinan

P.S. I - and the kids - are loving Tomi my camera big time :P The field bio kids are becoming more rabid camwhores each year! :P

Home sweet home...but not for long

For me, summer vacation has just begun.

Attended the BIOTA Convention*** at Santiago, Isabela last April 10-12. Got home this morning (April 13) and faced the task of packing and preparing for Field Bio. In a few hours, I leave for Pisay to embark on 3 weeks of Field Biology with 20 Batch 2009 students, hopping from Candaba to Pinatubo to 100 Islands to Bolinao then finally Subic. When I get home from Field Bio, I'll have enough just enough time to launder some clothes for the Bio Unit planning, May 6-10. After that follows the out-of-town Faculty Training; the sked is yet to be finalized, but it was mentioned that for the Sciences it'll start May 12 and will last a week. Yowch...kamusta naman ang BAKASYON diba? :P

Anyways, I look forward to spending time all over Luzon with the hyper and fun FB kids, then a bit of R&R+work with the Bio folks, then maybe some more R&R+work with the rest of the faculty.

But that'll mean LOTS of time away from my family and from Andrew. I'm gonna miss our dog too, hehe. And of course, I'm gonna miss going online, which means that my email and Multiply, etc. accounts will be abandoned for most of the next 4 weeks. Good luck nalang sa Inbox pagbalik :P

After all this, I hope to bring back lots of great pics, fun memories, cool stories, and less pounds :D

So yeah, this is me, signing off (but not before one last blog about Toto :P). See ya!

***Congrats to Sir Guce and Ma'am Crisologo, BIOTA first-timers, for winning Best Workshop Presentation! And yeah, Sir Espinas and I, together with Ma'am Cheng and Sir Talaue, won Best Lecture Presentation ;)

Sir Guce and Ma'am Crisologo's workshop was on DNA fingerprinting; it included the short film featuring the '09 Field Bio kids :P

Our lecture, on the other hand, was about "Creating a Field Biology Program for Your School". Haha, we're really cashing in on this Field Bio thing :D

Field Biology 2007

I realized, waaay into the schoolyear, that I've never blogged about Field Bio yet :D And now, I'm actually too busy to do that, and most of the stuff I was excited to blog about...well, I've forgotten them already, hahaha. Anyway, I'm posting the following slideshow for the incoming Field Bio students. It's a slideshow of selected pictures I took during the summer, as well as a rundown of the activities activities we had and the places we visited. Lots more can be viewed at http://fieldbio2k7.multiply.com.

I guess the one thing I can say about my first Field Bio is that it was hella fun Looking forward to going with Batch 2009 this coming summer...

| View | Upload your own

Mega-update, for those who care

What a summer.

And it isn't over yet - it can't be! I still have so much stuff to do...

A few posts back, I listed down what was up with my summer - BIOTA, Field Bio, Intel.

Biota went well, I was able to deliver the seminar-workshop without much hassle - never mind there were a couple of important stuff I forgot hehehe.

Field bio was a blast! I haven't really blogged about it yet, so in the meantime let the pictures speak for themselves - http://fieldbio2k7.multiply.com/photos

As for the Intel thing, my co-teacher Edgar (who is now with our unit - welcome to Bio!!!) and I will be evaluating the program so the school would know if it can be held for the faculty on a bigger scale later on. Kami lang ni Edgar na-assign dun, kasi ang buong Bio (well, most of them) are currently in Iloilo for GLOBE training. I wanted to join them, but our house is maid-less so I have to be around to help out. Also, puno na rin slots for the training, haha. Bad trip lang kasi magbo-Boracay sila after! Grrr!!! *Inggit*

Aside from Edgar, we also have two new additions to the Bio unit - welcome Ma'am Dawn Toledo (Pisay '97) and Sir Justin Guce (an orgmate of mine from UP)! The Bio unit will also be saying goodbye to Ma'am Chu Duallo (kasabay kong pumasok sa Pisay), and also temporarily to Ma'am Ninna Espiritu (off to make herself smarter still - study leave).

So with about two weeks to go 'til work officially starts again, I'm still pretty busy.

I'm not yet cleared :( Have a couple more reports and a portfolio to finish for clearance. Grrr again.

Also working on some review material for the in-school UPCAT review for the seniors. And still some miscellaneous stuff to keep me busy. Yehey.

Online, I've also been quite busy uploading pics at my Multiply. Mostly pics of stuff that has kept my sked tight right after Field Bio ended - Ei and Chippy's wedding, Chu and Joel's despidida, Mom's Day.

Wrote a post on Ei and Chippy's wedding already, will post that right after I publish this one. Kwento about the despidida and Mom's Day are right there already in their respective photo albums:


Ei and Chippy's wedding


Chu and Joel's despidida


Mom's Day

Other new albums are:


Bio1 dissection for SY 2006-2007


Batch '07's grad

So far got nothing to post about one of the loves of my life - music. Haven't gigged in so long =( Anyway, summer's been fun (field bio rocks!) so it's alright =)

Honey, I'm home!!!

Don't you just looove civilization? Hehehe

Will be sharing Batch '08's Field Bio adventures soon!