Asian high school students shone at the 2016 Intel International Science & Engineering fair

ISEF 2016 participants during the shout-out of the opening program. Front row, left: three members of Team Philippines.  Photo from the Facebook page of Society for Science & the Public.

Two high school students from Asia scored high in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) held on 08-13 May 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona:   Pei-Hsuan Chang, 17, from Taipei City, Chinese Taipei for her outstanding mathematics project, and Takahiro Ichige, 18, from Chiba City, Japan for his excellent work in engineering mechanics.

Each went home with a First Grand Award of $3,000 and a Best of Category award of $5,000. They were among the 22 Best of Category winners who vied for ISEF's top three prizes: the two Intel Foundation Young Scientist awards of $50,000 and the Gordon E. Moore award of $75,000.  

Chang's study on 'nested eggs: where Brianchon, Pascal and Poncelet meet' also gave her passport for a trip to the European Union Contest for Young Scientists this coming September.

On the other hand, for his work on 'a novel and simple power saving controller for stepper motors', Ichige also won for him an Intel Foundation Cultural and Scientific Visit to China award.

Other Asian students (individual or team researchers) brought home grand awards in the various categories although none won in behavioral and social sciences, microbiology and systems software:  $500 for a fourth, $1,000 for a third, and $1,500 for a second, award.  

From China:

• Team of Ming Yan, 19, and Weizhen Cai, 17:  third award in engineering mechanics for 'electric skateboard with disk brakes and bluetooth remote control';
• Team of Mark Tsz Chun Lau, 17, Hyun Seo Chung, 16, and Ricky Tsun Yuen Ho, 16: third award in engineering mechanics for 'developing a novel public intra-city small- to medium-sized cargo distribution system for cities of the future';
• Chin Yeoh, 16: fourth award in engineering mechanics for 'origami transformer: bridging ancient art with modern computer sciences'; and
• Qingxuan Jiang, 17: fourth award in mathematics for 'the rolling lamp problem and related link structure'.

The Chinese Taipei delegation to ISEF 2016. From the Facebook page of Pei-Hsuan Chang.

From Chinese Taipei:

• Chi-Yuen Wu, 17: fourth award in animal sciences for 'immune reactions of encapsulation in cockroaches';
• Team of Yu-Ting Huang, 17, and Jia-Lan Lin, 17: fourth award in biochemistry for 'misfolded alpha-synuclein: assessment of lactulose and melibiose for Parkinson's disease';
• Team of Anin Luo, 17, and Tsan-Mei Chu, 18: third award in biomedical and health sciences for 'inhibitory effects of Omega-3 fatty acids-based fish oil on cholangiocarcinoma';
• Cheng-Pei Lin, 17: third award in chemistry for 'UV-light sensitive transparent organic solar cells';
• Team of Yu-Hung Chen, 18, and Shih-Hao Chen, 18: third award in earth and environmental sciences for 'experimental simulation of cellular convection with miso soup';
• Yen-Chen Chen, 16: fourth award in engineering mechanics for 'rotating fluid in paraboloidal tank tuned liquid damper as an effective vibration absorber'; and
• Bo-Han Lin, 17: second award in physics and astronomy for 'nanobubble: generation and applications';

From Hongkong Special Administrative Region:

• Team of Kwun Wing Thomas Li, 16, Pak Hei Chu, 18, and Tat Ngai Davis Chan, 17: third award in chemistry for 'supermagnetic iron (II, III) oxide silver cysteine complex nanoparticles (SISCCN) in metal ions adsorption and chiral recognition';
• Sidney K. Chu, 16: fourth award in computational biology and bioinformatics for 'identification of Parkinson's disease-associated SNP-SNP interaction using interaction analysis by Chi-Square (IAC)';
• Team of Hei Man Fong, 16, Ching Man Felice Tang, 17, and Nai To Chan, 16: third award in energy: chemical for 'sencha power';

From India:

• Shreyas Kapur, 17: third award in biomedical engineering for 'cellphone based optometry using hybrid images'
• Team of Suhani Sachin Jain, 15, and Divya Kranthi, 16: third award in plant sciences for 'innovative strategy using endophytes for effective biocontrol of insect pests in cotton'; and
• Vasudev Malyan, 18: fourth award in translational medical science for 'a novel paper sensor as a diagnostic test for multiple schlerosis'.

From Japan:

• Tomoro Warashina, 18: second award in cellular and molecular biology for 'silk-gland-derived sericin as a growth promoted in animal cell culture';
• Team of Chizumi Maeta, 18, and Mei Yamamura, 17: second award in energy: chemical for 'investigation and development of a new solid polymer electrolyte using a natural membrane for fuel cell devices';

From Malaysia:

• Team of Dylan Lim Shu Zhe, 16, Nizar Bin Jalaludeen Rajagobar, 16, and Derric Lim Shu Chuen, 16: third award in materials science for 'pineapple skin galore';

From Pakistan: 

• Shahmir Khan Niazi, 15: fourth award in energy: physical for 'a new spin on renewable energy';

From Singapore:

• Yuhang Wang, 19: third award in chemistry for 'nickel oxy-hydroxide thin films as efficient electrocatalysts for dye wastewater treatment';
• ShuYi Jia, 19: fourth award in chemistry for 'immobilization of glycans on silicon substrates for diagnostic microarrays';

From South Korea:

• Team of Seong Ho Lim, 18, Jihong Kim, 18, and Seung Yoon Lee, 17: fourth award in chemistry for 'can we directly measure each solute concentration in mixed solution? a new class of polarimeter';
• Team of Nayeong Kim, 17, and Jongha Choi, 18: fourth award in energy: chemical for 'ceria supported Cu-Co composite catalyst for WGS reaction';
• Jae Hyeok Choi, 17: fourth award in environmental engineering for 'the development of 3R water filter: round wave-rusty wire for rural regions';
• Kim Dae Hyun, 18: third award in physics and astronomy for 'generation of beat sound of Korean bell with a bicycle rim'; and
• Yun Kang, 16: fourth award in robotics and intelligent machines for 'direct connection technology between disabled and prosthetic robot hand'.

From Sri Lanka:

• Abishek Stenush Gomes: 16, third award in embedded systems for 'wearable device to translate American Sign Language (ASL) into English'.

From Thailand:

• Team of Charuntorn Doungnga, 18, and Runglawan Charpugdee, 17: second award in animal sciences for 'a silk sheath production frame developed from negative geotropic spinning behavior of silkforms resulted in silk sheath with high homogeneity';
• Team of  Puvanat Triamchanchai, 15, and Touchakorn Chintavalakorn, 15: also second award in animal sciences for 'bubble nesting behavior behind local wisdom of rearing Siamese fighting fish by utilizing dry leaves'

From Vietnam:

• Team of Chau Thu Minh Nguyen, 17, and Chinh Lu Duc Hoang, 16: third award in cellular and molecular biology for 'study on the ability of binding and killing several cancer cell lines of antinuclear antibody';
• Team of My Ha Nguyen, 17, and Long Quang Nguyen, 18: third award in chemistry for 'potential anticancer complexes from platinum and clove basil oil (Ocinum grastissimum L.)';
• Team of Phong Tuan Pham Wu, 16, and Ngoc Bao Nguyen, 16: third award in earth and environmental sciences for 'rice straw phytolith to enhance CO2 capture: ideas for sustainable management of rice straw and reduction of greenhouse gases from paddy soils'; and
• Team of Ngan Hoang Nguyen, 18, and Truc Thanh Pham, 18: third award in engineering mechanics for 'diverse terrain wheelchair'.

(Left to right):  The three Best of the Best in ISEF 2016: Kathy Liu, Hanjie (Austin) Wang and Syamantak Payra. Photo from the webpage of Society for the Science & the Public.

For the top three prizes: the Young Scientist awards went to Syamantak Payra, 15, from Texas and  Kathy Liu, 17 from Utah for their projects in embedded systems and in energy - chemical categories; respectively, and the Gordon E. Moore went to Canadian Han Jie (Austin) Wang for his microbiology project. titled 'boosting MFC biocatalyst performance: a novel gene identification and consortia engineering approach.'

The three winners appear to be part of that generation in North America whose roots can be traced to Asia.

That's how it was in Phoenix where some 1,760 Grades 9-12 students from 77 countries, regions and territories converged for the world's largest pre-college science research competition under the theme 'Think Beyond.'

Filipino students bring home award from the 2015 Intel International Science & Engineering Fair

The 3rd grand prize winners in the biomedical and health
sciences category: Kenneth Antonio, Thea Tinaja and Marian
Cabuntocan of Bayugan City.

The team project of three high school students from Bayugan National Comprehensive High School in Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur won a third grand award prize of US$1,000 in the biomedical and health sciences category of the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held 11-15 May 2015 in Pittsburgh.    

The ISEF, a project of the Society for Science and the People based in Washington DC, is the premier and largest international pre-college science research competition for students in grades 9 to 12. 

The winning team of Kenneth Michael Angelo Natividad Antonio, 14, Marian Romero Cabuntocan, 16, and Thea Marie Laquinta Tinaja, 15, studied the potential of extracts from the integuments of the diamond back squid, a species that abounds in the locality, as source of neuroprotective and anti-stroke agents without causing adverse side effects on cardiac activity. They have found beneficial use for the integuments - waste products of a squid processing plant in their area.

Antonio will be in Grade 9, and Cabuntocan and Tinaja in Grade 10 this coming school year under the K-12 program. They plan to continue with their scientific investigation hoping to bring the results to the ISEF 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona..

Angelo Urag of Butuan City with his project
in material science.

Two other young Filipino scientists were with them in Pittsburgh.

Angelo Grabriel Abundo Urag, 15, incoming Grade 10 student of Father Saturnino Urios University in Butuan City, produced superhydrophic (non-wetting) copper stearate films using a one-step process.  It was his second time in the ISEF. Last year, he brought to Los Angeles his study on the superhydropic properties of the wings of local dragonflies.

Mary Carmelle Antonette Pedregosa Gindap, 16, incoming Grade 11 student of Iloilo National High School, Iloilo City, studied the antibacterial and anticoagulant properties of proteins from the skin and spine of Acanthaster planci, a marine animal species that feeds on and thereby destroys corals. She said that by gathering these sea creatures for biomedical uses, the infestation of the corals is controlled, thus protecting the reefs from degradation.

The Philippine delegates were part of around 1,700 young scientists selected from 422 affiliate fairs in more than 75 countries, regions and territories that converged in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The five Filipino delegates were the cream of regional finalists whose projects in the life and physical sciences competed at the National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF) of the Department of Education. The NSTF is the only ISEF-affiliated fair in the country.

Carmelle GIndap of Iloilo City studied the potential benefits
from the animal species that eats/threatens coral reefs.

Around 600 of the ISEF participants received awards and prizes for their innovative research, including 20 “Best of Category” winners, who each received a US$5,000 prize. Categories span the basic sciences, mathematics, engineering and specialized areas like embedded systems, computational technology and bioinformatics, and systems software.

From among these 20 “bests”,  the top prize, the Gordon E. Moore award of US$75,000 went to 17-year-old Raymond Wang of Canada for his mechanical engineering project – a new air inlet system for airplane cabins, which improves the availability of fresh air in the cabin while reducing pathogen inhalation concentrations.

Two runner-ups each received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards of US$50,000 for projects in biomedical and health sciences, and environmental management. Nicole Ticea, 17, also of Canada, developed an inexpensive, disposable, easy-to-use testing device to combat the high rate of undiagnosed HIV infections in low-income communities, while Karan Jerath, 18, of Friendswood, Texas, refined and tested  a novel device that should allow an undersea oil well to rapidly and safely recover following a blowout.

The research year for ISEF 2016 has begun. High school student scientists all over the world have at most one year between January 1, 2015 and May 2016 to complete a research project that may qualify for the international competition in May next year. In the Philippines, K-9 to K-12 students will pass through three hurdles: division, regional and national fairs for that chance to go to ISEF 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona. .

Kenneth, Angelo, Carmelle, Marian and Thea with their Shout-Out poster.

Credits: Photos from ISEF Team Philippines 2015.

Eight Pinoy high school students had fun at the Intel ISEF 2014 in Los Angeles

This photo-essay appeared in slightly different form in the 23-29 May 2014 issue of FilAm Star, 'the newspaper for Filipinos in mainstream America,' published weekly in San Francisco.  The author/blogger is the Special News/Photo Correspondent-Philippines of the paper.

On the giant screen during the Opening Program: Poster and Team Philippines 2014 members who did the Shout Out. (Photo from Joseph Roni Jacob).

More than 1,700 students from close to 80 countries, regions and territories converged at the Los Angeles Convention Center last week, May 11 to 16 during the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), the world’s largest research competition for students in grades 9–12, a program of the Society for Science and the Public (SSP).

This year had the highest number of finalists so far in the 64-year history of the international competition.

The Top Three Winners, left to right:  Intel Foundation Young Scientists Awardees Shannon Xinjing Lee and Lennart Kleinwort, and the Gordon E. Moore awardee Nathan Han. (Photo from Society for Science & the Public).

15-year old Nathan Han of Boston was declared the “best of the best,” and he received the Gordon E. Moore Award, a US$75,000 prize named in honor of the Intel co-founder and fellow scientist.  Han used data from publicly available databases to develop a machine learning software tool in studying mutations of a gene linked to breast cancer. 

Two other top winners each received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards of US$50,000: Lennart Kleinwort, 15, of Germany, and Shannon Xinjing Lee, 17, of Singapore.

Kleinwort’s prize-winning project is described as “a new mathematical tool for smartphones ... [the] app allows users to hand draw curves, lines and geometric figures on the touch screen and watch the system render them into shapes and equations that can then be manipulated at will.’

Lee developed a novel electrocatalyst entirely from carbonized Chinese eggplant, which may be used for batteries in the future. She found out that her carbon catalyst “greatly out-performed a more sophisticated commercial catalyst in stability and longevity tests and will be environmentally friendly and inexpensive to produce.”

Photos from Joseph Roni Jacob.

Our Team Philippines 2014 of eight students and the other young scientists from around the world (Kenya, Oman, and Qatar participated for the first time this year) were all at the Intel ISEF vying for awards and scholarships. 

They brought to Los Angeles projects competing in 17 categories covering various fields like Animal Sciences, Behavioral/Social Sciences, Mathematics, Cellular/Molecular Biology, Computer Science, Earth/Planetary Science, Engineering, Environmental Management/Sciences, Energy/Transportation and Plant Sciences.  Each of the 17 “Best of Category” winners received US$5,000, with a US$1,000 grant from Intel Foundation going to their respective schools and to their affiliated fairs.  The top three winners came from these “bests”.

Other finalists in each category received Grand Awards:  First (US$3,000), Second (US$1,500), Third (US$1,000) and Fourth (US$500).  As in the past ISEFs, there were many who received fourth to second Grand Awards.  Aside from these, there were Special Awards from about 70 organizations on the eve of closing day.

Competing in three categories were the hopeful eight bright students from the Philippines:  two individual researchers, Michael Angelo Zafra from Taguig Science High School and Angelo Gabriel  Urag from Fr. Saturnino Urios University (High School Department), Butuan City; and two research teams -- Lea Sibay, Nicole Cejas and Magenta May Orozco from Agusan del Sur National High School, San Francisco, Agusan del Sur; and Michael Angelo De Chavez, Danise Chan and John Steven Ablong from Victorino Mapa High School, Manila. 

Except for Urag who was a sophomore, all the rest were high school seniors during the last school year and are going to college this coming June, or August for those enrolling in the University of the Philippines.  Their projects passed through three levels of competition: division, regional and the national science and technology fairs, spread out in the Department of Education calendar from August 2013 to February 2014.

Michael Angelo Zafra’s research competed in the Energy and Transportation category.  In his study, he isolated thermophilic bacteria (those that can work at high temperatures) from compost, and determined if these can hydrolyze cellulose. He was able to identify a strain of bacillus that has the potential for use in large-scale conversion of biomass into fermentable sugars in bioethanol production.

Angelo Gabriel Urag explored the surface structure and the chemical composition of the wings of male and female Neurothemis terminata, a dragonfly species commonly found in the country, to explain their hydrophobic or anti-wetting characteristics.  Interestingly, he found the male wings more hydrophobic than the female.  He said that the nanostructures of the wings could be reverse engineered for future applications to repel water and dirt on surfaces for easy-cleaning.  His project competed in the Engineering (Materials and Bioengineering) category.

Also in the same engineering category was the study of the Victorino Mapa High School team. They explored the potential use of chitin from crab shells for thin film solar cell applications. They were able to characterize and produce chitin nanowires, nitrogen- and manganese-doped carbon nanomaterials through the Horizontal Vapor Phase Growth Technique at the De La Salle University. 

The team from Agusan del Sur National High School were able to isolate five bacteria strains from palm oil sludge that can break down the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) components of diesel oil.  They found out that these strains, rod-shaped like bacilli, are effective in the bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil that they used for planting mangroves and associated plants.  The research project was in the Environmental Management competition.

In national costumes to the judging interviews, 

and thrilla' at Universal immediately after.

(Photos from Joseph Rino Jacob)

More than 500 finalists brought home awards and prizes for their innovative research.  A number of students received experiential awards from the Intel Foundation including an 11-day trip to China for them to attend the country’s largest national science competition, speak with researchers at Intel’s lab in Shanghai, and visit the Panda Research Base in Chengdu.

Three finalists were awarded an all-expense trip to the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar (SIYSS), which includes attendance at the Nobel Prize ceremonies.  Others were selected to attend the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Warsaw, Poland, and the London International Youth Science Forum.  For the second time this year, finalists won the Innovation Exploration Award for a chance to visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and Caltech to learn about the latest in space exploration.

What is most interesting to first and second grand award winners is that their names are submitted to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for once in a lifetime naming after them of minor planets in Ceres Connection.  All these minor planets were discovered by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program, operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Lincoln Laboratory. This naming is connection with the partnership of MIT-Lincoln, SSP and Intel ISEF to promote science education.

Apparently this lifetime naming started way back in 2002 when all the Intel ISEF awardees were invited to submit an essay on 'why would you like a planet named after you.'  The Filipino prize winners, except one, submitted an essay, hence, teammates Jeric Valles Macalintal and Allan Noriel Estrella, and individual researcher Prem Vilas Fortran Moso Rara had planetary bodies named after them. This was also the year that Dr. Josette Biyo, currently Executive Director of the Philippine Science High School System, had a minor planet between Mars and Jupiter named after her when she received the “Intel Excellence Award in Teaching." In 2011, Miguel Arnold Reyes of Philippine Science High School-Main had a minor planet named after him for winning a second grand award for his materials and bioengineering project. 

The Philippines had been participating in the Intel ISEF since 1998.  For the past 15 years, our finalists brought back home special and grand awards to show off. 

Team Philippines 2014 may not have fared equally as well as previous teams, but it was certainly a week of fun and inspirational encounters for all of them at the Intel ISEF in Los Angeles.

National costumes, different nationalities at the world's biggest annual research competition;

(Photos from Team Philippines 2014)

They would recall how they faced the highly qualified judges in their national costumes during their whole day of interviews with them in front of their project displays at the exhibition hall. They forgot the stress of judging day because what followed immediately were thrilling rides at the Universal Studios Hollywood all for free during the Intel ISEF Night there.

There is more than research competition in the ISEF.  There are fun events too like the pin exchange, the customary icebreaker on the eve of opening day with the finalists trading pins and thereby meeting new friends from around the world.  

For sure they also enjoyed their encounter with Nobel laureates comprising the "Excellence in Science and Technology Discussion Panel".  They threw questions to Frances Arnold (Draper Prize, 2011), J. Michael Bishop (Physiology or Medicine, 1989), Martin Chalfie (Chemistry, 2008), H. Robert Horvitz (Chemistry, 2002), Sir Harold Kroto (Chemistry, 1996) and John Mather (Phyics, 2006). They also grabbed photo-ops with anyone of them after the Q&A session.

We have been involved in the national science and technology fair in the Philippines since year 2000, the Intel ISEF-affiliated fair initially with the Department of Science &Technology, and now under the Department of Education. We’ve been part of scientific review committees that pre-qualify projects in the national competition among regular and science high schools, and of panels that judge projects in the physical sciences category, and select the research projects to be sent to the Intel ISEF.  Through these review and judging tasks, we have seen the passion for scientific inquiry among many high school students from the different regions of the country. 

The winning projects in the national fair that are selected for the Intel ISEF are truly owned by the young researchers.  Their work fall within the perspectives defined by Rick Bates, interim CEO and chief advancement officer of Society for Science & the Public, and Wendy Hawkins, executive director of the Intel Foundation.

“In congratulating [the top three winners], we join with Intel in seeing great hope in their research, and that of all of our Intel ISEF finalists,” Bates said. “Not only are they working to discover solutions for society’s challenges, they importantly serve as an inspiration for younger students and encourage them to become involved in the amazing world of hands-on science and engineering.”

Hawkins added, “The world needs more scientists, makers and entrepreneurs to create jobs, drive economic growth and solve pressing global challenges. Intel believes that young people are the key to innovation, and we hope that these winners inspire more students to get involved in science, technology, engineering and math, the foundation for creativity.”

Asian young scientists win top awards in ISEF 2011

ASIANS IN THE THREE 'BEST OF THE BESTS' IN ISEF 2011.  Matthew Feddersen and Blake Marggraff of Lafayette, Calif (left) received the Gordon E. Moore Award of $75,000.  Taylor Wilson of Reno, Nev. (third from left) and the team from Thailand (Pornwasu Pongtheerawan, Arada Sungkanit and Tanpitcha Phongchaipaiboon, right) each received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50,000. 

Not one among the more than 1,500 finalists in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) would know if he/she/the team is a winner until their name gets called during the Special Awards night or Grand Awards ceremony at the closing of the 5-day youth event.

Everyone of course dreams of bringing home a Grand Award in his/her category (there are 17 of them). Usually, about 25% of the finalists would get rewarded for their excellent research project since plenty would get a fourth ($500), or third ($1,000), or second ($1,500) grand awards.   

Sometimes there would be 2 or 3 recipients of the first grand award ($3,000) but one has to be "Best of the Category" ($5,000) to qualify for the Gordon E Moore and the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards.

Four Asians--two individual and two team finalists--were in the running for the three 'Best of the Bests' this year:   

• The team from Thailand--Pornwasu Pongtheerawan, 16, Tanpitcha Phongchaipaiboon, 17, and Arada Sungkanit, 17--was best in the environmental management category for showing the potential of the gelatin in fish scales as tbio-based food packaging plastics. They received the Intel Foundation Young Scientists Award for this work. 

• The South Korea team was the best in the environmental sciences category.  Jinyoung Seo, 18, and Dongju Shin, 18, mimicked the wetting behavior of spider silk in the study of its water-harvesting efficiency. This work gained for them the Dudley R. Herschbach SIYSS Award, which entitles them to an all-expense-paid trip to the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar (SIYSS) and attendance at the Nobel Prize ceremonies, in Stockholm, Sweden.

• The best in the computer science category is from China.  Lai Xue, 18, studied the "efficient implementation of tilt compensated compass and depth camera in interactive augmented reality."  This work earned him an all-expense-paid trip to attend the European Union Contest for Young Scientists, the host city, which changes every year, still to be announced.

• The project of Raghavendra Ramachanderan, 16, of India was the best in the chemistry category. Her work dealt with "braving legendary challenges in drug synthesis."

This is not the first time that Asians were in the top three winners of the Intel ISEF.  Until 2009, all three 'best of the bests' received the same Young Scientists Award.  Yuanchen Zhu of China and Yi-Han Su of Chinese Taipei were among the recipients of the top prize in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

It's a dream prize for all who participate in the ISEF-affiliated fairs throughout the world.

The names of the above winners and others below who got first and second grand awards will be submitted to the International Astronomical Union (IAU)  for the naming of minor planets in the Ceres Connection.  These planets have been discovered by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program, operated by MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory.  The Laboratory partnered with the Society for Science & the Public (SSP)and the Intel ISEF "to promote science education through the Ceres Connection."  

Here are Asian grand awardees this year in Los Angeles, California, by country: 

CHINA (9).

• Lai Xue, 18. First Award and Intel ISEF Best of Category (Computer Science) Award for Efficient Implementation of Tilt Compensated Compass and Depth Camera in Interactive Augmented Reality.

• Yizheng He, 18, Haoyan Kang, 18, and Jiayi Wang, 17.  Second Award in Computer Science for The Research on the Space Interactive 3D Mapping Method.

• Jiaqi Duan, 16, Zihan Zhang, 18, and Sihan Jiang, 17. Fourth Award in Behavioral Sciences for Is Nephila clavata a New Species of Social Spiders? A Preliminary Study on Behaviors of Nephila clavata.

• Fubin Li, 17, Yakang Li, 18, and Zhongning Hao, 15. Second Award in Biochemistry for Research on Functional Dietary Fibre of Wheat Bran.

• Zehong Weng, 18.  Third Award in Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical) for Assistant of Walking Aid: Walking Aid Facility for the Old and the Relevant Patients.

• Ka Chon Leong, 18 of Macau. Fourth Award in Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical) for TongueMove: Barrier Tree Tongue Controller.
  

• Io Tong Chan, 18, Chi Kit Cheong, 17, and Ka Hong Lao, 17 of Macau. Fourth Award in Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical) forEnhanced Navigation System for Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle.

• Yixin Zhang, 17,Yumeng Li, 16, and Anqi Wang, 17.  Fourth Award in Environmental Sciences for Research on Effect of Urban Rainfall Runoff Pollution on Water Environment and Amount Accounting.

• Yimeng Shi, 18.  First Award in Physics and Astronomy for The Flow Feature around Insects and Bionic Wing Based on Wind Tunnel Test.

CHINESE TAIPEI (4).

• Kevin Sean Chen, 17.  Third award in Animal Sciences for hisSeeing What You Want to See: Visual Experience and Top-down Processing in Honeybee.

• Yun-Chen Chien, 17. Third Award in Chemistry for Lighting Insulin with Gold Nanodots.

• Yu-Jung Chen, 18.  Third Award in Computer Science for Maintaining Viewing Quality with Lower Number of LEDs

• Janet Yun-Chen Sung, 18, and Nai-Wen Hu, 16.  Second Award in Physics and Astronomy for Studies of Cell Elasticity by Nonlinear Damping.

INDIA (5). 

• Raghavendra Ramachanderan, 16. First Award and Intel ISEF Best of Category (Chemistry) for Drug Synthesis: Braving Legendary Challenges.

• Akansha Verma, 16, and Abhishek Khanna, 17.  Fourth Award in Animal Sciences.  Acmella oleracea: A Naturally Growing Weed as Effective Pest Controller.

• Hetal Kanjibhai Vaishnav, 18, and Ankur Kanjibhai Vaishnav, 16.  Second Awrd in Environmental Management for Recycling Rexine Waste--A Novel and Economical Approach.

• Pramoda Nekkare Vishnumurthy, 15, and Bhargava Chakrakodii Subbanna, 14.  Third Award in Environmental Management for Eco-friendly Ink from Terminalia chebula.

• Manosij G Dastidar, 18.  Second Award in Mathematical Sciences for Integer Partitions and Sequences.

JAPAN (2).

• Riou Tanaka, 16.  Third Award in Earth & Planetary Sciences for Gap in the Deep Sea?: Reconstruction of Sedimentary Environment of the Kurotaki Unconformity, Central Japan Based on Foraminifers. 

• Nobutada Kawazoe, 17, Taiki Maehata, 17, and Rushia Kanai, 17,  Fourth Award in Earth & Planetary Sciences for Characterization of Volcanic Lightning and Modeling How Volcanic Lightning Occurs at Sakurajima Volcano in Kagoshima, Japan.
  

MALAYSIA (2).

• Haleeda Hilmi, 17, Tunku and Nurul Amira Salehin, 17.  Fourth Award in Environmental Management for A Fishy Detector. 

• Zawin Najah Binti Zulkefli, 17. Third Award in Environmental Sciences for Green Based Conductive Polymer Sensor.

PAKISTAN (1).

• Mehwish Ghafoor, 15, and Ambreen Bibi, 15.  Third Award in Environmental Sciences for Degradation of Environmental Pollutants with Nanocomposites.

PHILIPPINES (2).

Angeli meets the press at her ISEF booth.

Miguel Reyes during a pre-ISEF project presentation.

• Angeli Joyce Yap Dy, 16.  Fourth Award in Chemistry for Milkfish (Chanos chanos Forsskal) Serum as an Alternative Media Supplement for Culture of A549 (Human Lung) and HCT 116 (Colon) Carcinomas.
  

• Miguel Arnold Silverio Reyes, 16.  Second Award in Engineering-Materials and Bioengineering for Synthesis and Characterization of Composite Plastics from Thermoplastic Starch and Nano-sized Calcium Phosphate for Film Packaging.

SINGAPORE (3).

• Herng Yi Cheng, 18.  First Award in Computer Science for Composing Frusta to Fold Polyhedral Origami.

• Qin Xiang Ng, 18, and Wei Liang Matthew Lee, 18.  Second Award in Environmental Management for To Investigate the Adsorption Potential of Orange Peel Biosorbents for the Removal of Copper(II) Ions.

• Yuan Jin Tan, 17.  Second Award in Microbiology for Identification and Characterization of Bacterial Endophytes as Novel Bio-inoculants for Jatropha.

SOUTH KOREA (4).

• Jinyoung Seo, 18, and Dongju Shin, 18.  First Award and Intel ISEF Best of Category (Environmental Sciences) Award for Mimicking Wetting Behavior of Spider Silk: Studies on Water-Harvesting Efficiency According to the Fabrication of the Pattern of Wettability Gradient.

• An Ji Hun, 17, and Junha Park, 17. Fourth Award in Animal Sciences for The Mechanism of Lysophosphatidic Acid-induced Procoagulation in HumanErythrocytes.

• Tae Young Roh, 16, Ju Yeop High School, Yeon Ji Kim, 17, Paik Yang High School, and Beom Kwan Kim, 16.  Fourth Award in Engineering (Materials and Bioengineering) for Hatch an Egg with Insulation and Hot Pack Instead of Electricity.

• Woongui Hwang, 18, and Doyeon Baek, 17.  Fourth Award in Environmental Sciences for The Way of CO2 Storage Using Formation of Carbonate Minerals by Aboriginal Microbes.

THAILAND (2).

• Pornwasu Pongtheerawan, 16, Tanpitcha Phongchaipaiboon, 17, and Arada Sungkanit, 17.  First Award and Intel ISEF Best of Category (Environmental Management) Award for Bio-based Packaging Plastics from Fish Scale. 

• Thanasup Gonmanee, 18, Worrada Junmook, 18, and Narintadeach Charoensombut, 18.  Fourth Award in Engineering (Materials and Bioengineering) for Utilization of Mucilage Derived from Lemon Basil Seeds as Coating Substance for Fruit Preservation.

Philippine high school students compete in the international science & engineering fair

Team Philippines 2011. Front, l-r: Sean Cabiles, Angeli Dy, Regine Arcenal, Mark Dapar. Back, l-r:  Benedict Priela, Jeffrey Abulencia, Miguel Reyes, John David Caburnay and Edgardo Alegre  

There are ten of them in Team Philippines 2011, but one could not make the trip to Los Angeles for this year's edition of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF 2011) at the Los Angeles Convention Center on 08-13 May.

For the past decade, we've been involved in the selection of the country's delegates to this global event from among the best of young science  researchers in our private and public high schools.  They successfully passed three levels of screening from the local and regional to the national science fairs.

This year, the '10 best' comprises four individual and two team projects (each team composed of three members) selected from the short list of 'bests' from the Department of Education secondary schools and the Philippine Science High School System.

Individual finalists & their project titles. Top to Bottom:  Mark Lloyd Dapar, Angeli Joyce Dy, Benedict Priela and Miguel Reyes.

The individual researchers are Mark Lloyd Dapar from the Bayugan National Comprehensive High School (Agusan del Sur), Angeli Joyce Dy from the Capiz National High School (Roxas City), Benedict Priela from the Holy Infant Academy (Calapan City, Mindoro), and Miguel Reyes from the Philippine Science High School-Main Campus (Quezon City).

This is the second time that Dy and Priela are participating in the ISEF.  They were in the Reno, Nevada event in 2009 when they were still high school sophomores.

Research teams & their project titles:  Janina Guarte & Edgardo Alegre (top); Jeffrey Abulencia, Sean Cabiles and John David Carburnay (bottom).

The two team finalists are those from the PSHS-East Visayas Campus (Palo, Leyte)--Janina Guarte, Edgardo Alegre and Regine Arcenal-- and from the Victorino Mapa High School (Manila)--Sean Luke Cabiles, John David Caburnay and Jeffrey Abulencia.

Our delegates are among the more than 1,500 student finalists from 64 countries vying for awards in the ISEF, the world's largest international pre-college science competition program of the Society for Science & the Public supported by the Intel Corporation and the Intel Foundation.

There are 17 research areas in the competition.  Our individual finalists are in four:  Dapar in Medicine & Health Sciences, Dy in Biochemistry, Priela in Environmental Management, and Reyes in Engineering (Materials & Bioengineering).

While the two team projects are classified under Energy & Transportation (that of Cabiles, Caburnay and Abulencia) and Plant Sciences (Alegre, Guarte and Arcenal), they will be in the separate competition of 256 team finalists from around the world. 

Mark Dapar and Angeli Dy share interest in the human lung and colon cancer cells. 

Dapar wanted to check if IR64 rice bran extract is effective against the two carcinomas. Indeed, his work showed that the extract is a "promising source of treatment for chemotherapy and chemoprevention" because it has bioactive compound/s of cytotoxic potential against both human lung and colon carcinomas, and of antioxidant potential against free radicals.

On the other hand, Angeli Dy was looking for an alternative media supplement to the expensive fetal bovine serum (FBS) that is used in the culture of the two cancer cells. She experimented on the milkfish serum, which she found to be rich in proteins.  Her study indicates that milkfish serum, its mannose-binding proteins and albumin are potential replacements of FBS.

In her prize-winning work in 2009, she tested the cytotoxic potential of milkfish bile against the same cancer cells.

Benedict Priela constructed a prototype model of a portable solar-heated vacuum desalinator, which he found to be cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environment-friendly.  "The device," he said, "can also be a vital source of potable water in disaster areas where water contamination and scarcity is a major problem."

His sophomore year project entry in ISEF 2009 was a numerical chart that he tested to detect amblyopia among pre-school children, which can lead to blindness if not corrected. This was intended as an alternative to the alphabetical chart used by ophthalmologists.

Miguel Reyes was looking at producing biodegradable plastic for film packaging from a composite of thermoplastics from cornstarch and nano-sized calcium phosphate particles. While the project is more on materials engineering, the impact is on the environment. 

Jatropha curcas is more associated with bio-fuels. In fact, there is a company in the Dept of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR) umbrella whose thrust is to develop jatropha plantations in unused public lands for bio-fuel production.

The PSHS-EV team used the bark extracts of this plant to produce a bio-pesticide against the larvae of cutworms, the bane of many important economic crops .  In their tests, they found out that the methanol extracts at pure and diluted concentrations were highly effective than the synthetic pesticide.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) use synthetic dyes as photosensitizers. The challenge today is to find natural dyes to replace them.  The team from Victorino Mapa High responded with a study using the extracts from the flowers and stems of the edible purslane weed (ngalog to Ilocanos, gulasiman to Tagalogs). They found that the ethanol-extracted natural dyes from the flowers generated the best photoactivity (photovoltage and photocurrent).   

We all wish that our delegates will come home with prizes for their scientific projects, special awards and/or the coveted grand awards. 

Special awards come from 64 organizations in the form of educational scholarships, cash awards, summer internships, scientific field trips and equipment grants.

Every finalist hopes to bring at least one of the Grand Awards in his/her category:  (a) the Best of Category, $5,000;  (b) First Place, $3,000; (c) Second Place, $1,500; (d) Third Place – $1,000; and (e) Fourth place - $500.

For more than a decade of participation in the ISEF, the Philippine finalists have not come home empty-handed.  There were always special and grand awards to show off.  There had been delegates who've gone on stage to receive a First Grand Award.

We've yet to have a finalist receive a Best of Category award, which is the key to the competition for the two Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards of $50,000 each, and the lone Gordon E Moore Award of $75,000. Thus, the winners are the top 3 of the "Bests" in the 17 categories.

Our finalists will face the judges for the whole day of Wednesday, 11 May, in their professional attire, or in their national costumes, in the case of our delegates.  The next day, the exhibition hall will be open to the public.

Team Philippines 2009 coming out after the day with the judges in their national costume.  Angelica Dy (2nd from right) and Benedict Priela (4th from right) were sophomores then. They're in the ISEF this year for the second time.

For sure, they're having some fun too amid the anxiety of meeting several sets of judges . They'll swap pins with other delegates, go to parties organized for them, and enjoy an exclusive night at the Universal Studios.

One event that finalists enjoy is their encounter with Nobel laureates. Every year all delegates submit a question that they would like to ask one of the laureates.  Those whose questions deserve an airing are given a chance to stand up before the "Excellence in Science and Technology Discussion Panel" of Nobel Prize winners and shoot their questions. They'd be surprised that these scientists behave very much unlike the geeky persons they're pictured to be.  They're very much available for the photo-ops seekers.

Photo-op with a Nobel laureate.  Delegates from another country in ISEF 2009 pose for a souvenir photo with Dr Dudley Herschbach.

We'll check on our delegates if they had fun in their personal/pictorial encounters with Paul Berg (Chemistry, 1980), J. Michael Bishop (Physiology or Medicine, 1989), Martin Chalfie (Chemistry, 2008), Dudley Herschbach (Chemistry, 1986), H. Robert Horvitz (Chemistry, 2002), Douglas Osheroff (Physics, 1996), and Richard Roberts (Physiology or Medicine, 1993). 

We keep our fingers crossed that Team Philippines 2011 will bring home honors for our country.

Update:  YouTube video clip on Philippines Team Experiences at Intel ISEF 2011.