By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

AS it celebrates its 20th anniversary, the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology (DOST-PCASTRD) is setting its sights on strengthening the patent capabilities of the local scientific and engineering communities.

So far, the Philippines has produced a few patented technologies based from DOST-funded researches but the PCASTRD is looking to encourage more scientists to file patents as well as market these technologies to potential investors or business partners for use in different industries.

PCASTRD showcased seven supported projects, including a titanium nitride material coating process applicable for almost all large-scale industries, such as aeronautics and automobile manufacturing. This project was conducted by University of the Philippines Diliman professor Henry Ramos who was just awarded a patent from Taiwan last March and is in the process of acquiring patents in Singapore, Malaysia, the US and Europe.

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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

EVER increasing global demand for engineering professionals over the years has dented the country’s efforts in creating a pool of skilled workers, but several colleges and universities have banded together to reduce the “brain drain” by providing scholarships for masters and doctorate degrees for Filipino engineers.

The Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) project was started just recently to provide scholarships to talented engineering graduates. It was formed by a consortium of seven schools including the De La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, Ateneo De Manila University, Mindanao State University Iligan, University of San Carlos, Central Luzon State University, and spearheaded by University of the Philippines-Diliman.

The ERDT aims to attain a critical mass of engineers who are holders of masters and doctorate degrees. These engineers will be provided with scholarships to go back, study and find their niche expertise. Eventually, their intellectual capabilities would sustain the country’s efforts to build its economy, particularly in infrastructure development.

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HERE’S a video of me receiving a plaque of appreciation from Science Secretary Estrella Alabastro and Science Undersecretary Fortunato T. de la Peña on behalf of INQUIRER.net.

INQUIRER.net was the lone recipient in the online category, while our mother company, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, was among the newspapers cited in the print category.

Video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Alex Villafania on July 16, 2007 at the Dusit Hotel Nikko in Makati City.

DO you have at least a 128kbps Internet connection and RealPlayer installed on your PC? Then the good news is that you can watch a live webcast of the opening ceremony that will kick off National Science and Technology Week on July 16.

Yup, it’s NSTW from July 16 to 20, and the Department of Science and Technology will have a live webcast of the opening ceremony via PREGINET (Philippine Research, Education, and Government Information Network.

The opening ceremony will be held on July 16 at the Dusit Hotel Nikko in Makati City, with Senator Edgardo Angara as keynote speaker. The webcast will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 16 at rtsp://stream.pregi.net:554/encoder/nstw2007.rm.

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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

THE PHILIPPINES could face a shortage of livestock of cows, carabaos and goats in the coming years unless the government implements new measures to ensure continued animal production.

As such, a group of scientists and livestock raisers have proposed a long-term plan to produce enough ruminant livestock (cows, carabaos and goats) for domestic needs. The plan was presented by the University of the Philippines-Los Baños under the auspices of the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCCARD).

UPLB Writing Panel Chair Cesar Sevilla gave the report “Philippine Agriculture 2020: A Strategy for Poverty Alleviation, Food Security, Competitiveness, Sustainability, Justice and Peace” during the 13th Dioscoro Umali Memorial Lecture Series. Sevilla stressed the low production rate among raisers of cows, carabaos, goats, as well as dairy products, such as fresh milk and cheese.

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