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Izah Morales INQUIRER.net Is your school engaged in green and eco-friendly activities? All public and private elementary, high school, and colleges are encouraged to join the National Search for Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Schools. The competition is the response of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to Republic Act 9512, which is a law promoting environmental awareness through education. "With their efforts recognized, we can encourage students, faculty and school administrators to adopt and promote eco-friendly practices in their schools, homes and communities," DENR Secretary Jose Lito Atienza said. Interested schools are required to submit a brief description of their environmental project in line with the theme, "Sustainable and Eco-friendly Initiatives." Only one entry per school will be accepted. Elen Basug, Chief of Environmental Education and Information Division of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), said that participating schools should first download an official entry form from EMB's website. Entries can be supported by documents, such as memoranda, school policies, photos of activities, videos, published articles, certificates, among others. For those joining the elementary and high school category, three copies of the documents should be submitted to DepEd division offices. For the tertiary level, entries shall be accepted by the EMB regional office. Winning schools in the national level shall receive P 50,000 (1st prize), P 40,000 (2nd prize), and P30,000 (3rd prize) with plaques of recognition. On the other hand, finalists in the regional level shall be given certificates of recognition and a P 5,000 cash prize. The winning entries will be displayed during the national awarding ceremonies in November 2009. The DENR launched this initiative along with the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education and Smart Communications. Entries should be submitted on or before April 30, 2009. For online submission, entries should be in JPEG format with a resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi), a minimum size of 1536 x 2048 pixels, and a maximum file size of 1MB and should be sent to ecofriendlyschools@gmail.com.

Alexander Villafania INQUIRER.NET MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines took home the silver medal at the recently held World Robot Olympiad 2008 in Yokohama, Japan. The Philippine team known as “Gracean Whizkids” from Grace Christian Elementary School beats 21 other schools. The team is composed of Joseph Aldrin Chua, Edrich Hans Chua and Dominique Hannah Sy. They were coached by Melanie Tizon and Warren John Ong Pe. Their project, dubbed "The G-Tech Robot Engineering a Better World," included 12 different types of robots doing various types of activities to save the environment. The Open Category required contestants to create robots under the theme, "Saving the Global Environment." Teams were judged according to appearance, uniqueness, interactive behavior, good engineering and stability. All the robots were made from parts of LEGO toys. South Korea took the gold medal in the elementary school level for open category, while Malaysia won bronze medal. South Korea also won gold medals for the Regular Category in the Elementary and High School Levels. The country was also represented in WRO 2008 by Benigno Aquino High School and the International School of Manila. They took 6th place in the Open Category in the High School and Elementary categories, respectively. This is the first time that the Philippines won a medal in the Elementary Level Open Category. The country had won medals in the High School Open Category in previous years.

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net GRACE Christian High School won a gold medal at the 6th World Robot Olympiad held on Nov. 18 in Taiwan. The team’s project called Operation Security Guaranteed is composed of a city diorama that has a group of security-based robots that fight fire, catch criminals and ensure building protection from would-be terrorist attacks. The Grace Christian High School team is composed of Bryan Lao, Alyssa Sheena Tan and Mark Ian Tan. They won the gold medal in the Open Category for the Junior Level. The team also presented their winning entry at the newly opened Science Discovery Center at the SM Mall of Asia. This is the second time that the Philippines won a gold medal in the annual robotics competition. First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities won the first gold medal for the Philippines last year. The Philippines also won five Excellence Awards for the rest of the Philippines representatives to WRO 2007. Awardees included teams from Grace Christian High School, First Asia Institute of Technology, Humanities, and Philippine Science High School-Bicol. The Excellence Awards varied from the Open Category Primary Level to Junior High School. Over 170 teams, composed of 800 students from 18 countries, joined the competition. Lego is a major sponsor of the event. Its computer-programmable Lego Mindstorms robot machines were the primary equipment used by the participants. The Philippine Robotics Olympiad was sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology and Lego distributor Felta Multimedia. The complete list of winners can be viewed at the WRO website.

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net TEAM Sinag has finished 11th out of the 21 participants in the Challenge category of the Panasonic World Solar Challenge (WSC) in Australia. Here's a photo of the Sinag solar car crossing the finish line in Adelaide. The Philippine team also finished 20th out of the total 38 participants in the WSC, an international competition for developers of solar-powered vehicles. The results are posted on the WSC website. The team’s solar car entry called “Sinag” (Filipino for “sunlight”) was able to finish the 3,021-kilometer race from Darwin to Adelaide at 4 p.m., on Oct. 27 (Australian time). It was the Nuon Solar Team from the Netherlands, with their car the Nuna4, that took the overall win in the competition, finishing the race on October 25. Like Team Sinag, the Nuon Solar Team is also in the same Challenge category, which is for first-time participants in the race. Despite being its first time to join, the Philippine team’s car did not stall throughout the journey across Australia. A few of the entries were put in trailers after experiencing technical difficulties. In a statement, Team Sinag technical head engineer Rene Fernandez described their performance as remarkable as this was their first time to join and they did not know what to expect. “It’s positive proof of not only the car’s solid design and construction, but also our own capability to successfully deploy solar power technology in the Philippines.” Team Sinag is composed of students from De La Salle University and is sponsored by about a dozen local companies, including Philippine Airlines, San Miguel Corp., Shell, Ford, Sunpower and Motolite. Here's a photo of Team Sinag after crossing the finish line.

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net THE SINAG solar car has traveled 633 kilometers as of the second day of the Panasonic World Solar Challenge in Australia. This would be the longest distance yet traveled by the first Philippine-made solar car. According to the Sinag Team website, Sinag is in 29th place out of 37 cars after they passed the stop at Dunmarra, which is the second stop during the 3,021-kilometer race. Team Sinag has also avoided failing along the race, despite 10 other vehicles being towed. The team’s next stop is Alice Springs, which is another 600 kilometers from Dunmarra. They would reach Alice Springs by October 24 where they will be displayed for a while. The event, which started last October 21, will end in October 28. It will run from Darwin to Adelaide. Team Sinag is composed of 15 students from the De La Salle University. This would be the first time that the Philippines will join the World Solar Challenge. It joined under the Challenge category.

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net STUDENTS from Grace Christian High School and the Philippine Science High School will lead the Philippine contingent for the upcoming 2007 World Robot Olympiad to be held in Taipei, Taiwan. The students from the two schools were the top winners during the recently held 6th Philippine Robotics Olympiad at the Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa City. They beat 69 other schools to become the country's representatives for the 2007 WRO. Winning in the elementary level is Grace Christian High School "Team A" composed of Carlos Cheng, Jordan Chua and Kyle David Dee, with their coach Warren John Ong. They won the Best in Robo Rally category, as well as the Best of the Best category. Meanwhile the High School Level winner is Philippine Science High School "Bicol Team A" composed of Anton Mari Carreon, Reiland Cordial and Emmanuel Valdoria, with their coach Sevedeo Malate. They won in the Best Robo Ambulating Rally and the Best in Train of Alishan categories. The event is sponsored by Felta Multimedia, which distributes the Lego Mindstorm robotics kit that was used during the competition, and supported by the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI). In an interview, Felta Multimedia president Mylene Abiva Sazon said the top team in each level will be fully supported for their competition in the 2007 WRO. However, the second and third winners for each level will also have a chance to join in the competition. "For the second placers, we’ll be paying for their hotel accommodations only while the third placers will have to shoulder their expenses," Sazon said. She noted that the interest in robotics has increased this year, following the Philippine team's win of its first gold medal in the 2006 WRO in China by students from the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities in Tanauan City, Batangas. She also said robotics has become more than just a pasttime for students joining the competition but a serious activity that develops critical thinking and problem solving skills in young people. "Hopefully, we [will] surpass our performance last year for the upcoming contest," Sazon said. The WRO is an international competition of primary and secondary students who develop small robots with rudimentary programming. Competitions vary from obstacle courses, racing and dioramas depicting robots in various activities.

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net THE FILIPINO delegation to the 3rd International Mathematics Invitational Competition has garnered the most number of medals and awards in all the math competitions joined by the Philippines this year. Forty-four out of 59 Filipino elementary and high school students won a total of 11 gold, 12 silver, 21 bronze and 15 merit awards at the 3rd IMC held in Singapore on August 18. The Philippine team, trained by the Mathematics Trainers' Guild Philippines (MTG), competed against China, India, Malaysia and Singapore. The names and details regarding the 3rd IMC can be seen on the MTG website. In an interview with INQUIRER.net, MTG president Simon Chua said the Philippines was among the leaders in medals and awards won during the event, with China taking home the most. "According to the organizers, they gave 52 gold medals, more than 100 silver medals and more than 200 bronze medals. We're blessed because some of the other countries did not garner as much," Chua said. He noted that China sent over 226 students while Singapore had 346 elementary and high school students. Seventy percent of the contestants have the opportunity to be awarded with medals, though they have to meet the cut-off score specified by the organizer, which is the Beijing Hecate Center of Cultural Communication. The contest was divided into three parts, with 10 multiple choice, 10 fill in the blanks, and three problem-solving questions that required a presented solution. The contest aims to promote mathematics awareness and encourage young people to take the subject seriously. The contest is also a step in preparing for the prestigious International Mathematics Olympiad.

THE COUNTRY held its first ever online ozone layer protection quiz, and two students from Philippine Science High School emerged victorious in the finals, earning the right to represent the Philippines in the Asia Pacific sub-regional quiz in Bangkok. Here's an excerpt from the PNA article that came out in Bayanihan.org:

This victory gave the tandem of Paulo Miguel Manzanilla and Lawrence Medina the right to represent the Philippines in the Asia-Pacific sub-regional ozone layer quiz in Bangkok, Thailand tentatively scheduled on June 30 this year, the DENR said.

Each of them will also receive a prize of PhP5,000 while their coach will get PhP10,000. The winning PSHS team will likewise receive roundtrip airline tickets and accommodation for the Bangkok competition.

STUDENTS and professors from De La Salle University are aiming for the next international event to conquer. This time it will be the prestigious World Solar Challenge in Australia, a competition that pits developers of solar-powered vehicles from around the world. Forty people from the DLSU and their corporate partners have been developing the first Philippine-made solar-powered car, which has been christened "Sinag" ("sunshine" in Filipino), that will be entered in the competition, which will be held in October 2007. In an interview with INQUIRER.net, Merritt Partners chairman and former energy secretary Vincent Perez said the development of the first Philippine-made solar-powered car that will be entered in the competition is one of the biggest undertakings related to energy development that brings together various private firms and an academic institution. Perez said the solar-powered car will pose a major challenge to DLSU as it has never created a vehicle that runs solely on solar energy. "That's why this group of private entities is working together to help them build this car." Perez added that the endeavor of building the solar-powered car and joining a major competition will be further proof of Filipino ingenuity. "It's our next Mount Everest," Perez said, referring to the three Filipina climbers who recently made history. Meanwhile, DLSU Manila chancellor Carmelita Quebengco said the school has been teaching subjects related to solar energy and alternative fuel, and the Sinag Project will be the best method to apply what the students have learned. She also said that while joining the World Solar Challenge will be an extremely grueling endeavor, the Sinag Project Team is not expected to win any award. "We're not looking to win but to finish the game and prove that we Filipinos can also do it." The World Solar Challenge is an annual event joined mostly by research and development teams from international universities. The goal is to race through 3,000 kilometers of open roads from Darwin to Adelaide with minimal maintenance on the solar-powered vehicle. DLSU Mechanical Engineering Department professor and head of the Sinag technical team Rene Fernandez said they already have the basic design for the car's monocoque shell, with the solar cells to be integrated to its upper surface. "SunPower provided the solar cells while Motolite provided the batteries. We already have the materials and equipment ready and hopefully, we finish before the October race," Fernandez said. Fernandez said that of the 40 people working on the car, 12 will go to Australia for the competition, four of whom will be the drivers. The car itself is expected to be unveiled by September. DLSU has partnered with about a dozen private entities to develop the Philippine-made solar car. Among these firms are Philippine Airlines, San Miguel Corp., Shell, Ventus, Ford Group, Motolite and solar panel manufacturer SunPower. Other partners include Aurora Cabrera Lavadia and Associates, JWT, Creasia, Merritt Partners, Gochermann Solar Technology, StratWorks and Tuason Training School.

TWO projects from the Philippines were among the top winners in the recently held Global Development Marketplace Competition organized by the World Bank in association with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as part of an international initiative to identify emerging development ideas. The two Filipino projects were among the 2,900 entries that were submitted to the competition, and one of the nine Filipino projects that made it to the top 104 finalists. They will be awarded with grants of up to $200,000. The Development Marketplace has awarded $40 million to more than 1,000 projects through global and country-level competitions since 1998. This year, it has allocated $4 million in grants for the winning projects. The first project created by Asian Alliance of Appropriate Technology Practitioners Inc. or Approtech Asia. Their project is to train 200 street food vendors in Metro Manila in preparing highly nutritious, hygienic, affordable food packages from indigenous plants and animals, and provide common hygienic kitchen facilities for these food vendors. The second winning project is from International Resources Group Philippines, which will set up two health banks for the poor in island towns of Obando, Bulacan. The health banks will provide milk, vitamin supplements and medicine to children in exchange for recyclable goods. The two groups' winnings from the Development Marketplace funds will allow them to carry out their projects for up to two years. South Asia was the most represented region among winners, with seven of the 22 projects. Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean followed with six winners each. The largest number of winners from a single country was from India, with four projects, followed by Kenya, Malawi, Costa Rica, Haiti, the Philippines and Bangladesh with two each.