GMA News

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino scientist currently studying in the United States has found a new source of coherent light, like lasers, which only potentially needs lower power to operate, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said on Wednesday.

In a press statement, the DOST’s Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) said Ryan Balili, together with his adviser David Snoke of University of Pittsburgh, were able to demonstrate that the transition of particles into waves could be done at higher temperature which would require lesser power to generate.

The phenomenon is called Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC), named after Indian physicist Satyendranath Bose who worked on the statistics of monoatomic ideal gases and Albert Einstein who speculated this macroscopic coherent state.

“Einstein proposed that at very low temperatures a certain type of identical particles, now called bosons, would’collapse,’ or condense, into a single quantum mechanical wave.

“However, in Balili’s work, he was able to demonstrate the same phenomenon at higher temperatures using polaritons, an energy particle which exists only in a medium that can be polarized by an electromagnetic wave,” the statement explained.

It quoted Balili as saying that the main challenge was making the polariton transition into a BEC even if polaritons exist only for very short times, approximately a few picoseconds.

Nevertheless, Balili and his adviser were able to trap polaritons which turned into a single, spatially compact condensate of gas analogous to atomic BEC.

“One way to think of a polariton BEC is that it is a state of matter that has some of the properties of a laser and some of the properties of a superconductor,” the DOST-SEI statement said.

Balili and his group at the University of Pittsburgh said that what they were able to show is that the emitted light of the polariton BEC and its electrons are coherent, which is a property of superconductors that allows it to make electric current flow without resistance and wavelike interference of electrical signals.

He said that the most promising applications of the polaritons BEC are in optical devises which takes advantage of laser-like sources at low-power coherent light sources.

“This may be useful for signaling, switching, and amplification in optical communications,” he said.

Balili, a 2002 summa cum laude Bachelor of Science in Physics graduate of the Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, is currently taking up his doctorate in Physics at the University of Pittsburgh where he also finished his Master of Science in Physics.

Balili was a scholar of the DOST during his undergraduate years.

Dr. Ester B. Ogena, director of the DOST-SEI, lauded Balili’s work saying his discovery is a manifestation of the caliber of scholars the DOST is getting every year.

“We are the germination box of soon-to-be great names in the science and technology world. Balili is just one of them and every year we get around 3,500 scholars who in the future would propel the Philippines into first world status,” she said in the statement.

Ogena expressed optimism that more DOST-SEI scholars would make a mark in science and technology with the implementation of the Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program (ASTHRDP) and the Engineering Research and Development for Technology Program (ERDTP) which provides students to proceed to the MS and PhD studies as a scholar.

“We are beefing up our critical mass of scientists and engineers through the ASTHRDP and ERDTP by providing them with scholarships in our top universities,” she said.

Ogena avowed to continuously entice students to venture into science careers through promotional programs and scholarship grants.

“We shall be at the forefront of science and technology human resources development and create the necessary critical mass of scientists and engineers the Philippines needs,” she said.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — Mac, the Filipino-made explosives disposal robot, has just succeeded in first mission.

The one-armed, night-seeing robot developed by students from the Mapua Institute of Technology won the top prize in the recently held First World Cup of Computer-Implemented Inventions in Shanghai, China, said Senior Supt. Gilbert Cruz, Makati City police chief.

“We have prepared a hero’s welcome for Mac and the team,” Cruz said over the phone Wednesday.

According to Cruz, Mac beat entries from 84 countries which joined the event.

He said Mac — short for mechanical anti-terrorist concept — and his team of creators from Mapua led by John Judilla–arrived Tuesday night via Philippine Air Lines.

Cruz himself commissioned the development of the robot to help members of the city’s Bomb Disposal Unit handle bomb threats that business establishments in Makati receive every week.

The robot was unveiled in Makati’s business district last week.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–A soft-spoken Filipina in her early twenties was recently named project leader of one of many open source community projects run by the Apache Software Foundation.

Maria Odea “Deng” Ching, 25, became the first Filipino vice president and project management committee chairperson of the Apache Archiva Project of the foundation, a non-profit organization that supports numerous open source projects around the world.

In an interview, Ching said she is also one of two women members of the Apache Archiva Project project management committee, which is composed of 15 members.

A graduate of Bachelor Science in Computer Studies from the De La Salle University in Manila, Ching is currently working for software development firm Exist Global, which holds office in Ortigas Center in Pasig City.

A programmer by training, Ching said that “hard work” and active participation in the open source community has led her to being voted chairperson of the project.

The Apache Archiva Project is a top-level open source project that provides global software developers with a repository for components needed to build software applications.

As part of her responsibility in Exist Global, Ching said she has been actively contributing to the project–begun in March 2008–until she assumed her current position.

There are about 1,000 developers involved in the Apache Software Foundation, which is currently doing more than 60 projects.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–James Gosling, one of the creators of the Java programming language and environment, has chosen a Philippine made Java-based application aimed at helping doctors in rural areas manage poisoning cases as among the most innovative applications from around the world, a University of the Philippines Computer Science professor told INQUIRER.net on Tuesday.

Students from the UP Department of Computer Science who developed the Expert System for Poisoning (EPS), have won in this year’s Duke’s Choice Awards, according to UP professor Prospero Naval of the Department of Computer Science.

The ESP application is a “clinical decision support system for the diagnosis and management of poisoning,” according to the project information that Naval provided.

“ESP was designed to help doctors in the provinces who don’t know a lot about poisoning to diagnose quickly. In cases of poisoning, doctors have to act quickly,” he said in a telephone interview.

Naval and Riza Batista-Navarro guided computer science students Diana Bandojo, Ma. Jaymee Gatapia, and Reggie Santos in the development of the ESP prototype.

Naval said medical expertise and direction were provided by Dr. Alvin Marcelo, director of the National Telehealth Center in UP Manila.

Gosling handpicks winners for the Duke’s Choice Awards, according to the award’s website.

“Winners are selected by James Gosling and the Java technology leadership team. Judging will be based on the innovation and creativity of the Java technology-based applications and services, including web applications and tools, mobile applications and services, games, and card-based applications,” the website added.

Naval said the ESP prototype is a system that can be handled by trained physicians or health professionals.

After being supplied basic information such as symptoms, the application use a knowledge base of common poisons and a rules-based approach to generate an assessment or set of recommendations, which are then presented to doctors for consideration.

Naval said that the ESP is still in phase one, and could be developed further.

The UP professor said the next step is to develop a mobile phone-based version of the application.

In 2005 alone, there was only one doctor for every 80,000 in the Philippines, according to a presentation of the ESP project.

The prototype has been valided using 50 test cases, where about 82 percent of the actual results consist of the expected result in the first or second rank in the list of possible poisoning types, the ESP presentation said.

Gosling did the “”original design of the Java programming language and implemented its original compiler and virtual machine,” according to his biography on the Sun Microsystems website.

Good News Pilipinas

Ten exceptional students have earned the right to represent the Philippines in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, Georgia, in May this year. They were selected during the Intel Philippine Science Fair in Tagaytay City.

Chosen as the Philippine representatives to Atlanta were Jed Sidney Oliva of Ballesteros National High School in Cagayan for his project “MORH: Jedoque Process of increasing the compressive strength and lessening the water absorbency of hollow blocks;” Andrew Diamante, Visayas State University Laboratory High School, “Prediction of total soluble solids in ripe mangoes based on their electrical resistance;” Steven Tan, The Quantum Academy Inc. of General Santos City, “Pharmaceutical compounds (antibacterial immunobooster) from Barringtonia Asiatica and Garcinia Mangostana;” Louie Lugto, Don Alejandro Roces Sr. Science and Technology High School of Quezon City, “Isolation and characterization of the most cytotoxic fraction of select Philippine poisonous crabs;” Michelle Borbon, Rachel Bernadas and Mary Cris Corpuz of Gingoog City Comprehensive National High School, “A comparative study on mangrove species diversity at different locations in Pangasihon Forest;” and Marvin Ambrosio, Rachel Cahilig and Adrian Patacsil of Philippine Science High School of Quezon City, “Construction of a mechanical prototype of a micro tremor recorder.”

“Just as Intel is continually innovating and evolving, through young geniuses like the Intel Philippine Science Fair participants, the [science fair] continues to be a venue that keeps alive the spirit of unlimited possibilities and the excitement of the next scientific discovery,” said Arlita Narag, Intel corporate affairs manager.

The Intel Philippine Science Fair is an annual science-project competition that draws participants from all over the country.

The first prize winners in the Life Science category were: Cluster 1- Individual, Steven Tan of The Quantum Academy Inc.; Cluster 1-Team, John Vincent Gabiano and Mae Ann Tabasin of Maasin National Comprehensive High School, Maasin, Iloilo; Cluster 2-Individual, Louie Lugto of Don Alejandro Roces Sr. Science and Technology High School in Quezon City; and Cluster 2-Team, Erwin Angelo Amago, John Isaac Merin and Lawreanne Sanico of Philippine Science High School in Eastern Visayas.

In the Physical Science category, the first prize winners were: Cluster 1-Individual, Jessel Fatima Cane of Bayugan Comprehensive National High School; Cluster 1-Team, Marc Amando Marquez, Anna Rose Malapad and Rachel Aurora Chi of Marinduque National High School; Cluster 2-Individual, Andrew Diamante of Visayas State University Laboratory High School; and Cluster 2-Team, Marvin Paolo Ambrosio, Rachel Ruth Cahilig, and Adrian Patacsil of Philippine Science High School in Quezon City.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – Two electricity-powered jeepneys or e-jeepneys began plying a set route in Makati City yesterday, part of a two-month pilot test run to fine tune their adaptability as a commercial public transport.

The e-jeepneys, presented to the public last July 4 by the Makati City government, Green Independent Power Producer (GRIPP) and Greenpeace, will be picking up passengers in Bel-Air Village and unloading them at Rockwell Center and vice versa.

This is the first public route to be used by the e-jeepneys which offer free rides to commuters.

Greenpeace-Southeast Asian and GRIPP officials, however, criticized the Land Transportation Office for the delay in the issuance of the vehicles’ registration papers.

In a statement, Greenpeace said the e-jeepneys’ route was limited to private roads as the LTO has not yet classified the vehicle.

The LTO said it must first get a certification from the Department of Science and Technology on the specifics of the e-jeepneys before it can formulate the rules on registering this type of vehicle.

GRIPP and Greenpeace called on concerned government agencies to fast track the classification and registration of the electric jeepneys and to create the right regulatory framework and environmental policy so that the vehicles could start plying commercial routes.

“The climate problem exacerbates urban environmental challenges for our cities. The national government should take this seriously and heed the international scientific community’s findings that governments should quickly find and implement climate solutions of which the e-jeepney is an example,” said Jasper Inventor, a climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace.

Inventor said Makati had shown leadership by pioneering projects that address air pollution and climate change.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said he was “very optimistic” about the e-jeepneys’ test phase and that the vehicles would soon become a common sight in the city.

“The e-jeepneys will offer a cheaper fuel alternative to jeepney drivers while creating a positive impact in the city’s air quality,” he added.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino ingenuity and faith powered the Philippines’ rookie solar car race team to reach the finish line of the 3000-kilometer World Solar Challenge in Australia.

All first-timers in solar car construction and operation, the 15-man Team Sinag (ray of light) carried the Philippine flag through the finish line of the WSC desert race, reportedly the most prestigious competition for solar-powered cars.

The country’s pioneering solar car team finished 11th place out of 20 teams in the race’s Challenge class, edging out cars from France, Canada, Chile and one of two entries from the host country.

“When we reached the finish line, it was an ecstatic experience. We traded lots of shirts with other teams… It’s really a good community and we’re really fortunate we got to meet them,” said team member Martin Sy-Quia.

Assembled from a group of engineering professors, graduates and students of De La Salle University-Manila, Team Sinag shone brightly, finishing the grueling race from Darwin to Adelaide (a north to south traverse) in six days, a day ahead of the deadline.

They finished the race on October 27 after nine-hour, non-stop daily runs from the starting line in Darwin on October 21, running at an average speed of 60 kilometers per hour. It was the determined ideal speed for Sinag, the Philippines’ first solar race car. At this rate, its charge could be maximized for the day’s required mileage.

“We had to compute every minute for our speed. All other teams used software to calculate their set speed, but in our case, we had four guys sitting in a car, two laptops, a calculator,” said Robert Obiles, overall student leader.

“We manually calculated our velocity, speed and next set point distance every, say, five minutes. And that’s from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” he added, explaining that speed must always be computed against the car’s remaining charge to ensure that it had enough power to end the day’s run.

They may have been two full days behind the winner, four-time champion Nuon and its car, Nuna 4, from the Netherlands, but this did not diminish the team’s elation. That they finished 11th out of 20 teams was not even expected as Sinag’s class included contenders from the United Kingdom, the United States, Wales, Taiwan and Senegal.

“These young adventurers have gone where no Filipino has gone before. They’ve bested other hi-tech competitors from around the world to finish the race a day ahead of schedule at 11th place, an overwhelming cause for celebration and pride,” said DLSU Chancellor Carmelita Quebengco, who considered Sinag’s victory “tops” over the school’s recent victory in the collegiate basketball championship.

Backed by cooperation from the government and the private sector (automotive, transport and power companies), Team Sinag unveiled the country’s first solar race car in January, some eight months since it was built from scratch.

It is said to be a record time in solar car construction, since most members of the team had never designed a car before.

“The top cars used space-grade solar panels which have very powerful cells while we used terrestrial cells for commercial use, although they were still highly efficient,” said Jac Catalan, assistant project leader.

With the help of experienced consultants, Sinag’s engineers manually designed the vehicle using available solar technology in the country, creating a car with a “sleek monocoque shell ” that can run up to 110 kilometers per hour.

A monocoque is a metal structure, such as an aircraft, in which the skin absorbs all or most of the stresses to which the body is subjected.

“They were basically impressed by the car… When we arrived at the race way, the scrutineer (car inspector) told us we were among the most prepared teams. We completed the scrutineering (pre-race check) and the scrutineer was impressed with how prepared we were in terms of safety,” Obiles said.

“One of them (participants) told us that for something handmade — they’re used to computer-designed machines — the finish was very fine,” said Sy-Quia.

Every race day posed a different challenge for the team. Besides, contending with the technical requirements of powering a solar car and making the daily deadline, the team had to endure camping in the Australian outback.

“From Sunday to Saturday, we woke up at 6 a.m., then everyone rushed to set up the solar panel because the sun was already rising. We installed the panel then charged the batteries. Then at exactly 8 a.m., we had to go or lose precious minutes,” said Catalan.

“Then we spent the entire day chasing the deadline, we checked at the control stops — we had seven of them along the entire route. At the end of the day, the challenge is to calculate the speed to stop at the right campsite,” he said.

On good days, the team found ideal camping spots. On bad days, there would be tire blowups and they would have to set up camp where they were.

“Once, we stopped in a place which was not exactly a campsite. There was a fence going nowhere, it was previously a quarantine center that had long been shut. We set up there, turned on our lights using the generator… and all the insects of Australia were there,” said Catalan, laughing at the recollection.

“We were just on the side of the road, there were a lot of flies and a lot of moths and we had to cook at that place,” said Obiles.

It was also very cold. “Since it’s far south, it’s cold. We had to gather firewood and make a fire,” he said.

Sy-Quia, who was responsible for preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner for the team, had his challenges to hurdle while on the road in Australia.

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Philippine Daily

A Filipino marketing manager and an American who works with Chinese orphans are among eight foreigners living in China who have been picked to join in the 2008 Beijing Olympics torch run across the country, organizers said Friday.

Marcos Antonio Torres was picked from among 262 applicants in a contest organized by Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group, an Olympic sponsor, and the government newspaper China Daily. Each will carry the torch for 200 meters on Chinese soil.

Torres is a marketing manager in Beijing who launched an online campaign to appeal for votes. He said it made him a celebrity in his homeland.

“It started out with one e-mail which I forwarded to people in my address book. After that, I wrote a blog, and then a day or two after there were over 1,000 blogs about my appeal,” he told The Associated Press.

“Then I went to the Philippines for national holidays and I was invited by TV and radio. In fact, it wasn’t just any TV and radio shows. I appeared on the No. 1 radio station in the Philippines,” he said.

Torres has been living and working in the Chinese capital since June 2006. He also writes for Metrozine, which he describes as the top bilingual magazine in Beijing.

He wanted to witness the 2008 Olympics so much he declined an opportunity to move to Shanghai.

In his desire to become an Olympic torchbearer, Torres “e-mailed everyone [he] possibly [knew] including [his] office e-mail address,” which connected over 400 persons in nine cities worldwide, to ask them to vote for him.

In the website www.pinoytorchbearer.com, he said that even company founder Moira Moser voted for him.

Numerous blogs, websites, television and radio stations in the Philippines have supported him in his dream.

A sports buff, Torres was captain of his college’s volleyball team and had won amateur badminton tournaments. He also enjoys bowling and playing tennis.

Meanwhile, American Jenny Bowen, from San Francisco, lives in Beijing and runs a foundation to help Chinese orphans. People who answered the phone at the foundation’s Hong Kong office said she was in the United States and not immediately available for comment.

The other winners come from India, Venezuela, German, Russia, Japan and Colombia. They will be among 19,400 runners who are to carry the torch across China for the games next August.

Lenovo hopes the Games will help to make it a global brand following its 2005 acquisition of IBM Corp.’s personal computer unit. The Beijing-based company’s designers created the 2008 Olympic torch.

The final selection was made by a panel of Lenovo and China Daily employees after nearly 300,000 people voted in a month-long online campaign, according to the newspaper.

Candidates had to show an appreciation of Chinese culture and history and a devotion to communicating the “real China” to the world, the China Daily said.

The winners still require approval by the Beijing Organizing Committee of the games.

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The Philippine Star

The victory of Team Sinag at the World Solar Challenge (WSC) in Australia is a triumph of homegrown Filipino talent.

De La Salle University (DLSU) students who built Sinag, the country’s first solar-powered vehicle, take pride on how they and their professors made history when their invention finished 11th in a field of 41 after a weeklong race covering 3,000 kilometers.

The vehicle, from its sleek monocoque shell to its dynamically adaptive electrical system, is proudly Philippine made.

Its unique back-contact mono-crystalline solar cells, which are among the most efficient commercial solar cells in the world, were made in Laguna.

Team Sinag said the vehicle was designed and built from scratch in a record time of less than a year by students from DLSU-Manila, with the support of Ford Group Philippines, Motolite, Philippine Airlines, and San Miguel Corp.

Pilipinas Shell, SunPower, U-Freight, and Ventus, Aurora, Cabrera Lavadia and Associates, JWT, CreAsia, Merritt Partners, Tuason Racing School, Gochermann Solar Technology, and Stratworks also supported the project.

A total of 41 teams from around the world competed in the WSC’s various classes, with the Philippine team reaching the finish line in Adelaide at around 4 p.m. Saturday.

“The Philippine flag has reached Adelaide!” proclaimed Sinag technical head engineer Rene Fernandez as the car crossed the finish line where it was greeted by a small crowd of Filipino well-wishers.

“A dream come true. This is a very remarkable success for us, especially as first-timers, because we were able to beat almost a dozen other more experienced teams from other countries. 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,” Fernandez said.

“All the months of hard work and preparation really paid off. We managed to do more and go farther than any of us thought possible,” said Eric Tan, Sinag’s lead driver.

The all-Filipino Team Sinag was warmly welcomed by the Lord Mayor of Adelaide Michael Harbison and by Hans Tholstrup, founder of the WSC and the first person to cross Australia in a solar car.

Winners of this year’s WSC were honored at an awarding ceremony held yesterday at Adelaide’s Victoria Square. The Nuon Solar Team from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands won first place. Umicore of Belgium won second place, and Australia’s own Aurora Challenge placed third.

Philippine Solar Car Challenge Society chairman Vince Perez said the team achieved its first triumph when their vehicle Sinag passed the strict qualifying events to compete in the Challenge Class of the race.

The country’s first ever solar-powered car performed exceptionally well from the moment it left the starting line in Darwin on Oct. 21.

Needing only minor adjustments in its brake system, the Philippine solar car quickly jumped to 11th place overall. The team maintained this position and made excellent time, passing the halfway mark at Alice Springs on Wednesday, Oct. 24, and breaching the 2,000-km mark at Cadney Homestead the following day.

By the evening of Friday, Oct. 26, the team had already made its way to Glendambo, the second to the last stop, less than 500 km from the finish line and made it in high spirits to Adelaide on Saturday.