NAST PHL ASM 2012 Guidelines for Abstracts Submission

CALL FOR PAPERS

FOR THE SCIENTIFIC POSTERS SESSION

National Academy of Science and Technology

34th Annual Scientific Meeting

11-12 July 2012; Manila, Philippines

Papers for the Scientific Posters Session on Agricultural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Chemical, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Engineering Sciences and Technology, Health Sciences, and Social Sciences are invited. The maximum number of posters to be presented by an author shall be limited to three (3) posters only, i.e., ONE (1) as MAJOR AUTHOR and TWO (2) as CO-AUTHOR. The papers must be (a) original or have not been presented in any other forum, events or competition, (b) minimum of undergraduate thesis, no highschool science projects or class laboratory experiments, and (c) no preliminary data.

 AUTHORS ARE REQUESTED TO SUBMIT THEIR ABSTRACTS at nast_scientificposter2012@yahoo.com NOT LATER THAN 15 JANUARY 2012.   ABSTRACTS SUBMITTED IN ANY OTHER MANNER SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Please follow the Format specified below:

• Typewritten in a 6” x 9” paper size with margins:  Top and Bottom = 1 inch and Right and Left = 0.75 inch
• Font type – use Times New Roman
• Title (centered, bold, upper and lower case, font size: 12)
• Author(s) (centered, bold, upper and lower case, font size: 11); authors should use first full names; underline presenting author; indicate with asterisk corresponding author.
• Affiliation and address (centered in upper and lower case, font size: 10); if authors come from different institutions indicate with superscripts respective affiliations. Address should be sufficient to enable interested parties to contact authors; including telephone, fax, and e-mail.
• Abstract body (justified, font size: 11)
• Keywords (justified in lower case)
• Submit file in word format (1997-2003 version)

Guidelines in preparing extended abstracts

1. Abstract should contain no more than 300 words.
2. The introduction should give scope and purpose and should be 2-3 short sentences only.
3. Describe experimental approach briefly.
4. Give highlights of results; be quantitative, if possible or as the nature of the paper permits.
5. Uncommon acronyms should be spelled out the first time they are used; if several acronyms are used, list them with their meanings at the end of abstract.
6. Give major conclusions.
7. Provide at least five keywords.
8. Do not list references in abstract text or body.

Abstracts, which do not follow above format/guidelines, will be returned automatically to authors.

Please check the NAST website for updates on the guidelines and for the list of abstracts received for screening/evaluation. Authors of accepted/rejected abstracts will be notified via email starting 02 May 2012 and will be given further instructions on poster presentation. Please note that traditional poster shall be the standard entries to the 34^th Annual Scientific Meeting Scientific Poster Session.

Filipino math wizards place 3rd overall in IMSO

The Philippine delegation placed third overall in the recently concluded 7th International Mathematics and Science Olympiad (IMSO) for Primary Schools held in Bali, Indonesia, 10-15 October.

The Filipinos got two gold medals courtesy of Farrell Eldrian Wu of MGC New Life Christian Academy (Taguig City) and Clyde Wesley Ang of Chiang Kai Shek College (Manila). The team was headed by Dr Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers Guild Philippines.

The team got a total of 19 medals (2 golds, 2 silvers and 15 bronzes) to land behind Thailand (5 G, 5 S and 1 B) and Indonesia (2 G, 8 S and 6 B).

Source: Hicap, JM. 2010. “RP math wizards win 19 medals in Indonesia.” In Manila Bulletin: National & Metro News Bulletin. 17 October 2010.

 

Filipino wins Asia’s Sudoku challenge

For the second time, Sarah Jane Cua, a fourth-year high school student of Pangasinan Universal Institute in Dagupan City, emerged as the champion in the BRAND’s Asia-Pacific Sudoku Challenge. The contest was held in Singapore, 17 October 2010.

Cua defeated contestants from Singapore, China, Thailand, Indonesia, India and Malaysia. She brought home 10,000 Singaporean dollars, S$300 BRAND’s Hamper, a glass trophy, a certificate and a one-year supply of BRAND’s Essence of Chicken product.

Sudoku is a logic-based, combinatorial number placement puzzle, wherein a number is placed in a box and appears only once in a row. It became popular in 1986 when the Japanese puzzle company Nikoli introduced it.

Dr Josefino Comiso, NASA physicist

The Polar Regions are among the key regions of interest in climate change studies because an increase in temperature due to global warming is amplified in these regions. In the process of studying the polar regions, Dr Josefino Comiso, a Filipino physicist working at NASA, discovered several techniques for measuring parameters in the polar regions.

Dr Comiso and his co-workers produced three world atlases on sea ice as observed by satellite microwave radiometers. These are now used by other scientists doing research on polar as well as global process.

He is also one of the leading authorities on polynyas and associated changes happening in the polar regions. Polynyas are semi permanent areas of open water in sea ice. He discovered the existence of a recurring polynya at the Cosmonaut Sea, south of the Indian Ocean. He studied the role of coastal polynyas around the Antarctic, the primary source of bottom water that circulates around the globe and recharges the world’s oceans.

For someone born in a land without snow, the outstanding accomplishment of Dr Comiso is truly something to be proud of.

Quink

Francisco Arguelles Quisumbing, a chemist invented an indelible ink, which cleans the pen as it writes. It dries quickly on paper but remains liquid inside the pen.

He called the ink Quink short for Quisumbing Ink. He established Quisumbing Ink products, Co. in 1923 and supplied the government with this ink.

Parker Company bought the rights to the ink with Dr Quisumbing’s stipulation that the trademark “Quink” would be retained. Since then, Quink has become a popular product in many countries all over the world.

UP Los Baños is the home of National Scientists

University of the Philippines Los Baños has produced the most number of National Scientists with 16.

University of the Philippines Diliman comes in second place with 9.

In close third is the Univeristy of the Philippines Manila with 8.

National Scientist Gelia Castillo

Known to be the First Filipina Rural Sociologist, she pioneered researches on the Filipino farmers, rural women, agricultural extension and community education that have helped policy makers in the understanding of social factors affecting agricultural and rural development in the country.  She was the first Filipina to be the Chair of the Board of International Potato Center in Lima, Peru.

At present, she is still busy with various review and evaluation teams. According to her, the best thing about being a member of evaluation teams is that the organisation under review is willing to make changes based on their recommendations or suggestions. For that matter, she added, they show their respect and trust to what you say because they follow it.

She wants to tell the youth that if they would like to be a scientist, then they must always remember honesty and integrity. According to her, “you can be more or less bright but you can never be more or less honest. It’s either you are honest or you are not.”

For her contribution as a social scientist, she was presented the Rizal Pro Patria Award (1976), Distinguished Alumnus Award of the UP Alumni Association (1975) and the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the UP College of Agriculture (1979). She was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist in 1999.

She was born on 03 March 1928 in Pagsanjan, Laguna. She got her doctorate degree from the Cornell University, USA in 1960.

National Scientist Mercedes Concepcion

Whenever the subject of demography comes up, the name of Mercedes Concepcion is usually associated with it.  The woman who was honored as the first Filipino demographer by the Philippine American Foundation in 2002 has racked up many “firsts” in her distinguished career.  She was the first Filipino staff member of the United Nations Statistical Training Centre set up at the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1955, the first Director of the then newly established Population Institute in UP Diliman in 1965, the first and sole Philippine Representative to the United Nations Population Commission in 1967, the first Woman to chair this UN Population Commission from 1969 to 1977, and the first Asian woman to be elected President of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population in 1981-1985.

The Vatican recognized Dr. Concepcion’s expertise when it invited her to be one of two Asian members of its Commission on Natality and Birth Control in 1965 which led to the promulgation of the famous encyclical Humanae Vitae three years later. She was also selected by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (now the Economic and  Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) to be a member and later chairperson of the Preparatory Committees for the Asian Population Conferences of 1963, 1972, 1984 and 1994.

A book on science culture

Building a Culture of Science in the Philippines is the consolidation of the reports culled from the indelible collaborations between the academe, private sector, government, NGOs and foreign governments in improving science and mathematics education and corresponding capability building programs in the Philippines. It also showcases various endeavors in developing and promoting science culture.

The book was edited by Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza, PhD, member of the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines and Research Professor III of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Angel One

Angel One is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) developed by Michael Poblete and Ivan de Vera of the Cavite-based RoboTeknik.

Low-cost yet effective. A lot cheaper than the Japanese ROVs used in the Guimaras oil spill, it reduces dependability on foreign technologies.

DEPTH RATING                                        100M
DIVING SPEED                                          0.5m/s
HORIZONTAL SPEED                              0.5m/s
CAMERA TYPE                                          Hi-Res CCD
CAMERA RESOLUTION                         520 TV Lines
LIGHT SOURCE                                          Dual LED
LIGHT INTENSITY                                  500 lumens

There has been one Angel One sold to the UP Marine Science Institute.