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NATURAL, ECO-FRIENDLY WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM COPS FEATI’S TOP PRIZE
Combining business savvy and environmental consciousness, a natural wastewater treatment system devised by FEATI students has bagged the coveted Zara Cup for best invention in the university’s recently concluded Science & Technology Expo.
FEATInian Civil Engineering students Jet C. Agus, Angelica M. Alonzo and Lucky Ray L. Lim, under the supervision of their adviser Engr. Arnaldo C. Reyes, were awarded the top prize in the Documented Category for their “Design of Aquaponics System for Waste Water Treatment and Agriculture Use.” The method combines aquaculture, or fish farming, and hydroponics, a method of cultivating plants in mineral solution instead of soil. It enables natural material bacterial action to convert fish waste into plant food and recycle fresh oxygenated water, making fish grow at a phenomenal rate.
The award is named after national scientist and FEATI’s first vice president, Dr. Gregorio Y. Zara. A famous inventor and scientist, he invented the TV-Phone, the solar water heater, the alcohol-based aircraft engine and produced the first Philippine-made microscope.
The same group of students also emerged victorious in the Conceptual category for their “Green Roof Technology for Metro Manila Houses.” The study presents the conversion of traditional roofing into a prepared roof surface with vegetation, which can help prevent global warming and improve a building’s aesthetics.
Adopting the theme “Technology and Entrepreneurship” as this year’s theme, the Science & Technology Expo showcased students’ inventions and concepts which not only are ground-breaking, but also promote sustainable economic progress.
“The S&T Expo 2010 explored and, hopefully, demonstrated the utilitarian, practical and business aspects of technology and the research that feeds into it,” said Dr. –Ing. Adolfo Jesus R. Gopez, FEATI University president. “We hope that this event inspired our students to continue pursuing ideas that will make them successful entrepreneurs in the future.” (JO)
“Find a niche, and develop a product that targets that market’s requirements,” advised guest of honor Engr. Ramon I. Castillo, president of Innovatronix Inc. and holder of nine patents, in his keynote speech at the event’s opening. “Don’t give up; expect it to be hard. Just think that someday, when you’re famous, the adversities you faced along the way would make for an interesting story to tell,” he added with a smile.
Other outstanding works that promote environmental conservation in the expo included Information Technology students’ “Pasig River Rescue: An Edutainment Mobile Gaming on the Rehabilitation of Pasig River” and Electronics and Communications Engineering students’ “Robotic Waste Water Sweeper.”
In the inter-high school research competition, Victorino Mapa High School students won first place for their entry on “Sisal (Agave Sisalana) Fiber as Filter for Total Suspended Solids in Water.”
Also featured at the expo was the Urban Rehabilitation and Renewal of Carlos Palanca Street, a campaign spearheaded by the university’s College of Architecture and the Carlos Palanca Stakeholders Working Group. Through research and cooperation with the Manila government as well as the private sector, it aims to find solutions for the urban renewal of the street. This involves improving garbage management, flood control and vehicular congestion in the area, among other efforts. The project is part of a larger campaign by the University Belt Consortium, a group of 13 universities, including FEATI, in which each school is assigned a street to work on.
A previous FEATI University expo yielded the ongoing Pasig River Rehabilitation Project. Its goal is to rid tributaries or esteros along the river of toxic metal contaminants and restore its water quality. The campaign involves the Department of Science & Technology, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the U-Belt Consortium.
The project’s first phase, a research study on sampling sites along the Pasig River, revealed that 11 out of 14 canals contain harmful metal contaminants. These include cadmium, lead, zinc, copper and mercury. Much remains to be done to restore the historic ruin to its original pristine state.
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