To carry out our goal of promoting projects with societal impact and to nurture future engineers, UPERDFI awarded grants to two start-ups and six student projects that were chosen by the UPERDFI Innovation Committee from a pool of students, faculty and budding entrepreneurs who responded to UPERDFI’s call for Research-to-Market Project Proposals on January 26, 2024.
Subsequently, another two student projects were awarded by the Diliman Integrative Technology Consulting, Inc. (DITCI), drawing funds from the Research Grant that the company set up in 2018, the same time the DITCI Professorial Chair was established. DITCI is headed by former Dean Dr. Aura Matias.
The awarding ceremony was held on May 6, 2024 at the UP College of Engineering, Melchor Hall Maynilad Room. Joining the grantees and their advisers were UPERDFI Trustees Glen Tabios and Fred Chua, Members Tito Aliga, Chicho Mantaring, Bobby Batungbacal, Nicky Villaseñor and Pepe Santiago, and DED Norika Ishikawa; UPSCALE Leaders Louie Sison and Meggy Caparas; and UPCOE Dean Tonette Tanchuling and AD for Student Affairs Kate Tungpalan.
There were 27 student projects, 3 faculty-led projects, and 3 start-ups that sought financial assistance to further develop their products and service offerings. The rigorous evaluation process was done by the UPERDFI Innovation Committee composed of members from diverse backgrounds in industry, academe, government and civil society. They included Enrico Paringit, Executive Director of DOST-PCIEERD; Mary Rose de la Cruz, CEO of Stratpoint; Chicho Mantaring, Professional Lecturer at EEEI; Roberto Batungbacal, Executive Director of Makati Business Club; Nicanor Villaseñor III, Vice President of Philippine Foundation for Science and Technology; Frederick Chua, CEO of Magellan Solutions; Emmanuel Bautista, Senior Adviser of LF Philippines. The projects were selected based on their relevance, novelty or innovativeness, and sustainability.
UPERDFI hopes that these small grants can ripple into great results in the coming months.
Congratulations to the grantees, and let’s work together to enable you to succeed and deliver impact!
Start-up Grants (funded from the UPERDFI Innovation Grants Fund)
AAClatan – a Tagalog-focused Augmentative and Alternative (AAC) app
Proponents: Alfred Abanto, Ellyn Cassey Chua
Guided by: UPSCALE
KoolGear (a patented portable cooling device)
Proponents: Ivan Brent F. Nara, Irene Grace Ang
Guided by: UPSCALE
Student Grants (from the UPERDFI Student Projects budget)
“Electrification of Boats for Small-Scale Rural Fishing”
Proponents: Marissa F. Munar, Sheryl Diokno (EEEI)
Adviser: Prof. Lew Andrew R. Tria
“Design and Implementation of a oneM2M-based Remote Monitoring System for Water Distribution Networks Using Wireless Sensor Nodes”
Proponents: Hazel Mae D. Gadiaza, Abdul Azis M. Agantal, Wynne Angelo B. Arcilla, Francis Glenn D. Hernandez (EEEI)
Adviser: Prof. Jaybie A. de Guzman
“OpenBCI Signal Acquisition System”
Proponents: Charlene D.G. Flores, Ron Louis C. Nierva (EEEI)
Advisers: Profs John Richard Hizon, Marc Rosales, Paul Jason Co, Luigi Teola, Carl Timothy Tolentino
“Mechanical and Thermal Properties of a Graphene-Infused Epoxy Resin Reinforced with Silate-treated Fly Ash”
Proponent: Abdul Raqib S. Lucman (DMMME)
Adviser: Prof. Eduardo Magdaluyo, Jr.
“Synthesis of Nanocellulose Crystal/Zinc Oxide/Titanium Dioxide (NCC/ZnO/TiO2) Nanocomposite as an Alternative Ultraviolet (UV) Filter in Sunscreen Formulations”
Proponent: Selwyn Lucky Motita (DMMME)
Adviser: Prof. Eduardo Magdaluyo, Jr.
“Fabrication of Bamboo (Bambusa blumeana)-Reinforced Concrete (BRC) for Load Bearing Wall Panels Utilizing Expanded Perlite Aggregate (EPA)”
Proponent: Christelle Mae T. De Leon, Mary Margareth Celline C. Pablo (ICE)
Adviser: Profs Karlo Daniel Colegio, Nathaniel Diola
Student and Faculty Research Grants (from the DITCI Research Grants Fund)
“Development of Alginate/Kappa Carrageenan-Based Films as an Alternative to Commercial Single-Use Polyethylene Film Applications”
Proponent: Kirk Benedict Beau T. Damian (DMMME)
Adviser: Prof. Tiffany Louise B. Lao
“Parametric, Kinetic and Reusability Study of Microwave-Irradiated Gelatin-Rutin Hydrogel for Seawater Desalination”
Proponent: Trina M. Loria (EnE Program)
Adviser: Prof. Terence P. Tumolva
UPERDFI continues to raise funds for student prototyping projects and for investment in start-ups to support more projects in the future. We encourage UP students, faculty and young alumni to propose new projects on the verge of market interfacing. Email us to know how at info@uperdfi.org.
