GBF Young Scientist Awardees Receive Honorable Mention at Intel ISEF 2019
The “Hibla: An Alternative Sound Absorption Material” team project was lauded at the fair
by The JG Summit Team| May 17, 2019
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A team of three Gokongwei Brothers Foundation Young Scientist awardees—Neil David Cortez Cayanan, Shaira Castro Gozun, and E'van Relle Matic Tongol—had the distinction of receiving an honorable mention at the recently concluded Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held from May 12 to 17 in Phoenix, Arizona.
GBF General Manager Lisa Gokongwei Cheng; Neil David Cortez Cayanan, Shaira Castro Gozun, and E'van Relle Matic Tongol of Angeles City Science High School; Department of Education Assistant Secretary Alma Ruby C. Torio; and DepEd Director Jocelyn DR Andaya during the send off event for the Philippine contingent to Intel ISEF 2019.
The Acoustical Society of America, whose aim is to “generate, disseminate, and promote the knowledge and practical application of acoustics” took note of the team’s project “Hibla: An Alternative Sound Absorption Material.” Hailing from Angeles City Science High School in Pampanga, the team competed against more than 1,800 young scientists from more than 80 countries, regions, and territories.
The team was part of a larger Philippine contingent fully sponsored by the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, which partnered with the Department of Education in choosing this year’s delegates. The selection process began at the DepEd’s 2019 National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF) held in February 2019 in Tagaytay City. Entering “Hibla” in Physical Science category, the team was selected as one of the Best 6 Projects (team and individual) at the fair, which had the sustainable development and preservation of the country’s natural resources at its theme. The proponents of all six projects, a total of twelve student researchers, earned the privilege of representing the Philippines at Intel ISEF 2019 and were also bestowed with the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation Young Scientist Award.
Neil David Cortez Cayanan, Shaira Castro Gozun, and E'van Relle Matic Tongol at the DepEd's National Science and Technology Fair held in February.
Before their send-off to Arizona, the team from Angeles City spoke about their project with GBF. “The title of our project is ‘Hibla’ because we used natural fibers to create sound absorption materials,” explained Shaira Gozun. The team, mentored by research adviser Lolita G. Bautista, made use of abaca, bamboo, and water hyacinth fibers to create acoustic panels, which have wide-ranging practical use.
According to team member E'van Relle Tongol, they were inspired to create the project for two reasons. The first, was that in their public high school, the limited number of classrooms are often divided into two to accommodate more students. “Most of the time, noise can be heard through the [divided] classrooms, said Tongol. The second reason was that they wanted to discover how the source of Pampanga’s regular floods, the over-proliferation of the water hyacinth in the province’s floodways, could be solved. “We thought about solving one problem [the classroom noise] with another problem,” said Tongol.
With the success of “Hibla,” Neil David Cortez Cayanan hopes that it will spur the development of a home-grown acoustic treatment industry. “We are hoping that our study becomes a steppingstone to a new industry in the Philippines,” he said. “What we don’t realize is that we have the capacity and the local materials needed are really proudly Filipino.”
For more information on the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, please visit www.jgsummit.com.ph/gokongwei-brothers-foundation. You may also call (02) 451-8888 loc. 1118 or email Katherine.Manalo@gbf.com.ph
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