Allan N. Estrella (BS Electronics and Communications
Engineering), Alexander Edward S. Dy (BS Biology) and
Paulo Isagani M. Urriza (BS Computer Engineering).
Students were commended for excelling in their fields.
A future medical doctor, a would-be electronics and communications engineer, and a promising computer engineer are UPD’s recipients of this year’s Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) – Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Science Awards
Allan N. Estrella (BS Electronics and Communications
Engineering), Alexander Edward S. Dy (BS Biology) and
Paulo Isagani M. Urriza (BS Computer Engineering).
Alexander Edward S. Dy (BS Biology), Allan N. Estrella (BS Electronics and Communications Engineering) and Paulo Isagani M. Urriza (BS Computer Engineering) were honored at the 18th BPI-DOST Science Awards on February 20 at the Melchor Hall Theater.
Dy’s interests in protozoans or the single-celled organisms, which cause diseases, led him to his thesis “Development of a Rapid Detection Kit for Amoebiasis Patients through Salivary IgA.”
With his study, Dy hopes to contribute to the improvement of the country’s sanitation.
Estrella, on the other hand, is part of the team that conceptualized the thesis “Axel Activity Monitor. “
The activity monitor is intended for patients who had undergone surgery. The project resembles a watch, but instead of telling the time, it indicates how much activity a person undertook.
“We know that a person recuperating from a surgery needs to limit his activity so he does not fall into a relapse,” Estrella said.
Urriza, who plans to take up graduate studies and teach in UP, was chosen for his research project “Implementation of Space-Time Encoders in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA’s).”
The project is a system that allows a group of antennae to communicate simultaneously without interfering with one another.
“The main reason I chose this topic is because of the challenge. The field of space-time encoding in communications is a very new and exciting field. It is filled with challenges, areas for improvement and unsolved problems. I think communications is very relevant in our day and age,” Urriza said.
The BPI Foundation, Inc., together with DOST, recognize and give incentives to outstanding young men and women from all over the Philippines who excel in specialized fields of science, namely: mathematics, physics, engineering, chemistry, biology and computer science.
Each year, three exceptional students from leading universities and colleges nationwide are selected for their achievements in their respective fields.
—Bino C. Gamba