Science students shine at Intel fair

MANILA, Philippines - Four budding scientists from the Philippines, all recent graduates of the Philippine Science High School-Eastern Visayas campus, won fourth prize in the world’s largest pre-college science competition, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) held in San Jose, California earlier this month.

Sixteen-year-old MarcArthur Jordan Limpiado won an individual fourth prize in the Microbiology category for his research on the antimicrobial properties of Philippine seaweeds.

Jean Reni de Guzman, 16, Marc Mapalo, 16, and Ma. Clara Isabel Sia won in the Team Awards category in the area of Environmental Science for their group study on creating a natural treatment for red tide using indigenous materials.

 The four winners each won $500 cash prize and a tour of the US.

“During the competiton, we were very nervous, since the other projects were really very good. We’re also very happy that we brought honor to our country,” said Limpiado.

 “We were quite nervous because of the pressure. It didn’t really focus on the scientific side, they also saw to it that the scientists were enjoying the event. It is also a privilege because during the competition, we had a chance to pose a question to famous scientists,” Mapalo said of his ISEF experience.

“There was definitely a lot of pressure but we believe it’s also a very wonderful and unique pre-college experience for anyone, especially for young students like us,” said Sia.

It was learned that the four PSHS-Eastern Visayas triumph translated to two out of seven entries of the Philippines winning awards in the competition.

The competition involved 1,611 young scientists from 59 countries, regions and territories. This year, the Philippine delegation was made up of six students from secondary schools across the country who produced the top entries at the 13th Intel Philippine Science Fair, held at the University of the Philippines Diliman last February.

Limpiado is an incoming freshmen at UP Diliman taking up Chemical Engineering. De Guzman will enter UP Los Baños taking up B.S. Biology; Sia will be a freshman at the Ateneo de Manila taking up Computer Science; and Mapalo will enter UP Diliman taking up B.S. Molecular Biology.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2010 finalists were selected from 539 affiliated fairs around the world. Their projects were then evaluated onsite by judges from nearly every scientific discipline, each with a Ph.D. or the equivalent of six years of related professional experience in one of the scientific disciplines.