• This article was written by: Hansel Dy V-BS ECE.
  … reply

In line with Ateneo MS EcE class' discussion of special topics, students are required to present topics related to new technologies, trends and theories. And one of the students, assigned to share about the free/open source software philosophy, invited a speaker from the International Open Source Network (IOSN) to give an informative talk about the topic. The speaker, program manager for Southeast Asia of IOSN , Dr. Francisco Sarmiento, gave a talk entitled "IOSN: Connecting and Empowering Communities through F/OSS". The talk was held in CTC 315, Ateneo de Manila University on July 26, 2008.

The talk discusses the fundamentals of the free and open source philosophies: their beginnings, their present and future developments. Dr. Sarmiento also introduced IOSN to the students: what it is, what they do and what their projects are. Dr. Sarmiento's presentation slides and the reporter's materials are available here.

Ateneo MS EcE, with professors Dr. Celso Co and Dr. Rosula Reyes, would like to thank Dr. Francisco Sarmiento for giving a very informative talk on the F/OSS philosophy. To know more about F/OSS and IOSN, please visit: http://www.iosn.net.

In the recently concluded National Science and Technology Week, which was held alongside the 8th ASEAN Science and Technology Week last July 7 to 11, 2008, Ateneo de Manila University exhibited its breakthrough researches in the different fields. These researches include the Chemistry Department's CMIS or Chemical Management and Inventory System and study of Virgin Coconut Oil Quality, ECCE and Environmental Science Department's Oil from Algae research and the several research areas of the ECCE Department.

The event, which was held in World Trade Center Metro Manila, was also participated by organizations and universities from ASEAN countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore. The theme of the exhibit was "Making Science Work for You" – to promote new developments in Science and Technology and to provide a medium of collaboration between and among ASEAN countries in developing new technologies.

The event was organized by the Department of Science and Technology in line with its 50th year anniversary.

For more details, you may visit the official web site of the 8th National Science and Technology Week:

http://8th-astw.dost.gov.ph/

SMART FAST (Flood Alert Service Texts) emerged as the first runner up with a cash prize of Php300,000. It proposes the use of SMS to automatically collect and transmit data from sensors that determine flood levels in rivers and other bodies of water. This system also integrates services that allow for community participation during disasters through donation (Smart Money transfer services) and evacuation site status reports. The goal of the system is to prepare the community and the entire government machinery to anticipate the onset of and respond to possible damage caused by flood.

The members of the team are Adrin V. del Rosario (Team Leader, V – BS ECE), Roy Khristopher O. Bayot (V – BS ECE), and Archie Q. Dolit (V – BS ECE).

Second runner up went to SMART-GUARDS (SMART-Geared Up for Automated Response Disaster System), a wireless disease outbreak tracking system that monitors and provides information, description, alert dissemination protocols, and mathematical analysis accessible via the Internet, SMS, and MMS. Based on the data provided by hospitals and authorized health centers, the system is able to track and map trends, patterns, and the degrees of outbreak for a particular city using mathematical algorithms and software image processing. Essentially, this system protects Filipinos from viral and epidemic outbreaks such as dengue, bird flu, capillariasis and other contagious diseases.

Jimson G. Ngeo (Team Leader, V – BS ECE), Adriell Matthew Julius A. Dagasuan (V – BS ECE), Chrisandro M. Favila (V – BS ECE), and Jan Lester Gerard M. Lofranco (V – BS ECE), are the members of the team who received Php150,000 cash prize and the People's Choice Award.

The university also received equivalent amounts in the form of grants.

Another team made it as finalist, Smart Disaster Aversion, which integrates different inexpensive and easy to deploy sensors in order to prevent, empower, and locate the subscribers of impending disasters such as flood, typhoon, landslide, and earthquake. The SDA team is composed of Ted Angelo T. Chua (Team Leader – V – BS ECE), Mark David G. Abat (V – BS ECE), Jose Raphael C. Arenas (V – BS ECE), and Adrian Joseph C. Mozo (V – BS ECE), who received Php35,000.

All the three teams were mentored by Engr. Marie Engelene J. Obien. Support to the teams was provided by the SWEEP laboratory under the supervision of Engr. Maria Leonora C. Guico.

A highlight of the event is the PalaECEpan quiz contest, where 37 ECE student representatives from colleges and universities nationwide converged. Daryl Aaron C. Gaerlan (V – BS ECE), topped his group elimination round and made it to the finals, in which he won third place. He was mentored by Engr. Maria Leonora C. Guico.

For more pictures, visit the following links:

Dinner, Team Building, and Ingress

Day 1 – Part 1