CEAT’s Department of Chemical Engineering holds Centennial Professorial Lecture Series

The Department of Chemical Engineering of the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT-DChe) held the Centennial Professorial Lecture Series on the theme “The Role of UPLB in Strengthening the Growth of Chemical Engineering Education and Research” on March 12 at the AMTEC Conference Room.

Three professorial chair lecturers discussed different aspects of chemical engineering education and research. Dr. Jovita L. Movillon discussed the instruction aspect, Professor Rex B. Demafelis covered the research aspect, and Dr. Manolito L. Bambase talked on strengthening alumni relations.

Dr. Movillon discussed Republic Act 9297 known as the Chemical Engineering Law, defined the scope of chemical engineering, and provided a brief history of its development since February 1983.  She said that UPLB was the benchmark for the curriculum in some schools in Malaysia.

According to Dr. Movillon, DChe has conducted a survey among students aimed at helping them graduate on time; discussed internal and external issues affecting the students; discussed learning resources for teachers; and talked about establishing a creative and challenging classroom teaching approach. DChe, Dr. Movillon said, aims to become an institute in the future.

Professor Demafelis described the researches of the DChe since 1983 up to the present. He said that DChe is collaborating with eight international universities, namely: Harvard University, University of Oxford, MIT, Stanford University, Imperial College of London, CalTech, University of California in Los Angeles, and the University of Auckland. He said that collaborative researches with other schools and networking with research institutions and government agencies could help address pressing industrial needs.

He also explained the department’s engineering thrusts and research projects from 2011 to 2016 that could contribute to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) such as the biofuels project. He pointed out the importance of having an enabling environment for the successful implementation of the research agenda such as having a research ‘culture’, adequate manpower and organizational structure, and facilities and infrastructure.

Dr. Bambase stressed the importance of alumni relations and how CEAT can benefit from alumni engagement through curricular development and enrichment, institutional linkages and  profile building, fund raising campaigns, and outcomes-based educational models. He reported that DChe presently has 1,338 alumni with 54 percent coming from the 21-31 age range and who graduated in the last 10 years, while the rest are in their late 40s.  He said that the younger generation is presumed to be working in the country in various industries and could be tapped as partners. To increase alumni involvement and promote student-alumni interactions, he gave recommendations including sustaining virtual engagement through online communities and social media and organizing regular events. Further, he emphasized the importance of partnering with the industry and the internationalization of higher education as a response to globalization.

For its future plans, the DChe is proposing the sharing of research and development facilities and training laboratories (e.g.,  sugar technology), exchange programs with the industry, technical assistance services, and commercialization of technology.

Dr. Jonathan L. Salvacion, dean of the School of Graduate Studies at the Mapua Institute of Technology, who  served as discussant, shared  useful practices in Mapua that could be beneficial to DChe. 

            Dr. Arnold Elepaño, CEAT dean, reminded the DChe of its goals to engage with the private sector and alumni, to interact with the students and equip them with the necessary skills, and to continue working in line with the CEAT roadmap. (KE Araguas)

CVM co-sponsors symposium for a rabies-free Laguna

The College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) held the “Rabies One Health Symposium: Working Together for a Rabies-Free Laguna” on March 28 at the CAS Annex Auditorium. 

Chancellor Rex Victor O. Cruz, who welcomed the participants,  asked the organizers what actions could be done towards zero rabies in the province of Laguna. He also enjoined the UPLB community to be actively involved as stakeholders, emphasizing that partnerships are integral, and that UPLB is one with the national and provincial government in the rabies-free Laguna advocacy. The symposium, he said, would create stronger bonds and linkages that will lead to the elimination of rabies in the province.

Dr. Ma. Luningning E. Villa, GARC country representative, introduced the organization and discussed its mission of preventing human deaths from rabies.  She also laid out the symposium’s objectives, which are to: 1) appreciate the importance of rabies elimination; 2) understand the role of each sector; 3) lay-out programs/activities for rabies prevention and control in the locality; and 4) express commitment towards a rabies-free Laguna.

Ms. Maria Shiela B. Berbano, regional coordinator of the Rabies Prevention and Control Program, discussed the rabies situation in humans. She said that rabies is a public health problem in the Philippines with 200 to 300 Filipinos dying every year principally from rabies contracted from dog bites, and with the most number of rabies cases involving school children. Berbano also discussed statistics showing that Laguna and Cavite have the most number of human rabies cases in the Calabarzon in 2012. She then described the details of the Advocacy Communication and Social Mobilization (ACSM) that they conducted.

“Rabies is 100 percent fatal but 100 percent preventable”, was the essence Dr. Emelinda L. Lopez’s discussion on the rabies situation in animals. Dr. Lopez heads the Animal Health Division of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Industry. She said that in 2013, 98 percent of animal rabies cases came from dogs, 1.8 percent from cats, and 0.2 percent from goats. According to her, Region 3 leads the list, while Laguna was 8th among the top 10 regions and provinces in the country where rabies has been found to be prevalent in 2013.

Dr. Rubina O. Cresencio, acting director of the DA-BAI, gave a short lecture about the National Program Direction and Animal Rabies Prevention and Control. 

Dr. Mary Grace M. Bustamante, provincial veterinarian of Laguna, discussed what their office has been doing including disease monitoring and surveillance, vaccination, local program implementation, and information and education campaign to bring rabies under control.

The provincial health officer of Laguna, Dr. Judy A. Rondilla, gave a presentation on the human rabies cases in Laguna and informed the audience about what the provincial government is doing towards rabies prevention and control. She said that although the goal of the Department of Health is for the Philippines to be rabies-free by 2016, the province of Laguna aims to be free of it by 2015. 

Dr. Rondilla also reported the following strategies and activities conducted as action steps for a rabies-free Laguna: 1) information education and communication; 2) manpower development (includes training and re-training); 3) coordination and linkages with other government offices and non-government organizations; 4) provision of post-exposure prophylaxis to all Animal Bite and Treatment Center staff; 5) pre-exposure to veterinary technicians and health workers assigned to treatment centers; 6) organization and revitalization of rabies control committee at all levels; 7) enforcement of rabies control ordinances through responsible pet ownership; 8) ensuring readiness of health facilities in the management of bite victims; and 9) establishment of the DOH-certified Animal Bite and Testing Centers.

The symposium included an open forum and workshop, with  an expression of commitment presented by the Office of the Provincial Governor. The event was formally closed by Dr. Loindra R. Baldrias, dean of the CVM.