CE Department nails Best Paper Award in 6th RCCS
By Xyra Mae A. Desalisa and Tricia Mae G. Suazo
Adamson University (AdU) Civil Engineering Department won the Best Paper Award on Campus Sustainability Category for the research paper, “Effects of Sodium Bentonite on the Characteristics of Recycled Plastic Composite as Potential Geomembrane” in the 6th Regional Conference on Campus Sustainability (RCCS) held at National Institute of Technology, Fukushima College, Japan, last March 26 and 27.
The research study was jointly conducted by Civil Engineering students — Dahl Kristine Alonzo, Dianne Salino, Runette Villaroza and Roy Trinidad with the advisory of Dr. Donamel Saiyari, a professor from Civil Engineering Department.
“Napili namin yung topic na ‘yun kasi una sa lahat gusto talaga namin ng topic that could help our environment. So, naisip namin na yung magiging topic namin is about something na we could help to solve or at least mabawasan man ang ‘yung mga basura and turn them into useful materials na may kinalaman pa din sa course namin kaya pumasok na yung geomembrane. (We chose the topic because first of all we really want a topic that could help our environment. So, we thought that our topic should be about something that could help to solve or at least reduce the waste and turn them into useful materials which are still related in our course and that is when geomembrane entered),” Villaroza told The Monocle.
As per Dr. Saiyari, the paper was selected to be presented in Japan since there was an invitation for the conference and the research was in line with the conference theme. Due to expenses for travel and the contract of research fund which stated that only the faculty will be a recipient of the support, Dr. Saiyari presented the study herself.
“I was not expecting to win. Given an opportunity to present a paper in an international platform is already an achievement,” Dr. Saiyari said in an interview.
“Masaya sobra! Worth it lahat ng pagod at puyat naming lahat [kasi] sinigurado talaga naming na magiging maganda kakalabasan ng paper namin (Super happy! All the efforts and sleepless nights were all worth it since we really assured that the outcome of our paper will be good),” Salino said.
The success was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the researchers in making the paper. “Kaya sabi ko nga, kapag hindi kayo tutulong hindi ko rin ito kaya, kaya I dedicated the award to them (That is why I said, if you will not help, I cannot also do it, that’s why I dedicated the award to them),” Dr. Saiyari added.
Through the Facebook page of RCCS, a total of “89 attendees including faculty members, administrative staff, researchers and students shared their experiences and explored the ideas concerning sustainability.” According to Dr. Saiyari, AdU Geology Department, Chemical Engineering Department, and Information Technology (I.T) Department, together with other universities in foreign countries and in the Philippines such as Far Eastern University (FEU) and Jose Rizal University (JRU) took part in the said conference.
The Regional Conference on Campus Sustainability is an annual event organized by the National Institute of Technology, Fukushima College, Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, University Malaysia Sabah and Adamson University that aims to provide a platform for different delegates to discuss and present their latest developments in campus sustainability.
