THE REACTOR � 1

Last November 16 to 18, 2010, 380 out of 641 examinees successfully took and passed the Chemical Engineer Board Exam given by the Board of Chemical Engineering in Manila and Cebu. The Board of Chemical Engineering was composed of Engr. Ofelia V. Bulaong, chairperson; Engr. Francisco A. Arellano and Engr. Jeffrey G. Mijares, members.

UP Diliman graduates soar in the top ten of the ChE board exam. The Philippine Regulatory Commission lists thirteen people who made it to the top 10, nine of which were from UP Diliman. The top spot was finally regained after two years with

John Kim Redecio, a magna cum laude graduate last April 2010, garnering a score of 86.70.

(continued at page 12)

Issue No. 1 June — December 2010

The Official Student Publication of the Department of Chemical Engineering University of the Philippines — Diliman

ChE Chair Ready to Face Dep’t Challenges By Jesselyn Rochelle R. Malimata

UP Diliman Tops November 2010 Chemical Engineer Licensure Exam By Kristine-Mae Hangod

In an interview last November 9, Chemical Engineering Department Chairperson Dr. Rizalinda de Leon shared her plans of action and recent updates on hot ChE issues with the Reactor.

Plans of Action The department’s main focus

is to institute a Laboratory Management System. This would make the laboratory more efficient by tracking chemicals, equipment, the building, etc. This will also deal with health and waste management. Dr. de Leon also plans to integrate the training and introduction to laboratory safety, management, and emergencies to undergraduate courses. Helping achieve this goal are: Assistant Department Chairperson Engr. Cyril Bajamundi, Laboratory Manager Dr. Richard Chu , and Health, Safety, and Environmental officer Dr. Florencio Ballesteros Jr.

Another goal of the department is to be recognized as an institute. To achieve this goal, research is being reinforced by admitting 4 t h year and outstanding 3rd year students to the ChE laboratory. This way, they can acquaint themselves with how the laboratory works, etc.

Also recently, some members of the faculty and ChE students have been going abroad to take part in Memoranda of Agreement (MoA) and research disseminations. Engr. Maurice Sorolla, Engr. Cyril Bajamundi, and

Dr. Maria Lourdes Dalida went to Taipei,Taiwan last October for the 13th Asia Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering Congress (APCChE). This November 21-25, Engr. Maurice Sorolla, Engr. Cyril Bajamundi, Mr. Patrick Ramoso, Dr. Rizalinda de leon, Engr. Joey Ocon, and Dr. Maria Lourdes Dalida will be flying to Thailand for the Regional Symposium of Chemical Engineering.

This semester, the ChE faculty also opens its doors to three new members: Hyacinth Tambago, Jonas Karl Christopher Agutaya, and Ralph Villa, all graduates from the Chemical Engineering Department last April 2010.

(continued at page 4)

Redecio

Dr. Rizalinda de Leon

Photo by Cyril Bajamundi

THE REACTOR � 2

wants

EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief: Xavier Fernandez June –December 2010

Powering the Filipino By Xavier Fernandez

nergy is a vital component of human civilization. It manifests on every part of every person’s life, and

humankind has harnessed its power ever since prehistoric hu-mans struck flint to create fire. Now, we live in a world that is powered mostly by fossil fuels. However, over the past decades, mankind has observed that this fundamental resource is finite. There is also the question of poli-tics and market forces in the dis-cussion about petroleum prod-ucts, especially, since there is oligopolistic behavior in the world oil market, and political tension in the Middle East has caused signifi-cant strain in the world economy because of its effect on oil prices. Transformations must occur within society in order for this rapidly exhausted resource to be utilized efficiently, and to search for inexhaustible sources of en-ergy that can supplement or even replace the fossil fuels: the so-called renewable energy (RE) resources.

The Philippines has been in the forefront of such a change for many years. It is a worldwide leader in the development of bio-logically-derived energy e.g. biofu-els. It is also the nation with the second-largest installed capacity for geothermal energy, after the United States. It also has experi-enced major developments in wind, hydroelectric and solar photovoltaic power over the past decade. Plus, all this domestic energy production shows in the self-sufficiency statistics for the country: the Philippines, which has only a sparse local supply of petroleum, has still managed to be 58% self-sufficient for year

2008, a large bulk of the domestic supply being contributed by geo-thermal and biomass energy. The total contribution of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix is at 43%.

However, it is imperative to remember that the Philippines has far more potential than what it can currently put to use. A proper case study would be Germany’s transition to renewable energy. Germany, whose economy has relied almost entirely on coal dur-ing its early industrialization, has managed to progress towards renewables at an unprecedented rate. It is now, for example, the largest consumer of photovoltaic (PV) cells worldwide. It has also heavily invested on wind power, making them second worldwide in installed wind power capacity, a significant portion of it from off-shore wind farms. One has to wonder how Germany, which is an awfully cloudy country with a minuscule coastline, happened to enter the RE scene, while sunny, monsoon-ridden Philippines is just starting out.

The easy answer would have to be investments: Germany sim-ply has more capital than the Phil-ippines. However, capital is not simply in terms of money. One has to consider the human capital required, the presence of trained, skilled and creative professionals who can initiate, design and main-tain infrastructure like power generation plants. It takes knowl-edge of machines, processes, reactions, economics and societal issues to become such profession-als to take up this niche. The ques-tion is: who are the ones best equipped to handle this chal-lenge?�

Editor-in-Chief

Xavier Fernandez

Associate Editor

Kristine Joy de Guzman

Managing Editor

Alyanna Marie Carrion

News Editor

Jesselyn Rochelle Malimata

Feature Editor

Patrick Reden Valenzuela

Layout Editor

Joy Cristine Tolentino

THE REACTOR

YOU We are about to begin accepting

applications for the Editorial Board for next AY's Reactor. Keep posted at reactorupd.wordpress.com for

announcements on the editor recruitment cycle for next year.

We are also accepting contributions

for articles year-round! Just email your contribution to the editor of the section where you want your

article to be published.

News: Jelle Malimata (jellemalimata@yahoo.com)

Features: Patrick Valenzuela

(flare_griffrave7@yahoo.com)

Editorial

Board

THE REACTOR � 3

NEWS Editor: Jesselyn Rochelle Malimata June –December 2010

’06 Black Dragons bags BotB 2010 trophy By Emman Belostrino

second and third places respectively. Battle of the Batches 2010 served as the school year’s opening event for chemical engineering students and as a way to promote camaraderie and sportsmanship among the students. It also served as preparation and pep rally for the Engineering Cup 2010. The event was made possible through the joint efforts of the Engineering Student Council (ESC), the Chemical Engineering Students Initiative

Chemical engineering batches fought for sports supremacy during the first ever Battle of the Batches last June 19 at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. ChE’10 Team InFRESHno, ChE ’09 Phoenix, ChE ’08 Pyroates, ChE ’07 Red Horses and ChE ’06 Black Dragons battled one another for the coveted championship title during this whole-day sports competition. Sport events included basketball, volleyball, badminton, chess, ultimate Frisbee, ultimate Pinoy Henyo and Philippine games. In the end, ’06 Black Dragons emerged as overall champions while ’07 Red Horses and ’08 Pyroates bagged the

UP KEM Holds Department Seminar

(ChESI) and the Department of Chemical Engineering. �

The first major event of UP KEM for the year was included in the Centennial Opening Week of the College of Engineering. Entitled “NIChE: Where

You Can Never Be Out Of Place”, the Department Seminar was held last June 21, 2010, 1:00PM, at the Engineering Theater. It aimed to enlighten the Chemical Engineering freshmen on the course, curriculum, and general ChE survival techniques. It also aimed to entertain the freshmen and welcome them to Chemical Engineering. The event team was headed by Joy Erika Reyes, 4th year.

The program started with Engr. Cyril Bajamundi of the ChE faculty discussing the curriculum, which recently underwent a major change.

UP KEM and UP ALCHEMES prepared their own audio visual presentations and live performances. Next, a group called Brotherhood of Chemical Engineering Bachelors, popularly known as BroChEBach, prepared a short video to represent the unaffiliated students of the department. The guest speaker, Brylee David Tiu (DChE alumnus, Batch 2005, magna cum laude) also gave a short talk on his undergraduate life, mainly on the study habits he practiced and the importance of joining an organization. He also discussed possible careers that can be considered in the future. The ChE Representatives also gave a short advertisement, inviting all the freshmen to attend the events the Engineering Student Council arranged for them.

The Department Seminar was able to inform and entertain the freshmen, making sure that they are ready to find their very own niche. �

UP ALCHEMES Holds Lab Tour By Jules Hedwig Dayrit

E a r l y l a s t semester saw the launching of the C h e m i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g Laboratory Tour entitled “LAB @ FIRST SIGHT”. T h e e v e n t , headed by DJ

Donn Matienzo of the University of the Philippines Academic League of Chemical Engineering Students, in coordination with the Engineering Student Council (ESC) and the Chemical Engineering Representatives (ChE reps), was aimed at Chemical Engineering (ChE) freshmen, with the goal of showing them firsthand the processes and equipment of a ChE laboratory, as well as a glimpse of the nature of the work of a Chemical Engineer.

The freshmen moved in groups from station to station as guided by the organizers.

(continued at page 4)

ChE freshmen smile for the camera

Photo by ChEreps CELLS

THE REACTOR � 4

ChE Breaks Through the 2010 Eng’g Cup From Shredders to Jawcrushers By Che Sese

It was indeed a very victorious year for ChE as we participate in this year’s Engineering Cup. As a start, ChE became known as Jaw-crushers in lieu of Shredders This is only the first of many unex-pected turnouts for ChE.

ChE’s performance in the major games this year was a major shock. There was of course the women’s basketball team, which garnered the top spot in the elimi-nations. They were definitely a threat to every team, eventually finishing 3rd place.

Our women’s volleyball team proved to be a strong team also

winning 3rd place. Our men’s teams have also improved this yearwith the volleyball team showing big potential as new and old players spike it hard on the court. The team finished fifth, and they will definitely be in the top 4 next year.

Our men’s basketball team has also shown improvement, winning against the GE depart-ment, one of the strongest bas-ketball teams in Engineering.

Major games were always ChE’s weakness. But this year, teamwork, skills and sportsman-ship showed the best out of the Jawcrushers. Both teams played their best, with Sir Arthur Gonza-les III and Sir David Gonzales in football.

The ChE department has always excelled in the minor games, and once again this year. For badminton, we won 4th place overall, with our women’s doubles

and mixed doubles team both reaching the semi-finals. We won 2nd place in Chess, courtesy of Jonathan Lumacad and his team. We excelled in table tennis as well, with Fritzie Azur winning 1st place in the women’s singles divi-sion, and winning 4th place overall. Representing the Jawcrushers in Sports Climbing is a team com-posed of four players, with Ellen Munar playing for two people, as two girls are initially required. Despite this, the team managed to finish fifth. The ChE Jawcrushers finished 4th overall in swimming, as both the individual and group finished fourth. The Jawcrushers have also shown that we can play tennis, finishing 4th overall. Lastly , for the Philippine games, we placed 6th in sangkayaw, but made a comeback on the succeeding games, including tumbang preso and mataya-taya.

But we couldn’t have gotten through it all if it weren’t for the department’s runners who partici-pated in Eng’gfinity: the Engineer-ing Centennial Run, and the volun-teers serving as marshals for the event. We had a total of 12 run-ners, and 10 marshals.

All the effort, skills, team-work, dedication and sportsman-ship are what got the ChE Jaw-crushers to an amazing 4th place finish, all the way from 8th place last year.

Congratulations to ChE Jaw-crushers! Until we meet again at the next Engineering Cup. �

UP ALCHEMES Holds… (from page 3) Members of the ChE faculty and the ESC were also present, both to observe and supervise the event. The event, which started at 5 pm, ended promptly an hour later at 6 in the evening. After-wards, willing freshmen were given a bonus tour of the campus care of UP ALCHEMES.�

ChE Chair Ready… (from page 1)

The previous semester also saw the arrival of two additional fac-ulty members: Patrick Ramoso and David Thomas Gonzales. The Curriculum Revision

Feedback from students have already been gathered and the new curriculum is being evalu-ated very carefully by the Depart-ment Curriculum Committee . The ChE Building Plans

Funds are already in hand for the new Chemical Engineering building located in the National Engineering Complex, to be lo-cated along C. P. Garcia St . Bid-ding will hopefully happen in De-cember. Optimistically, construc-tion will begin between January and February of 2011 and will be completed by December of the following year. The more challeng-ing part for the department is the relocation of the laboratory equip-ment and materials.

Dr. de Leon said that basi-cally, her plan is to continue where Dr. Analiza Rollon (the previous department Chairper-son) left off, and that “We just want to do what needs to be done.” She added that she appre-ciates the faculty, “masipag and supportive [sila].”�

Photo by Imee Saladaga

Photo by Che Sese

THE REACTOR � 5

ESC and ChESI Exceeds Limitations With Beyond CliChÉ: UP Diliman ChESS 2010 By Kristine-Mae Hangod

Last September, the third run of the Chemical Engineering Seminar Series (ChESS) was held success-fully with the theme “Beyond CliChE: UP Diliman Chemical Engi-neering Seminar Series 2010”. The event consists of a four-part semi-nar series that aims to drive ChE students to become more confi-dent in pursuing their course in the university and practice chemi-cal engineering in the future. It showcased the versatility of the chemical engineering field by featuring notable speakers from different ChE fields. ChESS 2010 was a product of the joint effort of the ChE Representatives and the ChE Students’ Initiative (ChESI), with Annabellee Chua and Jasper Powell Esguerra as the Overall Co-Heads.

The first seminar, held on September 8, was entitled “BenChEmark: We Set the Stan-dard” and featured Engr. Halley Edmund Tugade from Unilever Philippines as he discussed the potential career and profitability of ChE. On September 16, the possible tracks of chemical engi-neering were presented in “Finding Your NiChE”. The semi-

nar focused on energy and nanotechnology, which were discussed by Dr. Rizalinda de Leon and Engr. Bryan Alamani respec-tively, both from the UP Diliman ChE Department. The third install-ment of the ChESS, “ChE VLE: Virtual Lab Experience”, was held on September 23 and talked about the operation of the largest recy-cling facility used oil in the Philip-pines, Bensan Industries Inc. graced by Engr. Benjamin Santos as the speaker. On September 28, the last installment for the semi-nar series entitled “ChEnen! ChE Out of the Box” served as the perfect finale as it revolutionized the common insights on ChE by highlighting ChE applications in unconventional fields such as waste management, pharmacy, biotechnology, fashion, oceanog-raphy, and race car driving. Waste management was discussed by Engr. Marianito Tiangson Marga-rito, pharmacy by Roderick Layug Salenga, and the rest of the ChE applications by the ChE Represen-tatives. Erika Reyes, Diana Joy Gernan, Krisha Kerr, and Patrick Valenzuela who are all members of the ChESI headed each of the

seminars respectively. The Marketing Committee,

co-headed by Alexander Luciano and Van Galman, secured Milleum Travel Corporation as the sponsor for ChESS 2010. Publicity of the event in various media such as facebook, room-to-rooms, and posters was supervised by the Publicity Co-Heads, Emalyn Llagas and Xavier Fernandez. The Pro-grams Committee was headed by Shiela Marie Sese while the exhibit preparations were headed by Darlene Lorraine Que. All con-cerns on the food and logistics were overseen by the Logistics Co-Heads Jaslene Lustro and Ches-ter Paulo Luna.

ChESS 2010 was attended by more than 100 students per semi-nar. All the seminars were held at the Engineering Theater where all the attendees were given free food. Prizes such as a cellular phone, movie passes, and CoE ballers were given to lucky stu-dents who attended the seminars. ChE students found the seminar very helpful as they became more acquainted and appreciative of their course.�

(L-R) Dr. Rizalinda de Leon, Engr. Bryan Alamani, Engr. Benjamin Santos, Engr. Marianito Margarito, and Roderick Salenga

Photos by ChEreps CELLS

THE REACTOR � 6

KEM: The Magic School Bus and NaChEs By Riuji Sato and Niñez Hernandez; Edited by Kristine Joy de Guzman

The Magic School Bus This year, UP KEM held two new events: the Magic School Bus and the National Chemical Engineering Congress 2010.

Last July 6, 2010, UP KEM won the Colgate Fresh U Say Something Fresh idea-generation competition and obtained a P50,000 cash prize which was to be used on the win-ning idea, the Magic School Bus.

The event itself was held on September 4, 2010 and involved 40 kids who were chosen by the grade level coordinators of the Balara Elementary School. They were accompanied by 18 KEMers and the organization’s Executive Council.

The event’s itinerary com-prised of three differ-ent venues: Goldwin Manufacturing Labo-ratories Corporation located in Marikina, St. Luke’s Medical Center located in Global City, Taguig and the Makati Cen-tral Fire Center. The difference in speciali-zation of each venue aimed to give the children a brief out-look of the possible career paths that they might want to take in the future.

NaChES The National Chemical Engineering Congress 2010 (NCEC 2010) is a new event of the organization held last August 28, 2010 at the UP NIS-MED Auditorium.

The event included two parts: the introduction of the National Chemical Engineering Symposium (NaChES) and the 34th year of In-ter-U, the annual Inter-University Chemical Engineering Quiz Show.

NaChES, with the theme, “E-nnovate! Environmental and En-ergy Extreme Engineering” invited four guest speakers who effec-tively inspired the at least 200 at-tendees of the event. The first talk

entitled “Using a Com-bined Sewer Network to Protect Manila’s 3-River System” was by Engr. Robert Baffrey, Depart-ment Manager for Wastewater Operations of Manila Water. It was followed by the UP Diliman ChE Dept. Fac-ulty resident, Dr. Wilfredo I. Jose’s Crea-tivity and Innovation in Engineering. The third talk was “Renewable

Energy Development in the Philip-pines” by Engr. Roger Victor Buen-dia, OIC and President of PNOC Renewables Co. The last talk by Dr. Arnold Elepano, Director of UP Los Banos’ Institute of Agriculture Engineering was about “Waste-to-Energy Systems”.

After the symposium, Inter-U commenced, which comprised of three rounds with 15 questions from the fields of Engineering Sci-ence, Chemical Engineering, Chem-istry, Physics and Mathematics for each round.

This year, the University of the Philippines – Los Baños re-

President Hannah Fatima Ebro

Executive Secretary Jose Fernando Perez

Vice President for Membership Ma. Kathrina Herrera

Vice President for Finance Joanna Mirzi Faronilo

Vice President for Public Relations Shanelle Lopez

Vice President for Ways & Means Jaymie Llanera

Vice President for Education: Kanlouise Nielsen Tejada

Vice President for Socio-Cultural Affairs

Joe Mari Sanchez

Vice President for Sports Recreation

Marc Lester Chicano

UP Chemical Engineering

Society, Inc. Executive Council

claimed the 1st place for Inter-U 2010. They were followed by De La Salle Manila and St. Louis Univer-sity (Benguet), 2nd and 3rd place respectively. The event was made possible by the KEM Ultimate Event Team under the leadership of Duane Lemuel Galang for NaChES and Jean Paula Parami for Inter-U. �

THE REACTOR � 7

Participants display their certificates at the EDIFY culminating day

A helping hand is a lending hand. Aimed in reaching out for the

academic needs of the commu-nity, the University of the Philip-pines Academic League of Chemi-cal Engineering Students (UP ALCHEMES) spearheaded its edu-cational service programs.

Two projects were con-ducted by the organization: the College Entrance Examination Review Series (CEERS) held on July 3-30 and EDIFY held on Sept 18 – Oct 9. CEERS CEERS is a short review course for fourth year students, to prepare them for various college entrance examinations. The reviews were conducted in Sumulong National High School (SNHS) in Antipolo City, starting July 3; and in St. Mary’s Academy of Sto. Niño (SMA) in Sto. Niño, Bulacan, be-ginning July 5.

Attendance in this service program is optional. A minimal fee is collected from the participants for producing reviewers and sam-ple exams and for funding other expenses during the preparation and execution of the review.

Headed by Jodel Cuasay, the review series was held on Satur-days with the first day for the distribution of the learning kits to

students and for conducting the simulation exams. The rest of the Saturdays were spent in discuss-ing the answers in the exams as well as in reviewing concepts in Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Earth Science, English, Filipino and Abstract Reasoning. In addition, more examples and answering tips were provided to students.

Furthermore, feedbacks from the participants were posi-tive as they learned a lot from the review. According to them, some topics discussed during the review were not discussed during their regular school classes, giving them an edge over other CEERS non-participants. EDIFY EDIFY is an outreach activity of the organization through its External Affairs and Academic Affairs committees, aimed to pro-mote basic education with its remedial classes for grade three students.

With a tutor-student ratio of 2:25, the program was held for four consecutive Saturdays, each day allotted to a subject; with English, Science and Math, taught respectively. Awarding ceremony was reserved for the last day as well as the quiz bee to gauge the

pupils’ understanding on the three subjects.

Under the supervision of Janine Cambangay and Jestin Bernardo, senior heads, together with the junior heads Myron Al-canzare and Rico Deonaldo, the activity was held for a half day from 2 to 5 pm.

Moreover, the lessons dis-cussed were in line with those given by the teachers to the pu-pils. In order to assess the pupils’ learning, quizzes were given prior to and after the lessons were discussed. Participants were also provided with pads of paper, pen-cils and food to increase their motivation.�

ALCHEMES Lends a Hand By Kim Guerrero

President Camille Rivero

Executive Officer, Academic Affairs Kristine - Mae Hangod

Executive Officer, External Affairs Jan Michael Co

Executive Officer, Finance Maria Crisselle Tumaru

Executive Officer, Internal Affairs Jehan Kay Otani

Executive Officer, Logistics, Sports and Recreation

Lian Cecilia Ortiz

Executive Officer, Secretariat Hazel Ann Fajardo

UP Academic League of

Chemical Engineering

Students Executive Committee

Photo by Chester Luna

THE REACTOR � 8

Library Renovated By Katherine Chelsea C. Hwang

ESC Celebrates 100 Years of CoE By Anna Chua

The Engineering Student Council (ESC) celebrated the college cen-tenary with four of its key events for the first semester.

ESC kicked off the year with the Centennial Opening Week last June 21 to 25. Entitled Fierce 100, COWeek highlighted the college’s 100th foundation day through a week of fun and meaningful activi-ties. A welcome parade, Grand Pakain and department and insti-tute seminars completed the first day of the weeklong event. An inter-organization talent show, entitled Time Fierce, celebrated the versatility of engineering stu-dents, where UP KEM and UP ERG emerged as the champion and runner-up with their spellbinding performances. Other highlights of the week include the fun-filled fair and highly challenging amazing race, as well as the handprint mosaic of the Philippine flag. CO-Week concluded with Fierce De-gree Burn, a university-wide party and fashion show featuring fresh-men models held at Silver City, Pasig. UP IE Club and UP AL-CHEMES won the first and second place, respectively, for best block-

handlers. To hone the physical abilities

of engineering majors and to unite the individual departments and institutes, Engineering Cup 2010: One Cup One Glory was held last July to August. Six departments and eight institutes pitted their best against one another in vari-ous ball games, chess, badminton, sports climbing and more. Also making waves was the Centennial Run, which had over 400 partici-pants and was held in the Diliman campus last July 18. The IEEE topped Engineering Cup, while our department improved to 4th place from last year’s 8th.

Engineering Summit 2010 came early this year on July 31. This year’s summit featured nota-ble speakers from various sectors such as Johnip Cua, Dr. Giovanni Tapang, Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan and more. A marked difference in this year’s summit is that engineering hopefuls not just from UP Diliman but from all over Luzon came to listen and to generate ideas to-wards nation building.

Capping off an eventful se-mester, the Engineering Market-

ing Congress was held last August to October 2010. This year’s mar-keting congress revolves around the students marketing their own theses. Five seminars on various topics related to marketing, busi-ness, technical writing, emerging technologies and more were given, and amazing prizes were given to attendees. Of the five finalist teams, three came from the department of Industrial Engi-neering, while two came from our very own Chemical Engineering department. The top three teams won cash and sponsor prizes worth Php 30,000, 20,000 and 10,000.

ESC has also spearheaded other small projects, such as Boboto ang Eng’g, the Book Buy-ing Quest, the Scholarship Expo and more. For more details, you may visit enggisko.net or like their Facebook page.

This December, ESC brings you Aveng’gers: The Century’s Mightiest Heroes – the 2010 Engi-neering Week. Drop by the Engg Isko website for more details. �

During a simple ceremony led by former Dean Rowena Cristina L. Guevara and the College Execu-tive Board, a wall marker was unveiled on July 19, 2010 to recog-nize the contribution of alumna and President of Teresa Marble Corporation, Ms. Annie G. Dee (IE ’77), in the improvement of the College of Engineering Library I ground floor. Her donation of light-hued marble tiles was the culminating step in the long proc-ess of converting the ground floor into an information center.

For many years, the ground floor had an atmosphere that was not conducive to learning due to its architectural flaws such as the overabundance of columns and poor lighting. This level housed tables in dark brown and similarly-colored shelves that crowded around the study area that stood

on dark red flooring. The sudden allocation of a

three-year plan P21M-budget by the Office of Engineering Re-search and Development for Tech-nology (ERDT) for library develop-ment gave the College an oppor-tunity to replace the old furnish-ings with new ones that are akin to those in the College of Engi-neering Library II. Energy-efficient

incandescent lamps have been installed, which along with the light-colored walls, floor, and

ceiling help to give the ground floor a feeling of spaciousness.

Aside from the newly fin-ished reading area, a discussion room where students can interact and an Internet and Computing Facility with 10 new terminals have been provided. The theses and serials section of the library is also now located at the ground floor. Local databases have been provided to help students and other patrons easily sort through the library’s available theses and serials.

Now that the ground floor can boast of excellent facilities, the Engineering Library I has switched it attention to the upper floor. Steps are presently being taken for the library to reach its full potential as an information gateway. �

Photo by CoE Lib staff

THE REACTOR � 9

FEATURES Editor: Patrick Reden Valenzuela June –December 2010

The New ChE Curriculum Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

By Ian Rivera

“Universal Engineer”: A title that’s been earned by chemical engineers around the world for their excellence not only in their chosen fields but also because of their innovation and skills in man-agement, finance and humanities; Thus, making them one of the most sought after engineers in the industry to date. In order to gear the students for this future responsibility, the University of the Philippines’ Chemical Engi-neering Department has revised the Chemical Engineering curricu-lum. The revised curriculum was implemented last school year 2009-2010 affecting all under-graduate students from batches 2005 to 2008. The new curriculum gears towards training the stu-dents all about the fundamentals of chemical engineering as early as possible and applying all that they’ve learned for their research and thesis proposals in their final year. A lot of changes were done in curriculum. These include the introduction of new courses like ChE 101 – the equivalent of ChE 31 and ChE 32, ChE 143 and ChE 144 – the equivalents of ChE 136, Chem

154 – the replacement to Chem 153 after modification of ChE 122 and 123 syllabi, ChE 26 – the equivalent of ES 26, ChE 106 – the equivalent of ES 21, and ChE 150 – a new course covering environ-mental process engineering.

For more than one year of its application, several opinions have already been heard on how effec-tive the curriculum was. Many people have good insights about the curriculum. Some say that the curriculum is good because as early as 2nd year; the students are already exposed in the field of chemical engineering.

“Maganda siya in a way na maaga naeexpose ung students sa ChE talaga.” – Anonymous

Some however have differ-ent thoughts about it. Many stu-dents claim that the curriculum is so “toxic” that their efforts aren’t worth it at times. They thought the curriculum is so experimental that the upper year students are having a hard time to cope up. “MAHIRAP” seems to be the first word that comes out of their mouths when asked about the curriculum.

“Bwiset, mahirap, matrabaho. Pamatay yung ginawa nila samin last sem.” – Anonymous

But other students chose to look onto a bigger perspective and thought that the revised cur-riculum is not the one that needs improvement. Some say that other aspects such as the organi-zation, equipment and faculty performance are the ones that need improvement in order to achieve the desired output/goal of the curriculum. Some also said although the curriculum is doable and good, the department needs to focus more on the improve-ment of the faculty members because the students are the ones suffering and they are not always the one to be blamed especially when they fail a subject.

“There's always room for improvement pero I guess it's in the faculty teaching the subjects more than the curriculum. Yes, definitely the curriculum is ok if taught well.” –Anonymous

This second semester, the new ChE curriculum will still be followed and no plans for another revision is taken note. �

Bwiset, mahirap, matrabaho. Pamatay yung ginawa nila samin last sem.

Maganda siya in a way na maaga naeexpose ung students sa ChE talaga.

THE REACTOR � 10

DChE’s Newest Faces! A Closer Look

By Joy Marie Jalotjot

Patrick dela Paz Ramoso

Birthday: 17 March 1988 Favorite Color: Green Why did you choose to teach in UP?

Good question! It's actually a pretty long story. Nagsimula kasi iyan sa last meeting namin sa ChE 142/144 under Sir Al (de Leon, instructor on study leave -ed.) and Ma'am de Leon. Sir Al jokingly mentioned something like:

"Paano kaya kung nagturo ng ChE 142 si Patrick? Ano kaya ang mangyayari?"

Natawa naman ako, tsaka ako napaisip. Ang plano ko kasi talaga bago noong araw na iyon ay aantayin ko matapos ang board exam, tsaka ako maghahanap ng trabaho sa industry. May mga companies na ako in mind. Ngunit pagkatapos sabihin ni Sir Al yun, hindi iyon nawala sa isip ko, hang-gang sa nagturo na rin ako ng ChE dito. What is your greatest dream... ...for yourself?

I want to do something that is revolutionary. Sana magtagum-pay ang research plan ko na maka-pagdevelop ng fuel cell. Iyong tipong hindi na tayo aasa sa fossil fuels. ...for your country?

Kasama na rin siguro dito yung fuel cells. I think the country needs to become independent from foreign oil. ...for your loved ones?

Sana dumating din ang pana-hon na kaya ko silang i-tour around the world. Dapat mapun-tahan namin lahat ng mga conti-nents. Basta makapagprovide ako ng ganoong experience sa mga mahal ko sa buhay. ...for the University?

The University should no longer have to experience budget cuts. At the very least, UP should have adequate funding every year. Dapat binabantayan at sinusupor-tahan ng gobyerno ang UP. ...for the department?

Although we are actively working on this as we speak, I wish that the department be given Institute status soon. Also, sana makapagbigay ang depart-ment ng mga researches na magtataglay ng positive change sa bansa. Kung ikaw ay isang product, ano ka at paano mo ibebenta ang sarili mo?

Ice cream siguro ako. Ma-sarap e. Ice cream uplifts you. If you want to feel good, you eat ice cream. Kapag depressed ka, at kailangan mo ng kaunting sigla sa katawan, pwes, mag-ice cream ka!

Message to the undergrads: Sana patuloy niyong i-

appreciate ang chemical engineer-ing. At sana ang appreciation niyo ay lagpas pa sa pagkuha ng mataas na grades.

Sa mga estudyanteng umaasang dadalian ko ang mga exams ko, asa pa kayo! (laughs) Seriously, sorry, ngunit ganoon talaga. Pasensya na lang sa hirap ng mga exams ko. Bilang kailan-gang isukat ang kaalaman at ap-preciation ng students tungkol sa subject, kailangan talaga na ma-challenge sila. �

Hyacinth Mae Garrido

Tambago

Birthday: 22 Aug 1988 Favorite Color: Grey, Brown, Blue Why did you choose to teach in UP?

I wanted to enter graduate school after the board exams. My options for financing it were ei-ther ERDT or taking up a teaching

Photos by Kenneth Robert de Guzman

THE REACTOR � 1 1

load. Pero bawal kasi kumuha ng trabaho habang nasa ilalim ng ERDT scholarship. At saka kapag nagturo naman ako ay may work experience din ako kasabay ng graduate school. Apart from that, dahil na rin sa naghahanap ako ng sense of fulfillment after graduat-ing in ChE. What is your greatest dream... ...for yourself?

For the short term, perhaps more preparation for teaching. For the long term, a stable and happy life. ...for your country?

Mawala ang korupsyon sa bansa. Marami kasing mga dulot ito na kitang-kita. Makikita, halim-bawa, sa statistics na mataas ang dropping-out rate ng mga bansa na laganap ang korupsyon. ...for your loved ones?

I want to pamper, no, spoil, my younger siblings. Kahit pa-paano naman, kuntento na sila sa buhay e. Let's give them some-thing more. ...for the University?

Sana wala nang mga tuition fee increases in the near future. Kung magkakaroon man, sana gradual ang increase, yung kaya pa sa bulsa. ...for the department?

Of course, the new building! Pero kasama na doon ang bagong equipment. We have to become at par with private universities like DLSU. Kung ikaw ay isang product, ano ka at paano mo ibebenta ang sarili mo?

Isa akong fuel cell, o basta isang fuel product na hindi nagpo-produce ng pollution. Ibibida ko ang sustainable development as selling point. Kailangan din ng pagdidiin sa comparative advan-tage nito sa fossil fuels. Message to the undergrads:

Always exert your best. Don't just rely on your teacher or your readings in order to learn. You have to take the initiative in your own learning. It's for your own sake naman. Also, it's not

enough to study just so you could pass. Have an appreciation of the subject matter beyond the exam. �

David Thomas Tanco

Gonzales

Birthday: 1 August 1987 Favorite Color: Green Why did you choose to teach in UP?

I was looking for things to do before I start my MS (which, by the way, is not in ChE but in Ma-rine Science). I'm actually still unsure if I want to stay in the de-partment as a teacher for long, but so far, things are great, and I might stay here for the time be-ing. What is your greatest dream... ...for yourself?

I want to contribute to the conservation of marine life. I want to play an active role in this. ...for your country?

As I said earlier, the conser-vation of marine life, especially here in the Philippines. Isa siya sa mga major resources natin, kaya sayang naman kapag hindi natin aalagaan. ...for your loved ones?

Every single one of them should have a beachside house, para relaxed ang atmosphere at malapit sa dagat.

...for the University?

I hope that the University will become more academically re-spected internationally. Sana rin mas maging accepted din ang UP as an active player in international affairs, like some foreign universi-ties. ...for the department?

Sana matapos na yung bagong building!

Kung ikaw ay isang product, ano ka at paano mo ibebenta ang sarili mo?

I think I will be paper. How will I sell myself? Simple lang na-man. I will have lots of colors! Message to the undergrads:

To the students, just relax and take it easy once in a while! Don't study too hard. �

Jonas Karl Christopher

Nuevas Agutaya

Birthday: 28 April 1989 Favorite Color: Green Why did you choose to teach in UP?

Actually, I've been planning to teach since my third year in college. I chose this career path for me. I can't really imagine my-self working in the field anyway, so I saw the academe as the best fit.

THE REACTOR � 12

UP Diliman Tops… (from page 1) Edrid Latauan and Hyacinth Mae Tambago, 85.10, top 5; Edgeline Savannah Yan, 84.30, top 6; Leo Angelo Padasas, 83.90, top 7; Patrick Ramoso, 83.80, top 8; and Thor Alexis Sazon, 83.40, at top 9. Hyacinth Mae Tambago, Kenneth Robert de Guzman, and Patrick Ramoso graduated summa cum laude last April 2010. Tambago and Ramoso have also recently joined the faculty of the ChE De-partment of UP Diliman.

Other successful board pass-ers in the top ten are Dhan Lord Balais Fortela of UP Los Baños, 86.40, at top 2; Pheterson Doping of Ateneo de Davao University, 86.00, top 3; Georivic Pelandas, University of Mindanao-Davao City, 83.90, top 7; and Hazel Hen-risha Chua, University of San Car-los, 83.30, top 10.

Aside from dominating the top ten, UP Diliman was also hailed as the top performing school with a 90% passing rate, and was followed by UP Los Baños with a passing rate of 82.76% or 48 board passers. UP Diliman contributed 72 new chemical engineers who will be taking their Oaths of Professional along with the other board pass-ers before the Board of Chemical Engineering. The oath taking ceremony will be held on Decem-ber 17, 2010, Friday, at 1:00 in the afternoon at the Manila Hotel, One Rizal Park, Roxas Boulevard, Manila. Registration for member-ship with the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers (PICHE) will take place after the registra-tion as a professional with the board and the commission.�

What is your greatest dream... ...for yourself?

Maging Dean ng College. (laughs) O sige, pwede ring angel or wizard. Pero okay na rin mag-ing Dean Jonas. ...for your country?

Alam mo, ayaw kong na-kakakita ako ng mga beggars. Pangarap ko na everybody's happy. Everyone should have everything they need to survive: food, water, clothing, proper shel-ter... ...for your loved ones?

My parents shall travel abroad. Kailangan ako ang gagas-tos. (laughs) ...for the University?

UP's students should be able to live up to the prestige that UP's name holds. We should be able to stand up and be proud na taga-UP tayo. Pwede na rin ang Agutaya Street. ...for the department?

100 percent passing every single year! At saka makapagpro-duce din ang department ng mga top executives and officials in both the public and private sec-tors. Kung ikaw ay isang product, ano ka at paano mo ibebenta ang sarili mo?

White handkerchief. Mahilig naman ako sa puti, at saka kasi pag puti, malinis ang dating. Madali lang naman ibenta ang puting panyo. Alam mo naman dito sa Pilipinas, mainit at madal-ing pawisan ang mga tao, kaya nakakainis talaga kapag walang hawak na panyo araw-araw. Message to the undergrads:

Hoy, kailangan na natin bu-hayin muli ang Only Child Society! (laughs)

Anyways, paalala ko lang ito: Life is simple. We're the only ones who make it so complicated any-way. Think about it. When we were kids, we used to think the alphabet is just so complex. Now, we sometimes laugh at its simplic-ity. We should just not sweat the little things in life. ♣

Ralph Patacsil Villa

Birthday: 15 Feb 1988 Favorite Color: Navy Blue Why did you choose to teach in UP?

I actually still don't know. I guess I just want to impart knowl-edge to the students. Pero gusto ko rin kasi pumasok sa graduate school dito sa UP. What is your greatest dream... ...for yourself?

I wanna be a billionaire, parang si Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) lang. ...for your country?

Sana maging First World country tayo. Tipong developed nation na tayo, na hindi lang sa agrikultura umaasa. Higit pa doon, sana mawala na mga informal settlers sa Pilipinas. ...for your loved ones?

Pwede immortality? (laughs) Sige. Sa totoo lang, ang wish ko para sa kanila ay good health and good life. ...for the University?

Rollback ng tuition! ...for the department?

Sana maging successful na ang bidding process para sa pag-gawa ng bagong gusali ng ChE. Kung isa kang product, ano ka at paano mo ibebenta ang sarili mo?

Deodorant, kasi dito sa Pilipi-nas, big deal ang body odor sa atin. Kukunin ko si Angel Locsin bilang endorser. Message to the undergrads:

Always try to do your best, no matter what. Kahit ilang fail-ures ang pagdaanan mo, just get over them and continue pushing on. Persevere. �

THE REACTOR � 13

Reinventing the Life of ChE... for fun ;) By Mark Anthony H. Asinas

Many were called, but few were chosen — this should be the tag line of the department since the very first day of my existence here in UP they’ve been telling us that only half of those present during the college briefing would gradu-ate as a chemical engineer. A good way to welcome the fresh students of the department, don’t you think? And so I wondered, how is life in ChE anyway? So far, I came up with this: ChE 26

ChE 26 is a programming class where students were intro-duced to chemical engineering problems and problem-solving techniques. It was exciting at first, it being the first of many ChE ma-jors, but later it just morphs into a

“Typing 101” session with all the endless lines of

code! Still, you will definitely top

the “scores” because this is one of the more gallant courses in terms of grading.

ChE101

Here comes the real deal! ChE 101: Introduction to Chemical Engineering. At times, this course will feel like it was

“Introduction to Conversion”.

Now that I have been formally

introduced to chemical engineer-ing, now I have an idea how ChE life would go on. And I am most certain that there will be a lot of converting between units!

This introduction made me feel a little weird sometime. One day before I took ChE 101, I was walking along the halls of Melchor Hall when I asked a friend taking said subject. He gave me the an-swer, along with a bunch of other information I didn’t really need to know at that time: on how many centimeters it is, feet, how many meters there were in a mile, and he continued until he talked about paradigms. That day I swore, I’d never ask a ChE student about conversion EVER, so as to spare me from information over-load!

ChE122

Here is where things get hardcore, BIGTIME! This semes-ter is when students suddenly get spiritual: you’ll see them pray more often, go to church every Sunday, and some-times even fast! So where does thermodynamics come in? I don’t know, maybe when stu-dents cry due to failure, they re-lease heat? At least they’re pre-pared for what will come next…

ChE123

Now you’re truly feeling the burden of ChE, but you’ve got a long way to go, buddy. ChE 123 is still about thermodynamics, and, continuing with my story, this is the stage when students feel they are approaching sainthood after the martyr-dom they had to go through. How everyone would wish for this to be a kindergarten math class since hey, ChE123, as in 1…2…3. Okay, before I start to get corny, I’ll move on…

ChE131

Transport processes. Hurrrr! My mind was initially troubled with thoughts of how buses, jeepneys and trains do their work every day. There is turbulence, I guess, although in a bigger scale. Akin to what air-planes usually experience on bad weather. Let us not forget mo-mentum transport, when a screeching bus collides head-on with another vehi-cle. Talk about collision. Yeah…

Tbc…

As the cliché goes “first impressions last.” Some ChE majors are usually met by surprise when they enter a class for the first time and realize that the subject matter takes more than first impressions to truly appreciate. This is an account of one student’s journey through the chemical engineering majors, so far. Let’s see how he fares…

-ed.

“Many were called, but few were chosen.”“Many were called, but few were chosen.”“Many were called, but few were chosen.”“Many were called, but few were chosen.”

THE REACTOR � 14

FEATURES:

CHE LIT Editor: Patrick Valenzuela June –December 2010

When I was a little kid,

I thought I was meant to write.

But here I am staring blankly

And couldn’t even start this right.

Then I remembered,

A lawyer I wanted to be.

Then I remembered,

I changed it because I was always

the shy me.

I also thought in air force would be

cool

Flying planes and serving my coun-

try

But it shocked my mom and made

her said

I could serve my country in other

ways a plenty.

From the ones that I have men-

tioned,

I am none of the above.

I am a chemical engineering student.

It’s the path I choose to love.

Why chemical engineering?

It always bothers ChE student

minds

Is it because of math and chem

Or we’re just simply one of a kind?

Being a ChE student

Is not as easy as wishing on four-

leaf clovers

Because we have to juggle every-

thing

Earlier than the others

ChE students are always thinking

If they’re choosing it right

Whenever reports, exams, plant

designs

Consume their days and night.

It gets harder and harder

Every step of the way

Every failure and wrong turns

Have their prices to pay

But because we’re ChE students

We’re truly one of a kind

During those rough times

Our way out, we will surely find.

Being a ChE student, makes me a

lot

A lawyer who defends and not lies

It makes me an air force

Serve my country, reach my dreams

and fly

And lastly, since I wrote something

A writer it makes of me

You’re reading it in this paper

You see

UNTITLEDUNTITLEDUNTITLEDUNTITLED AnonymousAnonymousAnonymousAnonymous

THE REACTOR � 15

I never had any expecta-

tions but had high spir-

its,

Potential energy waiting

to be unleashed,

And disturb the placid,

laminar state around

me.

I thought it would be

easy,

That I would glide over

it all just like my friend

Breeze.

I never expected so

many obstacles,

Such high drag forces,

Dissipating my energy,

My very existence.

I was worn by skin drag,

Dissipated by form drag,

About to disappear and

be lost forever.

Until I noticed others

like me, other ripples,

I was not alone.

We worked together,

joined, collaborated,

Formed a network of

ripples.

Together we are

stronger. We can do

more.

And bring change form-

ing a turbulent milieu.

Turbulence is good, fast

and dynamic.

We transferred mass

better, heat efficiently,

momentum with ease.

We are a successful lot.

Successful ripples.

But we forgot our call-

ing.

The success made us

blind,

For in the confines, a

simulation of the real

world,

We might have solved

problems,

Devised solutions or de-

signed processes,

But we are acting as

mere ripples,

Surface disturbances agi-

tating the shallow wa-

ters.

For there in the depths,

Is the dark cornucopia

of problems.

Challenges we see but

oblivious to the masses.

This is our duty as rip-

ples.

To see,

To act,

To initiate change,

And stir free of the

murky sediments obscur-

ing parity, truth, justice,

peace.

RIPPLE

n. a small wave or series of gentle waves across a surface.

By Charlie Montealegre

THE REACTOR � 16

GOLD’S GYM Sponsor for Vignette: One Moment

Chemical Engineering Graduation Dinner 2010

MILLEUM TRAVEL CORPORATION Sponsor for Beyond CliChÉ: UP Diliman ChE Seminar Series 2010