The Philippine delegation brought home two Fourth Grand Awards, one Team Projects Fourth Grand Award and a Special Award from the recently concluded Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), which ran from May 14-19, 2007 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

Bringing home the bacon for the Philippines in the world’s biggest science fair were: Melvyn Carlo Barroa, 16, Capiz National High School, Roxas City who won Fourth Award in Microbiology for his project, Fish Mucus: Its Potential Antimicrobial Effects on Human Pathogens and Possible Role in Innate Immunity; a study that explored his findings of a potential antibiotic produced from a natural defense mechanism of fish. Hester Mana Umayam, 15, Philippine Science High School-Cagayan Valley Campus, garnering Fourth Award in Behavioral and Social Sciences for her research, Ethnomathematics in the Geometric Patterns in Woven Fabrics of the Indigenous Kalingas of the Philippines; a study that brought her to bring a better understanding of the patterns of Kalinga woven fabris in particular, and of its socio-cultural implications in general.

The team of Ivy Razel Ventura, Janine Cindy Santiago, Mara Elaine Villaverde, all 16 years old, from Philippine Science High School-Main Campus, won the Fourth Award in Team Projects, for their study, Screening, Isolation, and Characterization of Fluorescent Proteins from Nudibranchs. Ventura, Santiago and Villaverde explored the potential of Nudibranchs as useful in tumor research.

Meanwhile, Luiji John Karlo Suarez, 17, Dona Hortencia Salas Benedicto National High School, La Carlota City, won a Scholarship Award  from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance/The Lemelson Foundation for his research, The potential of marine bioluminescent bacteria as antibacterial agents against two major rice diseases caused by xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and xantohomonas oryzae pv. Oryzicola. Suarez introduced a new way of controlling bacteria infection in plants, to help farmers in the production of infection-free rice.

“Intel ISEF is part of our company’s commitment to foster young innovators like these who will one day transform the world in ways we can hardly imagine.” said Craig Barrett, Intel chairman