Mojica attends research conference

Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering Chairman Ruel M. Mojica was invited to attend a two-day National Conference on Research in Higher Education on 12-13 November 2009 at Royal Mandaya Hotel, Davao City. With the theme “Empowering HEI’s in Research for Global Competitiveness”, the special conference was convened to provide venue for discussion and dissemination of outputs of CHED-funded researches and to help create and sustain research networking/linkages/partnership between and among the producers and consumers of research knowledge.

The conference brings together top rank CHED officials headed by its chairman Dr. Emmanuel Y. Angeles and researchers from different HEI’s throughout the country. Sen. Edgardo J. Angara served as resource speaker. In his speech, he emphasized the importance of conducting researches in the transformation of the country. During the plenary session, papers titled “Research Process vis-à-vis Research Productivity” and “Academe-Infrastructure and Organizational Culture of the Research University” were delivered by Dr. Flor Lacanilao of UP-Diliman and Dr. Allan Benedict Bernardo of De La Salle University, respectively.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mojica presented his poster paper titled “Development, Evalauation and Optimization of A Microcontrolled-Based Mechanical Coffee Roaster for Small-Scale Roasting”.

The activity was highlighted by awarding of certificates to the participants and winners of the best paper and best poster awards. (RMMojica)

CvSU and CHED ink MOA for DAFE research project

Cavite State University (CvSU) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) signed a memorandum of agreement for conducting a research project entitled “Assessment of Cleaner Production in the Meat industry in the Philippines”. The document was signed by President Divinia C. Chavez and Dr. Enrique P. Supangco representing CvSU and CHED, respectively. Dr. Supangco is the Director of the UPLB – CHED Zonal Research Center (UPLB – CHED ZRC). Under the said agreement, UPLB – CHED ZRC will provide funds amounting to Php 220,000 while CvSU will undertake the implementation of the research work.

The research will be spearheaded by Professor Conrado M. Baltazar who will act as the study leader. Dr. Edna Vida, CvSU Director for Research, and Ms. Bernadette Morelos, a staff member of the CvSU Research Center, will serve as members of the project staff. The research aims to increase the efficiency of slaughterhouses by the adoption of cleaner production practices and to reduce the amount of waste products and the level of effluent in slaughterhouses. It will be conducted within a period of one year. Initial preparations are already worked out for the actual implementation of the project. Full scale research work will start tentatively by January next year. (CMBaltazar)

Mojica speaks on experimental research

Dr. Ruel M. Mojica, DAFE chair, was invited as resource speaker in the College of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Natural Resources (CAFENR) Seminar Series on 22 October 2009 at the SM Rolle Hall. His paper titled “Design and Statistical Analysis for Experimental Research” was presented during the seminar.

His talk focused on the important topics in statistics such as collection of sample data and analysis, interpretation and presentation of data for experimental research. He also discussed some experimental designs which include Completely Randomized Design (CRD), Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and Latin Square Design (LSD). Participants were students from CAFENR and Laboratory Science High School. He ended his talk by offering tutorial services to interested students. (EFPapa)

CEIT holds friendly basketball and volleyball game

A friendly basketball and volleyball games for the faculty and staff of the College of Engineering and Information Technology was held last 28 – 29 September 2009. The activity, which aimed to promote and develop the camaraderie and solidarity among the faculty and staff of the college, was part of the activities of the 24th foundation day celebration of the college.

The teams were collaboration of various departments of the college. The basketball game teams were composed of faculty and staff of the Department of Information Technology (DIT), Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering (DAFE), and Dean’s Office; and the faculty and staff of Department of Civil Engineering (DCE), Department of Computer and Electronics Engineering (DCEE), Department of Industrial Engineering and Technology (DIET), Physical Planning Unit (PPU), and University Computer Center (UCC) as Team 1 and Team 2, respectively. The volleyball game was participated by four teams: DIT (team 1), DCEE and DIET (team 2), DCE and PPU (team 3) and DAFE, UCC and Dean’s Office (team 4). Team 2 in both categories won over the other teams and declared as the champions of the basketball and volleyball games. (SDFenol)

DAFE facilitates seminar - workshop on research proposal writing

A seminar-workshop on writing a research proposal was facilitated by the department last 09 September 2009 at the Conference Room of the College of Engineering and Information Technology. The activity primarily, which aimed to orient the faculty members of the college on writing a winning research proposal and the benefits that may be derived from it. This is in response to the call of the office of the VP for RECETS of coming up with a winning research proposal. Dr. Edna dA. Vida, research director of the university, served as resource speaker. She discussed the research thrusts and program focus of the university as well as the proposal format of the different funding agencies.

In the afternoon, representatives from the five departments of the college presented their outputs. Among the presenters include Ms. Rhodora V. Nuestro (DIET), Ms. Poinsettia A. Vida (DCEE), Engr. Michael Gomez (DCE) and Mr. Simeon E. Daez and Mr. John Mark C. Abanes (DIT). Critiquing of outputs followed with Dr. Edna dA. Vida, Dr. David L. Cero and Engr. Renato B. Cubilla as critics. Dr. Vida persuaded the faculty to engage in research activities because there are several benefits that one can derive from it. (LRMontaron)

Mojica speaks at PCARRD scholars’ meeting

Dr. Ruel M. Mojica, chair of the department, gave an invited talk at the PCARRD Annual Scholars’ Meeting held in Bulwagang Panday Karunungan, PCARRD, Los Baños, Laguna on 28 September 2009. The talk, "Writing and Presenting an Excellent Thesis/Dissertation" focused on the personal experiences of Dr. Mojica in writing and presenting his winning dissertation.
Thesis/dissertation writing is one of the crucial tasks in the life of every student pursuing higher education. Students, generally, are confused on what to choose for their thesis/dissertation and therefore some of them usually end up choosing the wrong topic. Although there are no set rules for finding the right ideas for a thesis/dissertation, Dr. Mojica gave some tips which can at least make their thesis/dissertation writing easy for them. His talk highlighted the step-by-step guide in writing an excellent thesis/dissertation.
The annual scholars’ meeting is held each year to provide a forum for participants to understand the program’s policies and guidelines and derive lessons from the success stories of graduated PCARRD scholars. (RMMojica)

AE faculty and students witness AFMech Law hearing

Last 01 September 2009, the faculty and students of the department headed by their chair, Dr. Ruel M. Mojica witnessed the hearing of the Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization (AFMech) Law during the second regular session of the Fourteenth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines at the Senate Building, Pasay City. The session was headed by Sen. Loren Legarda as the chairman of the board and the panel was represented by the heads of various institutions both from the private and public sectors such as DA, BFAR, BPRE, BOAE, PhilRice, AMTEC (UPLB) and others. Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, author of the bill, briefly joined the session temporarily and participated in the consultation with different agencies.

AFMech Law is an act promoting and developing the agricultural and fisheries mechanization development in the country. “Unfortunately, the present level of agricultural and fisheries mechanization in the Philippines is quite dismal when benchmarked with its Asian neighbors such as Korea. This country’s low level of mechanization is highly attributed to the various technical and socio-economic constraints such as lack of investment in research and development, inadequate training and extension, poor manufacturing technology and lack of credit and low farming income. Other problems include the inadequacy of after sales service, supply of substandard agricultural and fishery machinery particularly in the government procurement program and the sporadic, fragmented and disorganized implementation of agricultural and fishery mechanization. The Bill seeks to establish a system of accreditation and classification of agricultural and fishery machinery suppliers and manufacturers, state of the art testing and evaluation, enforcement and responsive and adequate support services. This law must be passed to consolidate, integrate and strengthen all existing policies and programs in order to realize the country’s efforts towards agriculture and fisheries mechanization” explained Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri. (GMCastillo)

e-Learning modules for the out-of-school youth and adults

Drs. David and Leyma Cero are two of the seven instructional designers (IDs) of Cavite State University in the eSkwela Content Development Project of the Commision on Information and Communications Technology (CICT). As IDs, they are tasked to convert the print modules of the Department of Education - Bureau of Alternative Learning System (DepEd-BALS) to digital form for the out-of-school youth and adults in the country. Specifically, the IDs develop the concept/theme that will be applied in the module and write the corresponding storyboards and scripts that will guide the developers (graphic artists, media editors and programmers) of the project.

"The eSkwela Project is envisioned to empower out-of-school youth and adults to be globally competitive through the effective use of ICT in alternative learning. With eSkwela's ICT-enabled environment, Filipino out-of-school youths and adults can attain basic education competence and life skills."

Dr. Camilo A. Polinga is the project manager of CvSU. The University is developing a total of 58 modules. Six outputs were already certified by the DepEd-BALS and CICT.

Cero attends RMIS meeting

Dr. Leyma L. Cero, Regional Management Information Service (RMIS) coordinator of the Southern Tagalog Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (STARRDEC) attended the Mid-Year National RMIS Coordinators' Meeting on September 10-11, 2009 at the Sampaguita Gardens in New Washington, Aklan.

The meeting aimed to validate the ICT accomplishments of the group and discuss the roles and inputs of the coordinators on the consortium programs in the light of the revised organizational structure. It was participated by the RMIS coordinators of 13 out of the 14 R&D consortia of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

As RMIS coordinator, Dr. Cero takes charge of the management of the ICT infrastructure/connectivity/hardware and software requirements, regional webpage, information systems, and training of the member agencies of the Southern Tagalog region.

Agri sector to cope with new challenges

The Philippine Agriculture is characterized by “low productivity” caused by complex factors deeply rooted to culture and politics. This problem is becoming a social problem and require intervention from the national government, LGUs, along with research and academic institutions.

The ever increasing population and the decreasing agricultural land put pressure to the agriculture sector to improve productivity. The changing pattern of the climate has also challenged the sector to protect and ensure production . The reduction in tariff of imported agricultural products could spell doom to local producers unless they are ready to compete with the low prices of these imported agricultural goods. This situation will put the country into massive importation of our food stocks if government will not implement interventions and programs that will address these challenges.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the national government is committed to sustain higher farm spending focused at empowering the stakeholders in agriculture to cope up with these challenges. Government spending in agriculture increased from Php 25.36 billion in 2007 to Php 46.86 billion this year (2009). Spending on irrigation resulted to an increase in palay production, according to the DA report.
However, the DA also noted that LGUs are not efficient in utilizing the funds downloaded to them from the national government. The Department of Agriculture has obligated some PhP2 billion in funds for the construction of farm to market roads and downloaded the funds to the LGUs, but the money up to now remained unused by LGUs.

So, it the stakeholders in Agriculture cannot absorb the billions of pesos of funds from the national government to implement programs that will address the challenges of free-trade, climate change and low productivity, then the Philippine Agriculture will go through the cycle of upheaval. source: Department of Agriculture
(CAPolinga)

Cero joins accreditation survey visit to ISU

Dr. David L. Cero, senior faculty member of DAFE, was among the 11 AACCUP accreditors that made an accreditation survey visit for the four (4) academic programs of Isabela State University – Cabagan Campus, in Cabagan, Isabela on 3 – 7 August 2009. He acted as a Team Leader of the group that assessed the MS Environmental Science program. AACCUP accreditation is deemed as a quality assurance tool used by SUCs in the Philippines towards achieving academic excellence. (DLCero)

3 AE grads pass board exam

Jaykie Homer Hernandez, John Benedict Masana and Camille Reyes passed the Agricultural Engineer Licensure Examination held on 24-25 August 2009 in Manila. The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced that 122 out of 409 passed the exam given by the Board of Agricultural Engineering in the cities of Manila, Baguio and Davao.

The new professional agricultural engineers will take their oath before the Board on 8 October 2009, 1 p.m. at the Manila Hotel.

Engr. Masana graduated in November 2008 while Engrs. Hernandez and Reyes graduated in April 2009.


L-R: Engrs. Jaykie Hernandez, JB Masana and Camille Reyes

RMM wins best paper and poster

Dr. Ruel M. Mojica's research titled A Participatory Approach in the Development, Evaluation and Optimization of a Microcontroller-based Mechanical Coffee Roaster won the Best Paper (1st place) in the Development Category during the 22nd Regional Symposium on Research and Development Highlights (RSRDH) on August 24, 2009 at the Laguna State Polytechnic University, Siniloan, Laguna. Dr. Mojica also placed third among 13 entries in the Poster Category during the event.

Each year, the Southern Tagalog Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (STARRDEC) conducts the RSRDH wherein member agencies vie against each other for best papers and posters. At present, STARRDEC has 25 member agencies, 19 of which are R&D implementing agencies.

Dr. Mojica's paper will be the official entry of STARRDEC to the National Symposium on Agriculture and Resources Research and Development (NSARRD) in November 2009.

DAFE profs attend PMS-OPES seminar-workshop

Drs. Leyma L. Cero and Marilyn M. Escobar participated in the Seminar-Workshop on Performance Management System - Office Performance Evaluation System (PMS-OPES) on July 28-30, 2009 at the Rolle Hall. Their participation is in relation to their designation as members of the Calibration Committee which is headed by Dr. Lorenzo C. Lapitan Jr. Office Memo No. 44 s, 2009 issued by the University President Dr. Divinia C. Chavez listed the designated key players and groups of the Agency PMS-OPES.

The Civil Service Commission required all government agencies to install the PMS-OPES. All agencies are directed to institute a Performance Evaluation System based on objectively measured output and performance of personnel and units. The Calibration Committee "acts as the final arbiter and determining body for the points for each output. It is the group that will manage the development and implementation of the agency performance management system including the creation of policies and guidelines for the PMS-OPES."

Dir. Annie G. Arcala of CSC RO IV served as the resource speaker for the three-day seminar-workshop. During the workshop, the participants came up with OPES reference tables for RECETS, Instruction, External and Business Affairs, and Administrative and Support Services. The members of the Calibration Committee reviewed the initial outputs.

Topnotchers (Preliminary Examination)

Math 07: Differential Calculus

[GE2-1, GE2-3, BS CoS2-1, BS ARCH2-1]

MARK KEVIN PAUL B. CEE (GE2-1) 100

JEWEL S. SANCHEZ (GE2-1) 92

RENZ ERICK R. DELGADO (GE2-1) 92

ROI ROBERT S. DELA MERCED (GE2-1) 88

KATHLEEN F. IDICA (GE2-1) 86

ADRIAN LYNARD C. MARTINEZ (GE2-1) 86

JUANA L. ABETRIA (GE2-1) 84

RYAN A. RODRIGUEZ (GE2-1) 83

ALLAN A. SORIANO (GE2-3) 81

Math 02: College Algebra

[BS ARCH1-1, BS IT1-5, BS OA1-1, BS CoS1-2]

MARIA KARLA C. CALUB (BS ARCH1-1) 100

REYMARK A. DEL ROSARIO (BS ARCH1-1) 100

MEL ANN C. RENDON (BS ARCH1-1) 100

EIROL JOHN S. GOMEZ (BS ARCH1-1) 90

EDZEL S. JOMAO-AS (BS ARCH1-1) 89

MARIA BABY KLYRE S. CATIBOG (BS ARCH1-1) 85

JOHN MARK TENORIO (BS IT1-5) 85

LORIE JOY SERVENTO (BS CoS1-2) 80

JESSICA B. SENOCBIT (BS CoS1-2) 80

Math 04: Plane and Spherical Trigonometry

[GE1-1, GE1-2]

ANGELO JAMES R. AMBION (GE1-1) 80

CHARMAINE ANGEL M. DITANGAN (GE1-1) 78

RODNEL RICK C. CERVANTES (GE1-1) 75

LOUIE CHRISTOPHER C. PASCASIO (GE1-1) 72

MAC CHESTER D. SABA (GE1-1) 71

DENNIS P. MARTONITO (GE1-1) 70

GERRY M. CASTILLO

instructor

JQD receives 35 years service award

Prof. Jaime Q. Dilidili is one of the service awardees honored during the CvSU Recognition Program at the University Quadrangle on June 30, 2009. The awards were presented by Hon. Franklin M. Drilon and Cong. Joseph Emilio A. Abaya of the 1st District of Cavite together with CvSU President Dr. Divinia C. Chavez.

This year's theme was "Enhancing the Delivery of Services Through Arts, Science and Technology" with former Sen. Drilon as guest speaker.

Prof. Dilidili served as chairman of the Department of Agricultural Engineering, dean of School of Engineering, director of Physical Plant Services, vice president for External and Business Affairs, and director of the Presidential Management and Coordinating Office. He is a project staff of the Department of Energy-Affiliated Renewable Energy Center (DOE-AREC) of the university.

Greetings

Qualifying Exam Results

Announcement

Announcement

Picture Taking of Graduating Students
April 4, 2009 ; 8AM - 5PM
at CEIT Conference Room