One-man Team Rises out of the Five Competing Teams in the «The Engineering Innovations Congress Exposition 2022»

06 | NEWS

One-man Team Rises out of the Five Competing Teams in the “The Engineering Innovations Congress Exposition 2022”

by Benedict Abdon

Picture courtesy of Aldrin James Lucas

Aldrin James Lucas, a 3rd-year Mechatronics Engineering student, won as the First Placer in the “The Engineering Innovations Congress Exposition 2022 (Expo 2022)” last February 25, 2022.

A total of five (5) teams have competed in the said event. Two (2) teams have two (2) members, another two (2) teams have three (3) members, and only one (1) team has one (1) member. They have showcased their social and tech-based innovations or solutions intended to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

In an interview with Mr. Lucas, he explained his innovation and its purpose that led him to achieve the first place award in the event. “My entry was a toned-down version of our entry for the DOST YIP with Liel Juguilon and Daniel Manalad. Originally, yung submission namin doon is a system na kayang mag-separate ng used face masks from trash piles tapos i-pe-prepare niya for recycling since mahirap i-recycle yung mga ganito due to the pandemic kasi considered siya as hazardous wastes. Since overkill yung design namin noon, hindi siya na-accept ni DOST, and sayang yung idea. So, I used it sa contest na ito but nag-focus na lang ako sa disinfection part nung mga face mask para ma-achieve pa rin yung goal feature na ma-prepare for recycling yung mga face masks while minimizing the risk of transmission of diseases.”

Slide decks, brief concept papers, and a recorded version of his presentation have been done in preparation for the whole course of events. He has started from scratch even though there is already an original proposal paper to minimize the risk of overlooking the mistakes in the first version. He also added that this whole proposal revision had been his past time during the semester break.

“First of all, yung team ko sa YIP na nakatulong ko sa pag-conceptualize nung concept before, kaya madali na lang yung reconstructing process niya the 2nd time around. Special mention to my best friend na si Liel na kahit ‘di na niya ko nasamahan sa contest na ito is full support pa rin, and sa team mentor namin before na si Sir Clint. Also, sa mga MEE faculties na nag-help samin to think about what aspects to consider sa pagde-design nung system, starting with Sir Gabs, Sir Bagsic, Sir Juan, Sir Jason, and Ma’am Jo. I would also like to extend my gratitude sa Fabrication Laboratory team ng BulSU, to Sir Arvin and friends, for assisting us sa pag-canvas ng expenses noon and helping us decide what to use sa pagbuo nung design concept; kay Sir Fermin, for helping us on how to apply for the YIP the first time around; also sa mga nakausap namin na LGUs and private sectors for their insights on how to address the problem properly; to my mentor, Sir Mark Ocampo, who helped us figure out the statistical aspects na need i-consider para ma-assure na magiging valid yung data sa theoretical testing of the device; my friends and my parents sa pag-support all along; and lastly, sa friend ko na nag-invite sakin to join the Engineering ICON 2022 for the wonderful learning opportunity.”

In the end, he did not expect anything upon joining the event because his purposes were to support his friend, whose organization is the facilitator of the said event, and at least make their YIP idea be used on something else noteworthy. He said, “It was stressful in some aspects, but it was all worth it in the end.”

Picture courtesy of Aldrin James Lucas