Students from the University of San Carlos Department of Physics were chosen as finalists in this year’s BPI-DOST Innovation Awards with its project, “Extrusion-based 3D printing of artificial bone tissue scaffold using carrageenan with calcium phosphate.” 

Jamaica Malingin, Grezeil Edar, and Athena Valerie Casangcapan are B.S. Applied Physics students who conducted their project with the Medical Biophysics Group under the tutelage of Prof. Rommel G. Bacabac. 

The physics student researchers presented the 3D printing process of artificial bone tissue. Carrageenan is a major export raw material of the Philippines. Development of advanced tissue engineering applications for carrageenan will help pave the way for the country’s participation in the tissue engineering field.

Participating schools all over the Philippines sent their project proposals to the BPI Foundation on March 31, 2022. After reviewing the proposals from April to June, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the BPI Foundation announced the eight schools that made it to the finals, including USC. 

The teams were then given three months to build and implement their projects and the final project paper was submitted in September. 

On October 26, the Carolinian team flew to Makati City, Manila for the final project presentation where the eight teams presented their innovation projects to a board of judges composed of BPI Foundation Executive Director, Owen Cammayo, representative from the Business Sector Martin Gomez, and representatives from the academe Dr. Eric Punzalan (DLSU) and Dr. Pia Bagamasbad (UP NIMBB).

Watch the video presentation of the USC team through this link: https://fb.watch/gL7cWvXszg/

by Syrine Gladys Podadera