UST ChES Bags 2 Golds, 1 Silver, and a Trophy as Overall Champion during PiChElympics 2016

news and photos by Biel Ross Dar and Merryl Jean Marquez
(updated 10:04 AM, 26 February)

                The UST Chemical Engineering Society (UST-ChES) successfully defended their crown against nine competing schools as they were declared overall champion for this year’s Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers Olympics (PIChElympics) held last February 21, 2016 at the University of the Philippines - Los Baños, Laguna. The UST ChES Basketball team, women’s and men’s division, and the Volleyball team brought home the bacon as they won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal.

PIChElympics, Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers Olympics, is a yearly tournament showcasing not the intellectual aspect of the aspiring Chemical Engineering students, rather, their athletic prowess. This event is a gathering of various students from different schools across Luzon, in order to compete with their fellow peers.

 

                Ten schools in Luzon, namely University of Santo Tomas (UST), De La Salle University-Manila (DLSU-Manila), Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST), Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila (TIP-Manila), Mapua Institute of Technology-Manila (Mapua), University of the Philippines (UP) -  Chemical Engineering Society (UP KEM), UP-Alliance of Chemical Engineering Students (UP AlChEmES), Golden Gate Colleges, UPLB- Society of Chemical Engineering students, Batangas State University (BSU), and Adamson University (ADU), joined the annual Olympics of the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers.

 

PIChElympics concluded the event with an awarding ceremony and a recognition for every school who actively participated in this year’s event. Medals, gold, silver, and bronze, were given to the top 3 schools in each game and trophies for the top 3 overall ranking schools in the said event. Our own Volleyball, Women’s basketball, and Men’s basketball got silver, gold and gold respectively and UST-ChES was declared as an overall champion of the said event. UST-ChES successfully defended their crown as the reigning overall champion of the PIChElympics 2015.

Volleyball

                UST ChES Vollleyball team, led by Daljit Singh (Acting Team Captain) won silver in the annual PIChElympics and was accompanied by Engr. Princess Parubrub, former ChE Volleyball varsity and coach of this year’s ChE Volleyball team. The team was composed of great athletes: Renzi Barotac, Joshua John Baylon, Kenneth Caraig, John Dale Dela Peña, Pat Duncan, Sharize Gasatan, Mark Joshua Ines, Jerina Pangilinan, Theo Sacdalan, Daljit Singh, Dan Erson Talplacido, and Trisdale Wong.

                UST defeated UP Kem, 2-0, TIP-Manila, 2-0, and UP-LB, 2-0, in their first 3 games heading them to enter the championship against BSU who gave them a good fight.

At the first set of the championship game, UST scored 25-12 and beat BSU. During the 2^nd set, a close fight between the two opposing teams was established. The game was very intense as the crowd loudly cheered for their bet schools when the scores of the two teams where very close. UST’s number 8 player, Joshua John “JJ” Baylon was injured during this set whom his team mates considered a big loss to the game. Second set end up with a score of 20-25 in favor of BSU and gave a standing of 1-1 with UST. Third set, the decision round, UST did not stop defending their crown as the reigning champion in Volleyball of last year’s PIChElympics. The game ended with a close final score of 19-25 in favor of BSU. BSU was declared as the champion of the PIChElympics volleyball and UST got the silver spot.

 Basketball

The UST-ChES Men's Basketball Team

                The UST-ChES Men’s Basketball team, led by two team captains John Philip David and Gio Castillo, and composed of players Biel Dar, Angelo Orallo, Denzel Soliaban, Toffee Paddayuman, Kaile Miralo, RJ Loring, Alec Cortez, Edil Pineda, Nick Abuena and Rieal Tapulao, won back to back championships. They were accompanied by their coach, Engr. Nico Angelo Sardea, a former UST ChES varsity.

                UST defeated Adamson in blowout fashion, 63-36, on Sunday, February 21 at the UPLB Copeland Gymnasium. Soliaban led all scorers with 17 points and graduating players namely David, Dar and Castillo also contributing 12, 11 and 9 points respectively. The game was neck and neck during the first quarter until UST picked up the pace, running and scoring, in each possession, while also intensifying their defense and hustling on both sides of the court, up until the game became one-sided. Coach Nico posted on Facebook “Congratulations to all of us. Our hard work, discipline on the court and determination are one of the factors kaya we are still the CHAMPIONS!”  UST won against TIP-Manila, 53-38, and against BSU, 53-44, before entering the finals. 

Also, members of the UST-ChES Women’s Basketball team, Zuyuska Bennett, Jillian Gutierrez, Bianca Moreño and Sophia Vergara, won against EARIST in a 3 vs 3 championship game with a final score of 42-22 in favor of UST.

Basketball Scores 

Game 1: Orallo 20, David 13, Dar 8, Pineda 6, Soliaban 6,

Semi-Finals: Orallo 13, David 10, Dar 8, Cortez 7, Castillo 4, Soliaban 4, Pineda 3, Abuena 2, Tapulao 2

Finals: Soliaban 17, David 12, Dar 11, Castillo 9, Cortez 7, Loring 2, Orallo 2, Tapulao 2, Miralo 1

Chemical Engineering Quiz Team Bags Championship in 37th General Information Quiz Contest – Group Category

news by Darwin Eugenio
photos primarily by Darwin Eugenio and Grace Agura

The Chemical Engineering Quiz Team triumphantly won the group category championship for this year’s General Information Quiz Contest (GIQC) held on February 12, 2016 at the Education Auditorium and bagged 2nd place in the individual category.

The ChE Quiz Team (2nd - 4th person [from left] sitting on center table) looks intently at the flashed question.

After five departments were eliminated, it became a heated fight between the remaining teams. 

The quiz contest, an annual event facilitated by the Thomasian Engineer Journal, pits various departments in the Faculty of Engineering against each other in a battle of wits and trivia knowledge.

This year, eleven departments from both the Faculty of Engineering and Institute of Information and Computing Sciences, once again unleashed their inner skill and stocks in general knowledge and trivia and fought for the championship.

Host Kris Sanceja (right) looks at the scoreboard during the individual match.

The Chemical Engineering representatives in the group category for this year’s GIQC were Marc Gaela (4^th year), Wrenzie Rey Regodon (3^rd year), Hazel Anne Pullan (2^nd year), and Marc Voltaire Calubaquib (1^st year). These representatives took the lead early on as they steadily rose through the ranks during the elimination round. They won against nearest contender Team ECE (Electronics and Communications Engineering) with a score of 105 – 90, with ChE taking the lead.

The individual category player, Paul Jan Roxas, secured the 2^nd place, tailing one step behind the Civil Engineering team (CE) with a score of 75 (CE) – 60 (ChE).

The final scoreboard for the group category, cementing ChE victory.

ChE individual representative Paul Jan Roxas (center) taking his award.

When asked about the ChE victory, Wrenzie Regodon, a veteran team player said, “Di naming ineexpect. Lahat naman nag-contribute, at lahat nagbigay ng full effort.” Voltaire Calubaquib, the youngest in the team, said “Magandang laban. It’s not about [if] you win or lose [but] what matters is you had fun.” Marc Gaela, seemingly overwhelmed at the victory, deferred to comment.

The ChE Quiz Team (third to sixth persons from left) from the group category.
(Photo Credit: A-Jay Galiza, ECE Student)

The ChE team in the group category receiving their award and medals.

This year’s GIQC were hosted by Kris Sanceja and Mary Josephine Co, both members of the Thomasian Engineer Journal.

Last year, the ChE representatives in the 36th GIQC, Marc Gaela, Bob Castrense, Wrenzie Regodon, Darwin Eugenio, and Hazel Pullan, won 2^nd place in the group category while Marc Gaela won 2^nd place as well in the individual category.

UST ChES Concludes ChES Week with Sportsfest and Culminating Night

by Ezekiel Escoto and Patrick Dela Cruz (Sportsfest), Jardine Bonifacio (Culminating)

photos by UST-ChES MemDoc*

The UST Chemical Engineering Society (UST ChES) wrapped up this year’s ChES week last January 30 with two back-to-back activities called “Trails: The UST Chemical Engineering Sports Festival 2016” and “Review: Culminating Night 2016”. These two events held at the Quadricentennial Pavilion Open Court is annually held to promote physical wellness and sportsmanship to the Chemical Engineering community, and to formally close the ChES week.

Sportsfest: Battle of Stamina and Endurance

As the penultimate event for the ChES week, expectations were high for the event. Casual students observing the happenings said that the event was anticipated to be fun as it brings out the competitive spirit of the students.

Human Snake

Exciting games and activities round up in a fine Saturday which includes major sporting events mainly basketball, volleyball and badminton followed by minor games like tug-of-war, dodgeball, human snake, obstacle course and water pong.

Tug-of-War Players pull with all their might

For basketball, the first three games were played in the Fabella court outside UST, and the remaining basketball games and the rest of the games were played in the UST Quadricentennial Pavillion Practice Gym. The match-up for the games were determined by drawing lots with one lucky batch already advancing to the semi-finals. The games were played in single elimination, batch versus batch, with the exception of badminton. The badminton event first conducted round robin elimination between players of the same batch to determine who gets to represent their respective batches.

Batch 2017 (4th year) secured the trophy as overall champions by winning the basketball, tug-of-war and water pong games. Class of 2016 and 2019 were tied for the second spot after victorious stints in Badminton (5th year), Human Snake (5th year), Volleyball (2nd Year) and Obstacle Course (2nd year).

Badminton

                Badminton champion duo, Carla Evaristo and Camille Valencia were both asked about the competition. Carla said “Sobrang gagaling ng mga players and nahirapan kami ni cams kasi minsan umaabot kami sa 3^rd set. Masaya yung game. Sana may ganoon pa next year para maramdaman nila yung saya ng badminton during sportsfest”. While Camille commented “Super dikitan ang laban. Magagaling yung mga players. Ang angat lang naming ni Carla is luck kasi samin lagi natatapat yung bola so nakakapili kami if court or service”. She then jokingly added “lagi kaming court so doon kami sa hindi nakakasilaw”.

Basketball

For the popular Filipino game, basketball, Batch 2017 basketball team captain Angelo Orallo said “Masaya, kasi una sa lahat na-defend namin ang pagiging champion namin last year at walang masamang nangyari sa lahat ng players. Tapos nakita kong nag enjoy yung mga ka-batch ko pati na din yung ibang batch sa pag-represent ng mga batch nila. At natuwa din ako nung nakita kong may mga bagong magagaling na players sa lower batch. Ball is life, thank you God”.

Joshua Baylon, a 2^nd year volleyball player, has this to say about the ChES Sportsfest: "Masaya kasi nga marami akong nakilalang ibang year levels na naglalaro din ng sport na nilalaro ko."

Many students were excused in their classes as they were expected to participate in the games. Professors, instructors, support staff, and students tightened their bonds as they participated in a Zumba dance and on a friendly basketball game between the ChE basketball varsity team and a team of chemical engineering laboratory technicians from the department. An exhibition game between mixed faculty (like instructor Edsel Calica) and varsity players was also conducted for volleyball.

The event was made possible by the efforts of its project heads RD Layug and Performing Arts and Recreations Committee Officer in Charge Kaye Suing.

Culminating Night

It was a fine Saturday evening when UST ChES set up the stage for a celebration that same night for the culminating night in order to formally close the week-long activities filled with fun, energy, and knowledge.

The culmination night, which ran for almost three hours, was hosted by the 2016 Chemical Engineering Youth Ambassador and Ambassadress, Renzo Gabriel and Corina Tan. Ronald Reveche, the project head and the Business Manager of ChES, lead the program with the opening prayer and remarks.

Of course, there’s no time more perfect than the Culmination Night, in announcing the winners for the games and contests held the whole week. For KEMIKALAN, the organization’s own quiz bee, the winner was Team 4 (Mark Lorenz Capili, Pauline Losaria, Joyee Ann Zhang, Jayson Ordinaria and Luisito Reno Chin). As for the variety show, the APC group of 5th year student received their plaque and cash prize. The 4th year representatives got their award for being the overall champion of the sportsfest.

In between the award-giving ceremonies, intermission numbers kept the audience entertained. Jay Russell Avendano and Marien Moriah Canlas, Variety Show’s 1st Runner Up, and the Chemical Engineering Dance Crew, delivered their last performances for the week.

To officially close the program, UST ChES President Ann Christine Baual delivered the closing remarks which was followed by the singing of the UST Hymn, thus ending the 2016 ChES Week which was deemed successful.

----

*Uploader's Note: Pictures were supplied by Mark Danver Mendoza, Chair of the UST ChES Membership and Documentations Committee

At Day 2: FOREFRONT Continues to Educate Partner Communities on Solid Waste Management

news by Darwin Eugenio 
photos by Jeth Abisamis (UST-ChES ComDev)

On its second day, the UST ChES Community Development Committee continues in its noble mission to inform, educate and promote Solid Waste Management through its off-campus event titled  "FOREFRONT: Footsteps Towards A Greener Future” held last February 7, 2016 at North Triangle Alliance, Rodriguez (Montalban), Rizal.

Headed by its project heads Arun Nanda Kumar, Maria Kassandra Tan, Jeth Abisams, Hazil Magpayo, and Paula Bacani, the second day of the event was graced with the presence of enlightening speakers from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its two branches, the National Solid Waste Commission (DENR – NSCW) and the Environment Management Bureau - Environmental Education and Information Division (DENR-EMB EEID).

 

 (Left Picture: UST ChES participants scanning the books to be later given as prizes.

(Right Picture: Ms. Zeny Alzate giving an opening message.)

Held at the Kristong Hari chapel by the mountainside, the event was formally opened by Zeny Alzate, the chapel coordinator who praised the efforts of UST ChES and UST Simbahayan (the community development and charity arm of the University of Santo Tomas).

An icebreaker game, Pinoy Henyo, was then played to make the atmosphere lively and to interact with the audience – mostly community residents in the area. The said game was hosted by Hannah Gohing and Hazel Pullan.

Hannah Gohing (left) and Hazel Pullan (right) facilitating a game

A resident guessing the word placed above her head.

The first speaker, Nelie Dimer, from the DENR NSWC, was then called on to discuss the situation of solid waste management in the country. Her hands-on dynamic approach was appreciated by the thirty-strong audience. As she was speaking, volunteers and participants took on their painting materials and trooped to the other side of the chapel to paint some newly-donated garbage bins made of sturdy high density polyethylene.

Ms. Nelie Dimer from the DENR - National Solid Waste Commission

Participants at the outskirts of the chapel smile for the camera.

Ms. Nelie Dimer listens to one of the questions of the residents

After Ms. Dimer finished her interactive lecture, a lunch break was held with the UST participants handing out free food to the participants.

Engr. Binuya, an Engineering Sciences faculty member takes a look at
the work done by the participants and volunteers.

After lunch break, the organizers decide to have another game to get the attention of the residents as they just finished their lunch and were returning to their seats. The game, “Bring Me” had residents scrambling to give the item asked by the two game masters – Kassandra Tan and volunteer Darwin Eugenio. The winners of the game were given prizes – a tote bag from UST ChES’ sponsor M’Lhuillier and a book on making crafts from recycled materials.

Winners of the game (3rd from left to 2nd from right) with their prices.

The last guest speaker, Mr. Niño Pinalva of the DENR-EMB-EEID, presented numerous powerpoint and audio-visual presentations discussing some of the grievous environmental problems the country is facing and how communities can work together to address such issues. The community members present in the chapel listened intently as he discussed these issues.

Mr. Nino Pinalva of the DENR EMB-EEID

A roundtable discussion was held among grouped community members and UST participants to discuss on the solutions they promised to do in order to improve solid waste management practices of their community. The fruits of these discussions were then discussed among the entire audience afterwards.

A resident reading a book on making crafts from recycled materials.

The event was formally closed by Arun Kumar, who thanked the participants for giving their full attention to the speakers. A photo-taking opportunity was then held before the community residents left the chapel.

Residents smile for the camera

Mr. Nino Pinalva (4th from left) being awarded a certificate of appreciation.
He is flanked by the project heads of Forefront.

“Nag-enjoy mga volunteers. Everyone just fell into place, maraming natutunan, at maraming learning opportunities.” remarked Arun Kumar, also the Chair of the UST ChES Community Development Committee.

A group photo of the residents and volunteers. In front of them are the four
garbage bins donated by UST ChES ComDev.

“Interacting with the community was fun. Even if I’m just a young college student, they listened and had fun sharing their thoughts on how they could mitigate the amount of trash they produce. I felt at home with them, unexpectedly. They also shared, with visible happiness, their contributions in managing solid waste. I really recommend this event as it brings out the inner volunteer in you.” a 5^th year-level volunteer said.

The participants and volunteers from UST.

Two faculty members, Prof. Edna Quinto and Engr. Rose Ann Tamolang, also participated and observed the event. The third and final day of FOREFRONT will be held on February 21, 2015 and is open to all UST-ChES members.

UST ChES Opens ChES Week with Kemikalan 2016

by Queen Desiree Dalisay

Kemikalan, an annual quiz show organized by the UST Chemical Engineering Society – Student Affairs Committee, was one of the many much-awaited events for the weeklong celebration of the UST Chemical Engineering Society Week. “Kemikalan 2016: Journey to Divergence”, a battle of wits and intelligence among chemical engineering students was held last January 25, 2016 at the Education Auditorium, Albertus Magnus Building.

Photo Credits: Jobie Tuscano (UST-ChES MemDoc)

Spearheaded by Althea Mae Mendenilla and Denzel Duane Soliaban, the quiz show challenged participants on their knowledge of fundamental Chemical Engineering Courses, namely in the Mathematics, Engineering Sciences, Chemistry, and Chemical Engineering domains.

The Participants and Judges

Participants were chosen through a qualifying examination given to every section during the first week of classes. Six teams, each consisting of five members – wherein each member represents a particular year level - were formed. The quiz team also joined in on the challenge provided by the questions given, but was not included in the competition.

Protests and corrections raised by the participants were reviewed and verified by Engr. Mardie Pacia, Prof. Edna Quinto, and Assoc. Prof. Bernadette Duran, all from the Chemical Engineering Department who served as this year’s judges for Kemikalan.

The Quiz Show Proper

With its theme being derived from a famous book and movie series, Kemikalan 2016 deviated from its predecessors by providing additional challenges and twists that the participants braved using their wit and strategic thinking. The quiz show was divided into three major rounds and two bonus rounds. The major rounds, Aptitude, Switch, and Divergent consisted of 10, 12, and 8 questions, respectively. While the bonus rounds, Insurgent and Allegiant consisted of only one question each and were asked in between the major rounds. Each bonus question allowed a team to either earn 200 points for themselves or deduct the same from another team’s.

Upon finishing the Aptitude Round, the top five teams randomly picked from the five factions, namely Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless and Erudite while the sixth team remained faction less. These factions gave them powers that can be used twice for the Switch Round and once for the Divergent Round. For the end of the Switch Round, the top scoring teams had a chance to pick the faction that they think will benefit them best. The team who picked Abnegation had a chance to pass for a certain question but still get half the point for that question. Amity gives a team the ability to extend their time while Candor gives a team the ability to not allow an opposing team to use a calculator for a given question. The team with the Dauntless faction can freeze an opponent and finally, the team with the Erudite faction can copy the answer of another team.

The questions provided by the organizers really tested the knowledge of the participants as shown by the number of protests during each round. And while the participants were given a break from the pressure their brains are experiencing, the audience had a bit of fun themselves through the Kemikalkalan. Ten students volunteered and were asked a series of trivia questions until only one remained. The last man or woman standing received a prize from the UST ChES.

Photo Credits: (UST-ChES MemDoc)

Winning Teams

And upon the end of all the quiz show, the bottom three teams were named while the ranking of the top three teams remained unknown until it was announced at the Culminating Night by the end of the ChES week.

On the said night, it was announced that the top three winning teams for this year’s kemikalan are the following (from 1^st to 3^rd place): Team 4 (Mark Lorenz Capili, Pauline Losaria, Joyee Ann Zhang, Jayson Ordinaria and Luisito Reno Chin), Team 3 (Jerelle Javier, Raven Mancilla, John Dela Peña, Amir Bracino, Christelle Sepe), and Team 5 (Cheska Teñoso, Edward Felipe III, Jazinda Capati, Jed Dupaya, and Charmaine Layson).