Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) once again achieved another milestone after Viatto Leonard Palangan, a 4th-year BS Environmental Engineering student, won the Best Paper Presentation Award at the 2023 International Conference on Environmental Quality Concern, Control, and Conservation held in Taiwan last May 4-6, 2023.
The paper entitled, “Development of Reinforced Polyvinyl Acetate Wood Adhesive using Bacterial Cellulose” is a collaborative work by Palangan, with his co-researchers, Judy Ann Hambre, Dr. Maria Shiela Ramos, Assoc Prof. Ralf Ruffel Abarca, Ph.D., and Roger Dologuin Jr. wherein Palangan was acknowledged for his presentation.
According to Palangan, it felt amazing that out of all the presenters, from professors to Ph.D. students, he was recognized as the best in the oral presentation.
Achieving such an award, nevertheless, was not a walk in the park. The team had to spend most of their time in the laboratories to keep up with the time frame.
“The team really {stepped} up to finish our thesis on time. I {remember} we were always present in our laboratories even on weekends and holidays just to finish our experiments. Before going to Taiwan, my adviser prepared us by asking questions about our study for about an hour. That session {prepared me} to answer all the questions about our study”, Palangan added.
The event was spearheaded by three universities in Taiwan, namely the National Chung Hsing University, the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, and the Chinese Institute of Environmental Engineering. This was in collaboration with the Seoul National University in Korea; King Mongkut’s University of Technology in Thailand; Vietnam National University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology in Vietnam; University of 17 August 1945 in Indonesia; Arizona State University in USA; and the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD), Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology (BISCAST), and Mapua University in the Philippines.
Report by Krisje Alessandria Nagal
Proofread by Juvanie Ambayic, Lady Jay Mino, and Crepelle Odian
