Two faculty members of Xavier University were among the recipients of the 2016 Commission on Higher Education Research and Publication (Republica) Awards for their researches in the field of chemistry.
XU College of Arts and Sciences dean and chemistry faculty member Dr Juliet Q Dalagan was hailed as the National Winner in the Natural Sciences and Agriculture category, with her research titled “Simultaneous functionalization and reduction graphene oxide with diatom silica.”
Dalagan’s fellow awardee, Dr Heide R Rabanes was a National Qualifier in the same category with her three studies: (1) Sweeping an alpherol enentiomers with an organic solvent and sulfated β-cyclodextrin in capillary electrophoresis; (2) Micellar electrokinetic chromatography of the constituents in Philippine lagundi (vitex negundo) herbal products; and (3) Capillary electrophoresis of natural products: 2011-2012.
Sponsored by Ched, the Republica Awards are bestowed biennially to outstanding higher education faculty and researchers whose Ched-funded research outputs are published in ISI/Scopus-indexed journals and are contributing to national development.
All qualifiers of the National Republica Awards were judged by the National Awards Board based on the quality of research (50%), quality of publication (30%), and socio-economic relevance and potential impact to regional or national development (20%).
One Republica National Winner was selected in each of the three major categories: (1) Natural Sciences and Agriculture; (2) Mathematics, Engineering, and Information Technology; and (3) Humanities, Social Sciences, Business, and Teacher Education. Substantial cash prizes were given to the winners.
XU president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ lauded these achievements of the two faculty members.
“Congratulations, Dr Juliet Dalagan and Dr Heide Rabanes! May your passion for research inspire your fellow faculty to engage in the discovery of new knowledge for the continuing growth and development of our country,” Yap said in his message to the academic community.
The award-giving body is in accordance with the pertinent provisions of Republic Act 7722 or the Higher Education Act of 1994.
This year’s Ched Republica Awards ceremony was held on July 26 at the Century Park Hotel, Manila. ∎