SMART Communications with the Ateneo Innovation Center's LED and Biomedical Teams
(R to L : Mark Santos, Jimson Ngeo, Engr. Guico No, Nova Clotario, Stephanie Orlino, Geraldine Bolboa, Sam Ramos, Darwin Flores, Dr. Greg Tangonan, Gilbert Peren, Paul Cabacungan)
This week in the Ateneo Innovation Center met with two of our major partners SMART Communications and Ayala Foundation. By collaborating and partnering with leaders in industry, the Ateneo Innovation Center hopes to strengthen and push Philippine Innovation.
Ayala Foundation and Ayala TBI with the Ateneo Innovation Center Solar and Clean Water Teams
(R to L : Jung Valientes, Francis Bautista, Helen Cabrera, Claire Yu, Dr. Reese Macabebe, Anay Zalamea, Rhia Ramirez, Michael Hansson, Dr. Greg Tangonan, Paul Cabacungan.)
Tao Corporation (http://taocommunity.com) recently visited the Ateneo Innovation Center to discuss possible partnership and collaboration on different fields from Waste Water Systems headed by MS Student Jun Granada, ECE MS Graduate Paul Cabacungan and Environmental Management faculty James Araneta to Algae LED Photobioreactors for pharmaceutical needs headed by ECE/CoE/Chem Graduate Lea Macaraig and MS ECE Student Gilbert Peren.
The Ateneo Innovation Center is looking forward to working side by side with Tao Corporation in gamechanging fields.
(R-L Charlotte Kendra G. Castillo and James Araneta)
With more than 60 in attendance, Ms. Kendra Castillo's talk on climate change is by far the most attended Ateneo Innovation Center seminar. Ms. Kendra Castillo is a graduate of the Ateneo and a past member of the faculty and it is great to have Ms. Kendra Castillo back in Ateneo.
Ms. Kendra Castillo is currently taking her Ph.D. in Prudue Univeristy in Illionis and her current research has been on going for more than a year already with a new set of results coming in soon that would soon make her model even more powerful as it takes into account more in detail the different terrain in our world such as urban terrain.
THINKING OUTSIDE the CARBON BOX:
Science and Policy Issues of Tropical Deforestation - Climate Feedbacks
Charlotte Kendra G. Castillo Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University;
Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
Purdue Climate Change Research Center (PCCRC)
In Cooperation with the World Agro-forestry Centre (ICRAF) and the Manila Observatory (MO)
With the release of the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the 2008 Bali Action Plan, tropical deforestation has emerged as a significant source of carbon emissions. Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) has become the center of an active discussion in the climate change science and policy community. But this focus on carbon sequestration in forests, although important, is incomplete in assessing the impacts of deforestation on climate change. Biosphere-atmosphere dynamics are affected by biogeophysical factors as profoundly as by the carbon cycle. Thus, we need a deeper understanding of how the terrestrial biosphere and climate interact in ways beyond just the carbon feedback in order to make better climate change projections and mitigation decisions.
Research to date has two critical limitations. The first is that coupled land-use/climate modeling has not incorporated realistic scenarios of deforestation nor has the sensitivity to the space-time patterns of deforestation been explored. Secondly, there also has been little attempt to include the dynamic feedbacks between socioeconomic constraints within tropical forests and the climate-biosphere system. Our ongoing research explores a more realistic evolution of deforestation scenarios and their coupling to the earth-atmosphere system through the integration of biogeophysical, biogeochemical, and human dimensions. We aim to analyze the impacts of different deforestation (or preservation) pathways, which may vary by the amount of forest remaining, the annual rates, and the region (South America, Central Africa or Southeast Asia) where deforestation is occurring.
This work is comprised of three stages: (1) offline sensitivity analysis using the Community Land Model (CLM ver. 3.5) with dynamic global vegetation, (2) fully-coupled sensitivity analysis using the Community Climate System Model (CCSM3), and (3) the development and integration of a socio-economic module. Currently, the project is in the early stages of Phase 2, in which model code modifications tested in Phase 1 are incorporated into CCSM3. Modifications involve the forcing of “deforestation curves” through annual removal of trees in the tropics and control over establishment of new vegetation. Two annual deforestation rates are explored – 10% vs. 1% – while enforcing a 10% forest preservation target. Results of this preliminary rate sensitivity analysis reflect that deforestation pathways are likely to matter at least regionally as there are differences in the response of key biogeophysical parameters that affect climate. These results, in turn, will bear significantly on short- to long-term adaptation and mitigation – and overall development – initiatives.
Dr. Nat Libatique [ECE Dept. Chair] , Cesar Pineda [Faculty and CEO of VastNet], Larry Qua [CEO of Ionics] and Greg Tangonan [Innovation Center Director]
Last November 20, 2009 Ionics EMS Inc. a leading electrons service provider came to the Ateneo Innovation Center to discuss possible WiMax Deployment on the campus. Larry Qua together with his wife Judy Qua presented on the capabilities of their WiMax Technologies and a timetable on the deployment of WiMax. The deployment of WiMax will guarantee strong Wi-Fi signals across the entire campus converting the Ateneo de Manila into a Wi-Fi Hotspot Island.
(Greg Tangonan presenting the plans of the Ateneo Innovation Center)
Greg Tangonan also presented the vision of the Ateneo Innovation Center of creating an Ateneo Media Lab in order to broadcast the mountains upon mountains of multimedia that is stored in the Rizal Library and for students to have a place to broadcast their talents.
(Dr. Nat Libatique together with Ionics Angelito Alburo and Rick Modina posing with the WiMax Equipment of Ionics)
With an expansion of Wi-Fi signals on campus with a theoretical speed of 40Mbps, students would be able to preform better as information will be quite literally a click away.
(Dr. Nat Libatuique testing the IONICS WiMAX equipment)
With talks on going with PLDT-SMART to provide bandwidth and connection to the internet (WiMAX alone can only create an Intra-network) the vision of Ateneo being a broadband campus is quickly becoming a reality.
(L-R :Bernice Pineda, Rolan Tanagras, Greg Tangonan, Joey Limjap, Dr. Reena Estuar and Nash Sevillo)
Today Greg Tangonan the Director of the Ateneo Innovation Center together with Dr. Reena Estunar of DISCS met with a team from PLDT Innolab (Joey Limjap, Nash Sevillo, Bernice Pineda and Rolan Tanagras) to follow up on their meeting 2 months ago where exciting new oppurtunities of collaboration between PLDT and Ateneo are just around the corner.
Meeting in the PLDT-CTC Building in the Loyola Campus, the group had a lively discussion focusing on expanding collaboration in the fields of content development and broadband delivery. The Ateneo Innovation Center is proud to be collaborating with PLDT Innolab hoping for more meetings to come.
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