Engineering Excellence

2017 Manila Water Foundation Prize for Engineering Excellence Awardee Chosen

2017 MANILA WATER FOUNDATION PRIZE FOR ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARDEE CHOSEN

The 2017 Manila Water Foundation Prize for Engineering Excellence is once again recognizing exceptional professional Filipino scientists and engineers working for the country. In partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Technological Council (PTC), the Prize searched for everyday individuals who used their knowledge and talents in creating innovations addressing changing concerns for water, sanitation, environment, and sustainability. This year’s run has come to a close and the most fitting to the title has been chosen.

Dr. Ricardo F. Orge is a Senior Science Research Specialist from the Philippine Rice Research Institute. An Agricultural Engineer by degree and profession, he obtained his degrees from the Visayas State University, and University of the Philippines in Los Baños and Diliman. Since 1992, he and his team have been studying and developing technologies for the improvement of farmers and other related industries. One such is the Continuous-type Rice Hull (CtRH) Carbonizer, a machine for processing rice hull, improving the income-generating activities of the farmers while addressing environmental and climate change concerns. Combined with a highly diversified and integrated rice-based farming system, its popularity has been increasing among farmers in the Northern Luzon region, as well as catching the attention of other LGUs in exploring its use for other agricultural and livelihood purposes.

As this year’s sole awardee, Dr. Orge will receive a trophy entitled “The Last Light”, designed by Ayala Corporation Chairman Emeritus Jaime Zobel de Ayala from the 2004 “Ode to Light” collection, Php500,000, and a medal in an awarding ceremony in 2018, where the country’s leaders for transformative change will come together.

“I think he is very unassuming and genuine, and his innovation stands out from the others because it responds to more than one need with biochar” PTC’s founder and Board Member Dr. Lydia Tansinsin said of Dr. Orge.

“I would like to see this innovation promoted and used more with the farming regions of the country as I think this will help boost their yield and production, as well as their incomes in the long run,” DOST’s Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara, one of the judges during the final phases of the Prize, said to Dr. Orge.

The 2017 Manila Water Foundation Prize for Engineering Excellence

The Manila Water Foundation Prize for Engineering Excellence is a nationwide search for engineers and scientists who manifest excellent engineering and scientific competence, inspiring passion to make a difference, and outstanding commitment to the development of communities resulting in projects that champion water, sanitation, environment, and sustainability.

This undertaking is an initiative of the Manila Water Foundation in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Technological Council (PTC).

DOST and PTC are the perfect partners for this endeavor to recognize inspiring and laudable Filipino engineers as they bring so much to the table. DOST is the government’s executive department at the forefront of science and technology-related projects in line with national development while PTC acts as the umbrella organization of all accredited professional engineering organizations recognized by the Professional Regulation Commission and self-certifying engineering professional organizations in the country.

With Manila Water Foundation’s commitment to uplifting the quality of life of marginalized communities through sustainable projects, DOST’s mandate to provide direction of the country's scientific and technological efforts for the benefit of its people, and PTC’s crucial role as the focal point for advocacies that impact on the engineering profession and engineering practice, international linkages, and continual improvement and promotion of the global competitiveness of the Filipino engineers, the 2017 Manila Water Foundation Prize for Engineering Excellence aims to reach out to more Filipino engineers and inspire more of them to pursue innovative projects for the betterment of the Philippines, one community at a time.