3 minor planets named after Pinoy highschool students
FILE: Rivera, Manzanero, and Cadores represented the Philippines in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last May 2018, following their success in the 2018 National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF). (Photo: Department of Education – Philippines)
Three Filipino high school students did not only receive a cash prize and medal ribbons for winning a major award in an international competition last year — they also got the privilege of having a namesake celestial body.
The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday, April 9, said three minor planets were named after students from Camarines Sur National High School in Naga City namely: Eugene Rivera, Joscel Kent Manzanero, and Keith Russel Cadores.
Each of them, it added, received a certificate “identifying their very own minor planet and an orbital plot showing its current location.”
Rivera, Manzanero, and Cadores represented the Philippines in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last May 2018, following their success in the 2018 National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF).
Their team landed on the second place in the “Energy: Physical” category of the competition for their work in the design and development of Solar-Tracking Arduino-Rooted PV Panels.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory has named asteroids it discovered since 2001 in honor of high school students who excel at science competitions, according to the Education department.
On Facebook, the NSTF has shared a congratulatory letter sent to Rivera from the MIT, through Grant Stokes, Ph.D, the head of Space Systems & Technology Division and Principal Investigator of the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program.
“As program Principal Investigator of the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program, I am pleased that the technical accomplishments of Lincoln Laboratory can contribute to recognizing your achievement. MIT Lincoln Laboratory is proud to have this opportunity to encourage science education,” the letter read.
“Good luck in your pursuit of education and career. You are off to a great start!” it added.
