Team UNC-PH secure spots in Int’l Bowling Ball Competition
By Christian Reganit
Five UNCeans from the College of Engineering and Architecture ranked fourth place in the Design Prediction Category and ninth place in the Analysis Test Category at the International American Concrete (ACI) Fiber-Reinforced Bowling Ball Competition during the ACI Spring Convention 2023 held last April 2 to 6, 2023 in Hilton Square, San Francisco California.
A total of 33 participating schools and universities around the globe competed and showcased their inventions and exceptional skills including some of the most notable teams of Universidad Del Azuay, Universidad Autónoma De Nuevo Leon, West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin, Universidad de Puerto Rico – Mayagüez, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
These five students from University of Nueva Caceres were the Philippines' sole representative, after they won the National Fiber-Reinforced Bowling Bowl Competition held last December 10, 2022, at Far Eastern University (FEU) Institute of Technology in Sampaloc, Manila.
Team UNC-PH were consisted of four civil engineering students and one mechanical engineering student, namely: John Paul Filio, Clemton Fronda, Ira Merencillo, Jhan Prix Naval, and Rhea Pardias.
According to Naval - captain of the group, the team invested a lot of time and effort in their three-month preparation for the competition; utilizing these months to the best of their ability.
“Throughout our preparation, we prioritized three main things: documents, specimens and experiments, and finances,” he said.
He also shared their difficulties in securing their visa interview appointment and in balancing their academic responsibilities and commitment in representing their country in the competition.
“We had to work late into the night in the laboratory to ensure the batching of our specimens was completed. We also need to travel frequently to test our specimens and gather the best materials to ensure [that] our specimens were of the highest quality.” Naval added.
Meanwhile, Filio expressed his gratitude to their coach, Engr. Charmaine Narvadez and those people behind their backs for helping them in overcoming those challenges and also emphasized the importance of this competition
“... having competitions like [the] FRC extends beyond the development of technical skills and knowledge. It provides an opportunity for personal and professional growth, promotes innovation and collaboration, and fosters a sense of civic responsibility and a desire to make a positive impact on society,” Filio highlighted.
The American Concrete Institute - UNC Chapter will now also be sponsoring the same events they competed in and will be the main committee of the said competition.
They are already looking for prospective trainees for the upcoming student competitions of ACI and ACI Philippines.