In collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST PCAARD), the Eastern Visayas State University through the Office of the Vice President for Research & Development and Extension Services (OVPRDE) hosted the Exit Report Presentation of Dr. Joel L. Cuello, University of Arizona Professor and DOST Balik Scientist Awardee, on March 21, 2024 via Zoom.
The event saw participation of EVSU officials, faculty, non-teaching staff, students and researchers. Dr. Reynaldo V. Ebora, PCAARD Executive Director, and other PCAARD officials are also in attendance.
Dr. Cuello presented his journey with EVSU as host institution and his accomplishments under the Balik Scientist Program (BSP) on the design and fabrication of typhoon-resilient Green Box for Intelligent Farming. The collaboration of Dr. Cuello and the EVSU Research Team, dubbed as “Bioimagineering”, resulted in the successful implementation of the project, with additional projects emerging such as the Intelligent Green Box and the Eco Vertibox.
During the said activity, Director Ebora appreciated the upshots of this BSP engagement with EVSU. The efforts and expertise poured out by Dr. Cuello throughout the project made significant impact not just for EVSU R&D but likewise to farm industries that adopted the technology.
This short-term DOST BSP engagement afforded EVSU to intensify its research and innovation spectrum on the knowledge and tools learned from Dr. Cuello specifically on indoor vertical faming technologies aside from the capacity development sessions for both the faculty and students. It created pathways for innovative solutions for communities that will enable the production of agricultural crops in a resilient compact facility using the combined vertical farming.
Said engagement yielded research, technology, and knowledge outputs presented in various platforms, published articles, and filed for patents and utility models. Some projects are on-going, waiting for publication acceptance while new researches are in the pipeline.
