Dr. Pearl Aphrodite B. Carnice, Director for Research and Development and Focal Person of the Eastern Visayas Metals and Engineering Innovation Center (EVMEIC) of Eastern Visayas State University, served as Guest Speaker at the 4th National Metals and Engineering Conference (NMEC) on June 16, 2025 at Acacia Hotel, Alabang.
Now on its 4th year, the NMEC was organized by the DOST Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), bringing together key players from the academe, industry, and government to spotlight innovations and strategies in navigating the evolving landscape of metals and engineering under Industry 4.0. In celebration of the 2025 Metals and Engineering (M&E) Week, the conference bannered the theme “Metals and Engineering in Industry 4.0: Reaching Milestones in Digital Transformation”.
Said conference was graced by distinguished speakers, including Dr. Leah J. Buendia, Undersecretary for R&D of DOST as the keynote speaker, along with Dr. Albert Causo, CEO of Hand Plus Robotics and a DOST Balik Scientist, and Dr. Sheryl Lyn C. Monterola, Director of the University of the Philippines – NISMED as Plenary Speakers. DLSU Academician Dr. Alvin B. Culaba was also present in the event, who delivered an Inspirational Message to participants.
In her talk during the plenary session, Dr. Carnice highlighted MEIC Batch 2’s activities such as capability-building training on welding, metal fabrication, technical drawing, customer discovery, design thinking and benchmarking activities conducted. She also recognized the collective experiences and progress of MEIC Batch 2 grantee institutions including Batangas State University, Western Philippines University, Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology, Technological University of the Philippines-Visayas, Negros Oriental State University, Zamboanga Peninsula Polytechnic State University, University of Southeastern Philippines, and Mindanao State University (General Santos City Campus) as fellow advocates of inclusive and industry-driven innovation.
Further, Dr. Carnice streamlined how EVSU research centers—EVMEIC, EVFIC, LIFE, EVNTFIH, ITSO, IPTBM, the Intelligent Green Box (IGB), and the Mobile Command and Control Vehicle (MoCCoV) can work synergistically to EVSU’s pursuit of becoming the National University for Resilience and Climate Action (NURCA). This unified approach strengthens EVSU’s national leadership in climate action, enabling the university to support regional development, disaster resilience, and local innovation capacity across Eastern Visayas.
Adding to EVSU’s participation in the conference, faculty researchers from the College of Technology Industrial Technology Department Christopher T. Estopin, Dr. Jake A. Algo, and Jonathan O. Manas (presentor) presented their study titled “Development and Evaluation of a Foot-Operated Valve Spring Compressor Tool for Diesel Cylinder Head Engines.”
Since its soft launch in June 2024, the University’s metals center was visited by DOST officials in January 2025 and held series of training for faculty-trainees covering machine design, innovation thinking process, machine operation, shielded metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, and the principles of metal fabrication.
This article is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 04: Quality Education; SDG 09: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; SDG 13: Climate Action
Written by: JF Ruedas| UMDC
Photo Courtesy of DOST-MIRDC
