Three minor planets were named after three Filipino high school students who won major awards during the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in Pennsylvania, United States.
The Department of Education (DepEd) announced this on a Facebook post on Tuesday, April 9, saying this is in recognition of the students after the team brought home second place awards in the “Energy: Physical” category, for their design and development of Solar-Tracking Arduino-Rooted PV Panels.
The DepEd said students Eugene Rivera, Joscel Kent Manzanero and Keith Russel Cadores of Camarines Sur National High School in Naga City each “received a certificate identifying their very own minor planet and an orbital plot showing its current location.”
“They represented the Philippines in the international science fair following their success in the 2018 National Science and Technology Fair,” the post stated.
The department also cited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Lincoln Laboratory for its practice since 2001 of naming asteroids discovered by its laboratory after high school students who excel at science competitions. JB
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