Student Life

Our ES graduates hold important positions in industry, both local and international, as environmental managers and pollution control officers; in consulting firms as environmental scientists; in the academe as teachers and researchers; in legal practice as environmental lawyers; and in both government service and non-governmental organizations. Build your career for the future on a solid foundation.

 

Student Activities

 

A glimpse of the academic and non-academic life in the Department of Environmental Science in the Ateneo de Manila University: from field works in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, laboratory activities, engagement with communities and stakeholders, and research training abroad, to fellowship activities with the ES family.

ES Faculty and Graduate Students Participated in ESAFS 2017 Thailand
 
Three MS ES students and an ES faculty member participated in the 13th International Conference of the East and Southeast Asia Federation of Soil Science Societies held at the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden, Pattaya, Thailand last 12-15 December. The conference, which focused on the theme “Soil Quality for Food Security and Healthy Life,” brought together scientists, academics, government agencies, and other stakeholders from different countries to share research outputs, promote management strategies, and discuss issues that relate to overall soil health to protect the soil’s capacity to serve several functions simultaneously. These functions include food, fiber, and fuel production; climate regulation; water filtration, purification, and storage; waste storage and degradation; and many other ecosystem functions—all of which determine our future as a race. With this, the Department of Environmental Science of the Ateneo, through the research activities of its faculty and students, continue to contribute to the goal of restoring and/or maintaining the integrity of our soils.
 
Dr. Ian A. Navarrete, Assistant Professor of the Department of Environmental Science, presented the study “Soil properties as predictor of conducive or suppressive soils to Fusarium wilt of banana.” He tested whether soil properties can be used as proxy to differentiate sites that manifested the disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) from those that did not. According to Dr. Navarrete, this persistent disease currently ails the million-dollar banana industry in the Philippines. A lot of banana farmers and plantation owners would greatly benefit if the findings of his study could be proven effective in controlling Fusarium wilt, which, despite its long history, still has no cure.
 
Three graduate students also presented their master’s theses on the said conference. Gerald Dicen shared the results of his study entitled “Preservation of organic matter in mangrove sediments by reactive iron” during the oral sessions. His study aimed to explain how mangroves can absorb large amounts of carbon, which is an important process to help counterbalance human-induced carbon dioxide emissions. Mariela Alcaparas and Marylle del Castillo presented their studies “Metagenomics and fertility status of rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of banana infected with Fusarium wilt” and “Stabilization and heavy metal removal of biosolids using various composting techniques for potential application as soil conditioner,” respectively, during the conference’s poster sessions. Alcaparas’s research made use of 16S Metagenomics Analysis via Next Generation sequencing to determine what genera of bacteria could have antagonistic characteristic against Foc, while Del Castillo’s research evaluated the effectiveness of composting techniques in removing heavy metals and pathogens from biosolids.

Presenters from the ES Department (left to right) Gerald Dicen, Dr. Ian Navarrete, Marylle del Castillo, and Mariela Alcaparas during the 13th International Conference of the East and Southeast Asian Federation of Soil Science Societies last 12-15 December 2017 in Pattaya, Thailand.

The 2015 – 2016 batch of super seniors recently finished taking their ES 100/101 (Environmental Monitoring) class. Among the tasks of the students included conducting an environmental investigation project on a current issue affecting the Philippines. For this year, the group was tasked to look at the impacts of urbanization on soil and water quality and biological diversity of terrestrial and aquatic species. The class examined 4 sites starting from San Mateo, Rizal (representing a periurban area), Tumana in Marikina City representing an agricultural/residential area, Sto. Nino, Marikina City representing a commercial/residential area and Riverbanks, Marikina City representing an industrial/commercial area.
 

Weighing Janitor Fish Caught During the Monitoring Program

Aside from conducting a monitoring project, the students were also tasked to undertake an OJT program with various partner organizations. This year, the partner organizations include Ateneo Institute of Sustainability (AIS), AECOM, GHD, Conservation International Philippines, PNRI and the Local Government Unit of San Mateo, Rizal.


ES 100/101 Batch 2015 with Vice-Mayor Tina Diaz (center), Ms. Rachel Marra (second from right) and Dr. Guzman (3rd from left) and Dr. Navarrete (2nd from left)

More about our students' work can be found here.

 

Featured Alumni:

LEMUEL CABAHUG

Lemuel obtained his BS Environmental Science degree in 2004, and Master in Environmental Management degree in 2007  from the Ateneo de Manila University.  He is a Senior Environmental Scientist based in Brisbane with over six years of professional experience.  He has been involved with a wide range of environmental projects which include baseline, impact assessment, monitoring and modelling studies for energy, oil and gas, mining and land development sectors in the Philippines, Middle East and Australia.  

Lemuel is a commercial diver having obtained his Class IV Commercial Diving qualifications in South Africa and accredited to ADAS Part I Commercial Diving scheme.  Prior to relocating to Australia, he was involved with the management and delivery of the New Doha International Airport Long Term Environmental Monitoring and has led a significant number of environmental baseline and monitoring surveys at offshore oil and gas installations in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.