UP Materials Science Society

23/08/2025

Materials Science and Engineering Summit (MSES) is back this year! 🌏🌱 Are you ready to participate in the biggest and most distinguished event for materials science enthusiasts?

Join our Market Research Survey at bit.ly/MSES25MR. The form is open to all high school and college students and institutions.

Check this post for more details! 🦉

The biggest and the most distinguished event for all everything materials-related enthusiasts is happening soon‼️👀

If you're one who’s passionate about making a difference through materials, we urge ✨YOU✨ to come and join UP MSS at the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Summit 2025! 🌏🌱

We welcome all high school and college institutions to participate! Help make this year's MSE Summit a success by sharing your expectations and queries with us.

Simply click the link below or scan the QR code to access our market research. We hope to see you there!🦉❤️

bit.ly/MSES25MR
bit.ly/MSES25MR
bit.ly/MSES25MR

20/08/2025

Welcome to the future where light hits different. Grasp some bright ideas in this week’s Wisdom Wednesday.

The realm of three-dimensional imagery has long captivated the human imagination, from the Pepper’s Ghost stage illusions that produced headline moments like Hatsune Miku and the viral Michael Jackson “hologram” at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards to desktop light field displays and museum volumetric installations, yet these were always visual illusions—seen from many angles but never felt. A transformative shift is now underway, propelling holography into a new dimension: touch, letting users poke, grab, and reposition suspended 3D images in mid-air with bare hands. This breakthrough turns holography from passive observation into active, physical engagement. Picture Tony Stark effortlessly manipulating complex schematics in thin air, or a scene straight out of Star Trek’s holodeck, where floating buttons are pushed and virtual objects twisted with bare hands.

Different research groups have pursued this vision through distinct material innovations and engineering strategies, each reimagining how light can be felt. The Public University of Navarra’s (UPNA) volumetric display relies on an elastic transparent diffuser, replacing brittle rigid films with stretchable polymer membranes that maintain optical clarity while flexing safely under touch, with real-time computational correction preserving image fidelity. In contrast, the University of Tokyo’s ultrasonic haptics employ piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs), built from ceramics such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), whose rapid electromechanical response focuses ultrasound into localized mid-air pressure points, enabling contactless tactile shapes. The University of Glasgow’s “aero-haptic” system substitutes solid surfaces with precision-engineered air nozzles and glass–mirror enclosures, where tracked airflow jets recreate textures and motions, with pressure or even temperature potentially modulated to create multi-sensory illusions. Most visually dramatic, Tsukuba University’s “Fairy Lights” harness high-frequency pulsed lasers and optical lenses to ionize air into glowing plasma voxels that can be touched, their disruptive sparks yielding unique sandpaper-like or static-like feedback. Together, these methods trace a spectrum of material innovations, from elastic polymers, piezo-ceramics, and aerodynamics to optical-grade glass and plasma-generating lasers, each shaping its own route toward the dream of truly grasping light.

Touchable holograms don’t all feel the same: elastic diffusers (UPNA) feel like pressing a springy film, closest to “solid light” but reliant on material finesse; ultrasound (Tokyo) is subtle, like a gentle vibration or breeze—precise and silent but faint; air jets (Glasgow) hit stronger, like a fan’s puff of air—immersive but noisy and imprecise; and laser-plasma (Tsukuba) pricks like static sparks—visually stunning yet costly, small-scale, and safety-limited. While each approach differs in mechanism—fluid dynamics, acoustic wave interference, electrostatic levitation or plasma generation—they share core challenges in precision, safety, and sensory realism. All demand advanced materials tailored to their mode of actuation: stretchable, optically clear polymers for deformable displays; high-performance piezoelectrics for ultrasonic arrays; heat- and light-resistant optics for plasma systems. In every case, the choice of material directly governs clarity, durability, responsiveness, and ultimately the quality of the touch illusion.

The promise is vast. In medicine, surgeons would be able to perform remote surgeries with tactile precision and foster patient engagement through touchable anatomy. In education, holographic “hands-on” learning would allow students to grasp molecular structures, engines, or history itself as if materialized before them. In collaboration, teams could pass and co-manipulate 3D designs as if they shared the same table, or exchange virtual handshakes across continents, blurring distance. Even entertainment would gain a new layer of physicality, with games, stories, worlds, and characters no longer only seen, but at last experienced physically.

Touchable holograms were once the stuff of starships, holodecks, and superhero labs. Today, polymers flex, ceramics hum, and lasers spark the air itself, pulling that fantasy within reach. With each pulse of light, we edge closer to a sci-fi vision becoming real.

Content by: Sebastian Genesis Viduya
Design by: Alyhana Abrogena and Cyrus Incognito

Are you ready to be WEISS-er? Access our references to learn more at tinyurl.com/upmssWW

Wisdom Wednesday is brought to you by the UP Materials Science Society. Want more knowledge? Stay tuned next week for another amazing Wisdom Wednesday!

15/08/2025

A huge thank you to everyone who orbited by our booth during 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗢𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 (Engineering OWeek) last 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟮 at 𝗨𝗣 𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗴! 🛰️✨

We had a blast meeting you all and hope you had a stellar time discovering our organization and its amazing members. Swipe through to relieve the cosmic fun and radiant energy from last Tuesday and see if you can spot yourself shining among the stars. 🚀💫

❤️🧡💛💚💙

13/08/2025

“It’s been raining in Manila—hindi ka ba nababasa?” Not anymore due to superhydrophobic raincoats and umbrellas. So, ‘water you waiting for?’ Unearth the slick secrets of superhydrophobic surfaces in this week’s Wisdom Wednesday!

From raincoats, jackets, umbrellas, to tents, life jackets, and athletic clothing, hydrophobic fabrics have started becoming more and more mainstream due to their ability to repel water instead of absorbing it. But how does hydrophobicity work, and how does it differ with superhydrophobicity?

The secret? It lies on the surface of the material itself! When water lands on a non-hydrophobic surface, you can notice that the lower half of the droplet is stuck to the surface. The angle the droplet makes with respect to the surface is called the contact angle. If you do the same with a hydrophobic surface, you would notice that the droplet has less contact with the surface, and it even forms a contact angle greater than 90 degrees. As we look at a microscopic scale, we notice that the increase in contact angle is due to the comparatively rougher surface of more hydrophobic surfaces. This concept is further exemplified by superhydrophobic materials, having a contact angle of greater than 150 degrees. Superhydrophobic materials also have another property of having “low roll-off angles” caused by its low surface energy, allowing for these droplets to “roll off” more easily.

Currently, there are no unmodified fabrics that approach these superhydrophobic contact angles. The closest that does is wool, with a contact angle of 131 degrees, as they are regularly used for sweaters, socks, and bedsheets. Even less hydrophobic fabrics, such as nylon, polyurethane, and polyester, which are the materials utilized in umbrellas and raincoats, are already great at repelling water. But these fabrics can be further “upgraded” to be superhydrophobic through coating fabrics with nanoparticle solutions using Silver (Ag), Zinc Oxide (ZnO), Titanium dioxide (TiO2), or Silicon dioxide (SiO2). Sometimes the nanoparticles used could even be carbon-based or chitosan-based. These solutions improve the superhydrophobicity of the fabrics by increasing the surface roughness. Even a hydrophilic fabric like cotton could be made superhydrophobic by undergoing this treatment process.

The interesting thing about superhydrophobic materials is that they were not observed or developed originally inside a laboratory, but in nature. The most well-known of these occurrences was that of the lotus leaf. The imagery of “morning dew glistening on lotus leaves” is not just a poetic metaphor but a scientific observation that has led us to imitate their rough surface to create materials of similar properties. This connection with lotus leaves also makes a connection between superhydrophobicity and a self-cleaning mechanism. Because the water tends to roll off, it can bring foreign material along with the droplet, effectively cleaning the leaf. Similarly, if you have a superhydrophobic material, there is a good chance that it also has a self-cleaning property.

This shows that we can even learn a couple of neat tricks from the diverse organisms around us instead of taking them for granted, especially when they keep us dry and cozy despite intense and ever-changing weather. Stay dry, stay clever, and never let the rain “rain on your parade”!

References:
Access our references at tinyurl.com/upmssWW

Content by: Jason Angelo Zafra
Design by: Sebastian Estandarte and Anzelmei De Castro

Wisdom Wednesday is brought to you by the UP Materials Science Society. Want more knowledge? Stay tuned next week for another amazing Wisdom Wednesday!

11/08/2025

🦉 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗣 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝟮𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲🦉

𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲𝗮 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲 - President
𝗞𝗶𝗺 𝗛𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘀 - Secretary
𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻 - VP for Education and Research
𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗮𝘀 - VP for External Affairs
𝗝𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘆𝗼 - VP for Finance
𝗔𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘆 - VP for Human Resources
𝗗𝗲𝗻𝘇 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗮 - VP for Logistics
𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻 - VP for Publicity

Bridging the past and the future, while staying grounded in the present. This new set of leaders is ready to make an impact that lasts and cares with integrity, professionalism, excellence, and camaraderie.

𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 by the chaos. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 by our craft.

This is 𝗘𝗖𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆–where vision is forged amidst diversity.

06/08/2025

“Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura?” – not with this material around!

As we enter the rainy season, the combined forces of incoming typhoons and habagat increase the risk of urban flooding. With this, the demand for innovative water management solutions becomes urgent and long overdue. Introducing a type of concrete quickly rising as the top choice for flood mitigation - Pervious Concrete. Let’s learn more about the “thirstiest” concrete in today’s Wisdom Wednesday.

Pervious concrete, often dubbed "thirsty gravel," is not an ordinary pavement. It is engineered with high porosity, composed of about 15% to 35% void content that allows water to flow straight through its surface like a sponge. The concrete is made primarily of coarse aggregates (typically 9.5 mm to 12.5 mm), water, and minimal sand, which forms a mixture that induces the network of interconnected voids that lets rainwater pass freely, resulting in reduced surface runoff and a natural boost to groundwater recharge.

Thirsty concrete is gaining attention as a smart and sustainable paving solution, especially in areas vulnerable to flooding. Unlike traditional concrete, which has impermeable surfaces, it allows water to seep directly through its porous structure and into the ground below. This makes it especially useful for pavements in flood-prone zones where heavy rains can quickly overwhelm drainage systems. By significantly draining the stormwater as it pours, pervious concrete helps reduce surface runoff, prevents water accumulation, and encourages groundwater recharge - a big win for flood prone areas!

However, its greatest strength also limits its applications. Due to its porous structure with high void content, pervious concrete compressive strength is generally 50% to 75% less than that of conventional concrete. Because of this, thirsty concrete is best suited for applications with light to moderate traffic loads, such as parking lots, sidewalks, residential streets, and low-speed roads. In our country, the Philippine government has implemented this type of concrete in several commercial and institutional settings to address the issue of urban flooding. The material is also not recommended for areas with cold climates since the freeze-thaw cycle of absorbed water can damage the pavement.

Pampanga State University, formerly known as Don Honorio Ventura State University (DHVSU), in Bacolor, Pampanga implemented the use of pervious pavement as an alternative material to help mitigate flooding in the campus. The university applied the project in low-traffic areas inside the campus, targeting places commonly used as a pathway by students during the rainy season. This initiative does not only make the space student friendly, it also showcases how this thirsty concrete can be a game changer in urban flood solutions.

Overall, pervious concrete stands out as a remarkable innovation in flood mitigation. Its porous design allows rainwater to seep through the surface, reducing runoff and helping prevent floods before they start. So the next time the rain starts pouring, hope that the ground beneath you is made of something thirsty– like pervious concrete, the pavement that drinks.

References
Access our references at tinyurl.com/upmssWW

Content by: Mark Miguel Talingting
Design by: Alyanna Abrogena & Cyrus Incognito

Wisdom Wednesday is brought to you by the UP Materials Science Society. Want more knowledge? Stay tuned next week for another amazing Wisdom Wednesday!

04/08/2025

04/08/2025

Take note, Engineering Freshies! Chill Ikot is rolling right around the corner! 👀

Chill Ikot is a freshie initiative with informative webinars 📺 on freshman subjects and a campus tour on the iconic UP Ikot jeepney. 🚌Watch out for these events happening very soon! 🔜

🎙️ July 29 | Podcast Night
🔭 July 30 | Physics Webinar
➗ July 31 | Math Webinar
💻 August 1 | Programming Webinar
💡 August 4 | Circuits Webinar
🚌 August 5 | UP Ikot Campus Tour

Tara, Ikot! 🐱🚌
🔗bit.ly/ChiKot25Registration
🔗bit.ly/ChiKot25Registration
🔗bit.ly/ChiKot25Registration

Powered By:
UP Engineering Radio Guild
Switch UP

Co-Presented By:
Solid Business Machines Center Inc.
Gardenia Philippines
Gardenia Cream Roll
Gardenia Muffins
Gardenia Toasties
Coffee Smile by Gardenia
Canon Philippines
Alexan Commercial

In Partnership With:
Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers - UP Student Unit
UP Materials Science Society
Bida Isko 2025: Hearth and Home

Brought To You By:
CREST - Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology

Special Thanks To:
UP Industrial Engineering Club
UP Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines

In Cooperation With:
UP PUGAD Sayk
Edge TV Philippines
Gadgets Magazine
When In Manila
Explained PH
Monster RX93.1
Coconut Printing

Sponsored By:
Nacho King
Express, So

With more surprises on the way 👀

04/08/2025

01/08/2025

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗦’ 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

Heads UP, freshies! Your first wave is here. 🧟🚩

𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀’ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱: 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗦𝗧𝘀𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘆𝗼 is our warmest welcome and your softest landing. We invite you to explore UP Diliman not just as a campus but a shared lawn—a space to navigate and nurture. 🗺️🏫

Whether you’re a 🌻 sunflower radiating good vibes, a 🌱 peashooter with focus, or still figuring out your class build, we’ve got a plot in the garden just for you! There’s room for all kinds of growth here 🦋—no matter where you’re starting from.

🧠 Brains are better shared. So don’t forget to answer the designated Qualifiers Form at https://tinyurl.com/UPDDOST2025Passers to connect with UP Diliman DOST Scholars - Batch 2025 in your official Facebook Group.

🌟 Join the 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗦𝗧spasyo powered by 𝗦cience and 𝗧echnology to defend our lawn this 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟴, from 𝟵:𝟬𝟬 𝗮.𝗺. 𝘁𝗼 𝟱:𝟬𝟬 𝗽.𝗺. Together, let’s plant the seeds for safer, brighter, and more inclusive student spaces. ❤️‍🔥🏛️

NOTE: This event is organized by the UP DOST Scholars’ Association and is open ONLY for DOST scholars who are incoming freshmen students of UP Diliman.

30/07/2025

It’s Wisdom Wednesday!

"Green light, move. Red light, stop, but move, Bang!" You're dead. Do you still remember Young-hee, the creepy motion-sensing doll from Squid Game? In Squid Game 3, she and another male doll join forces for the jump rope game—but the principle remains: they are equipped with motion detection systems so precise they can spot the slightest twitch. But how exactly does a lifeless doll detect life-like motion? The same question applies to your phone recognizing your face or your automated car stopping at a pedestrian, all of which rely on a tiny but powerful device: the Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor.

The CMOS image sensor is a chip for cameras featuring a fast readout speed that records at high frame rates. This makes it suitable for technologies like high-speed sports cameras, smartphone face recognition systems, and even gesture-controlled gaming consoles like the Xbox Kinect. Its sensors are fabricated from a silicon wafer embedded with a grid of photodiodes. Each one is enclosed by a spherical microlens, typically a transparent polymer resin, which helps focus incoming light onto the light sensitive area of the photodiode. These devices use p-n junctions created by putting p-type and n-type doped semiconductors together. Doping silicon, which has four valence electrons, with elements that have less valence electrons like boron makes a p-type semiconductor which has an absence of electrons called “holes.” While doping it with elements that have more valence electrons like phosphorus creates an n-type semiconductor with an excess of “electrons.” When light hits the junction, electron-hole pairs recombine which generates an electric charge with a magnitude directly proportional to the intensity of light. The charge is then compared to an analog voltage signal by transistors called "active pixel sensors" (APS), contributing to fast sensor processing.

To assign color to the inherently colorblind photodiodes, color filters—made from dyed polymers or pigment-dispersed photoresists—are placed directly above it. They work by selectively absorbing wavelengths of light. Think of a red filter like tinted glasses which only lets red light through while blocking others. So, when light hits the sensor, the photodiode under the red filter measures the intensity of that red light. This pixel-level color detection is what enables vibrant photography, accurate skin tone capture in video calls, and precise object recognition in autonomous drones and smart appliances.

Afterwards, the analog voltage signal from the APS is sent to an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), which assigns a digital number representing its color intensity (e.g., 0 for no light, 255 for maximum brightness). Once the image is processed and digitized, additional algorithms can be used to track movement by analyzing how the image changes frame by frame. This proceeds to the image signal processor (ISP) to refine the image – boost sharpness, fix white balance, and reduce noise. This is crucial for applications like medical endoscopy, where image clarity can aid diagnosis, or satellite imaging where sharpness determines whether we’re seeing clouds—or something more serious.

Suppose the photodiode receives a bright red light, its ADC would then assign it to a high number like 240. Each of these is then read by a sensor in parallel or row by row. To detect motion, the camera compares frames over time. For instance, one row might contain the values [150 (green), 200 (red), 180(blue), 50(green)]. The next millisecond, the row’s sequences are now [80 (green), 0 (red), 100(blue), 10(green)]. If these values suddenly change in the next frame, the system interprets that as movement. This principle powers motion-sensing security cameras that only record when movement is detected, and even retail analytics systems that track shopper behavior to optimize store layouts. This also explains why Squid Game players can survive by hiding behind others—if an object blocks the light from reaching the sensor, the players’ movement behind that object goes undetected. No light, no signal, no registered twitch.

Young-hee’s deadly stare may be fictional, but the tech behind her eyes is very real—and it’s watching you every day. They are the “eyes” in self-driving cars, satellites, medical cameras, and your own smartphone. The next time your phone detects your face or a car brakes to avoid a pedestrian, remember—CMOS sensors are watching, calculating, and helping machines see.

References:
Access our references at tinyurl.com/upmssWW

Content by: Ma. Theresa Ruth Queypo
Design by: Dennis Wagan

Wisdom Wednesday is brought to you by the UP Materials Science Society. Want more knowledge? Stay tuned next week for another amazing Wisdom Wednesday!

23/07/2025

June 18, 2023; 10:47 AM: “Dropped two wts."

This was the last message sent by OceanGate’s Titan submersible to its support ship before it sent out its last ping. The submersible was set to explore the wreckage of the infamous RMS Titanic. However, what was supposed to be an underwater tourist expedition turned into a sorrowful tragedy after it catastrophically imploded during its descent - taking its five passengers onboard into the depths. What could have possibly caused this incident? Let us dive deeper in this week’s Wisdom Wednesday.

The wreckage of the Titanic is very hard to reach. Resting at a depth of about 3800 meters, the underwater pressure reaches approximately 380 atmospheres, or 5600 pounds per square inch (psi). As such, engineers must be meticulous about their design and material choices to maintain the crew’s safety. Only a handful of manned submersibles have reached this depth: USA’s DSV Alvin, France’s Nautile, and Russia’s MIR-1 and MIR-2. The first two are mainly made of titanium alloys and syntactic foams, while Russia has used maraging steel on its submersibles. Both metals are revered for their excellent strength-to-weight ratios that allowed them to resist underwater pressures at a low weight form factor. The Titan submersible, on the other hand, was made with a five-inch thick cylindrical carbon fiber-reinforced polymer hull, with titanium caps on both ends joined by epoxy resin. This choice of materials are what puzzled experts who called the submersible an “engineering disaster."

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are also known for its high strength-to-weight ratio which is higher than titanium and its alloys. This makes it ideal for applications built on durability but require low weight form factors such as in aerospace and automotive industries, wind turbines, robotics, and more. It is also cheaper to manufacture in most cases as compared to the standard metals used in the industry like titanium and heavy steel. However, carbon fibers are more resistant to internal forces pushing out than outside forces pushing in. An inflated balloon can hold in the air inside it and resist further expansion, but it deforms when we squish it with our hands. CFRPs are also prone to microscopic defects which can cause bigger problems when not addressed. Another possible cause of failure is the mismatch of the titanium, CFRP, and epoxy’s expansion rates. Under pressure, these differences could have caused the resin to delaminate leading to the implosion.

So, could this tragedy be attributed to poor material choices alone? Not quite. According to numerous reports, Titan has reached the depth of the Titanic wreck 13 times out of 90 attempts, all while ignoring various warning signs. Failing thrusters, batteries dying, and most alarming of all, cracking and banging sounds heard in the hull in 2022. This was a sign that the hull has endured too much pressure and has started to delaminate due to fatigue. Apart from questionable design choices, the choice to ignore existing standards all in the name of “innovation” led to this infamous event.

May this incident remind us, especially engineers, that ethical considerations must never be compromised in the rush to push technological boundaries. In the quest to dive deeper and explore further, safety must be the cornerstone of innovation and not just a mere afterthought.

References:
Access our references at tinyurl.com/upmssWW

Content by: Kenn Gabriel Causaren
Design by: Sebastian Estandarte & Cyrus Incognito

Wisdom Wednesday is brought to you by the UP Materials Science Society. Want more knowledge? Stay tuned next week for another amazing Wisdom Wednesday!