Dr. Juanito “Jun” R. Demetrio, innovator and professor at the Capitol University Graduate School, was awarded OROBEST Innovation Champion for his project, “Automatic Charging System for Electric Vehicles.”
The award was presented by the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. during their anniversary celebration titled “An Afternoon of Recognition for OROBEST Innovation Champions” held last October 29, 2021. Capitol University was also recognized for having supported Dr. Demetrio’s innovative project.
According to Dr. Jun, the on-going Research & Development (R&D) project, “Automatic Charging System for Electric Vehicles (ACS4EV),” is the second generation of the “On-Board Charging System for Electric Vehicles (OBoCS4EV)” which is a three-wheel version or an electric trike. ACS4EV is the 4-wheel and much improved version of OBOCS. The ACS4EV is under the program, “Optimizing Regional Opportunities thru Business Excellence through Science, Technology and Innovation” or OROBEST Innovation Program which is a joint project of DOST X and Oro Chamber.
Dr. Jun remarked that he wishes to go beyond the usual route of paper publications and presentations and explore R&D with commercial value, proving that research can be a lucrative endeavor. He said that his advocacy and inspiration is to strike a balance between R&D and social research. He hopes to encourage research enthusiasts to consider innovative research and invention, to balance the field of research. Dr Jun shared:
Although I don’t have any engineering background, still I involved myself in R&D. Armed only with imagination and curiosity, I started my journey thru R&D in 2017. I only provided guidance and direction to the team of engineers in various projects. With these licensed engineers, I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. My only objective is to go beyond the theories, laws, and principles. My observation is that when engineers realized that what I would like to be done would violate the laws of physics or thermodynamics, they stopped and said it could not be done. So, sometimes I pursued the idea alone. That is how I made so many breakthroughs in these projects. Perhaps, I’m in a better position than them because I’m not tied up with those established limitations. As Albert Einstein would say: “Logic will take you from Point A to Point B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
Dr. Jun said he is happy and flattered with the OROBEST award. He added that what is important is that these bodies believe and invest in innovation projects. Dr. Jun explained:
“Reflecting on this, I come to the conclusion that I’m extremely lucky. Many would say, don’t preach in your hometown because nobody would believe you. Jesus Christ was a victim of this. But my situation is an exception. The city sees the value of this innovation that would bring about the improvement of the quality of life of not only the Kagayanons but also all Filipinos, hopefully.”
Congratulations, Dr. Jun! Thank you for bringing honor to CU and CDO!
