Bato Balani Honors UP’s Dr. Topor

[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]

[av_heading heading=’Bato Balani Honors UP’s Dr. Topor ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By: Enrique N. Legaspi III, Steve P. Janagap
[/av_heading]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]

DR. Vivian Azucena-Topor, a biochemistry professor of the Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, UP Visayas, is one of the four honorees in the 2016 The Many Faces of the Teacher (TMFT) of the Bato Balani Foundation, Inc. The honorees, who are selected to become ambassadors of hope, goodwill and inspiration to teachers and students, were chosen by a select panel of judges from the academe and civil society.
Topor, who is also the current Director of the UPV Graduate Program Office, received her award along with her fellow honorees during A Tribute to Teachers 2016 held at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino on Oct. 1, 2016.
TMFT is an advocacy campaign of the Bato Balani Foundation, Inc. which aims to extol and honor teachers who have dedicated themselves in the teaching vocation and have gone out of their way to become inspirations to their students, colleagues and the community. It recognizes exemplars in the teaching profession – the honorees – who play significant roles in the lives of their students, molding them to become successful professionals and leaders of the nation; develop teaching innovations; and become catalysts of change for a progressive academic community and society.
According to Topor, her dedication to the teaching profession is a moral obligation, which led her to develop innovative teaching materials. She developed the chemistry game card called ChemTrump (available nationwide at C&E Bookshop) which stimulates student interests in the properties of the different elements in the periodic table. She also pioneered the conduct of the Chemistry Camp for high school teachers and students in Region VI. The Chemistry Chem Camp aims to enhance teachers’ knowledge in teaching chemistry and to help students experience chemistry through simple experiments using ordinary household materials and solutions.
She also developed the chemistry games, ChemSquabble and ChemFactory, both of which are geared toward awakening the interests of students in chemistry. Just recently, she submitted ChemSearch and ChemPuzzle to help students learn about basic chemistry concepts. A number of students took up BS Chemistry because they were inspired by the games, chemistry quiz bees and the training conducted by the Department, which were spearheaded by Topor.
Topor is also an inspiration and role model for her colleagues. She consistently receives excellent evaluation from her students, and plays an active role in research and public service. Recently, she developed a cyanide color wheel test kit through the support of UPV Foundation Inc., and the Department of Chemistry which find useful applications in food and human safety. She and her team mates Mr. Anthony Salvador Albaladejo and Ms. Rnie Shayne Gaurana, both of whom are faculty members of the Department of Chemistry, have been conducting information dissemination campaigns on cassava cyanide, and have held trainings on the use of the kit to LGU technicians (agriculturists, agricultural technologists, research specialists, cassava farmers and implementers) in the region, in coordination with Ms. Charmae Antipatia, Regional Cassava Focal Person of the Department of Agriculture, Regional Field Office 6.
Topor has also presented various papers in both local and international conferences, and has published them in peer-reviewed journals. Topor is the first faculty from UPV to receive the TMFT award. /PN

[/av_textblock]

[/av_one_full]

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here