Biography

Engr. Jose A. Zafaralla is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering at the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU-1987). He entered the government service as Physics and Math teacher for more than five years at the MMSU College of Arts and Sciences. He was then assigned at the MMSU-Motorpool In-charge for the logistics of heavy equipment and trucks, and light vehicles for four years. In 2003, he became a full-time researcher at the MMSU-Crops Research Laboratory.

Research Interest

Being a Mechanical Engineer, his research concentration was the development of various machines for the production of engineered (E) bamboo (Bambusa blumeana) products for the housing, furniture, and handicraft industries. Among his completed and commercialized machine designs are the following: 1) 5-in-1 Bamboo Tile Making Machine (knot removal, pole cutting, width sizing, thickness sizing, & tile cutting); 2) Movable bamboo kiln dryer; Industrial Models of the following: 3) Pole Cutting Machine; 4) Width Sizing Machine; and 5) Thickness Sizing Machine.

He is also the co-founder of the MMSU E-bamboo Processing Center where these fabricated machines are housed. The output products of the center are tiles/slats, furniture, plaques, trophies, trays. The center also serves as training venue to would-be entrepreneurs, and as showcase window of the university on bamboo technology.

Other involvement of Engr. Zafaralla is the Bamboo Briquetting Technology. This technology uses pyrolysis process which converts waste into energy called “Charcoal Briquettes” as the final product. These wastes include agricultural, forest and bamboo industries waste using chichacorn effluent waste as binder. The charcoal briquette is a uniformly-sized cylindrical in form with bore at the middle and used as heating/cooking fuel. Along this line, he was responsible for the design of the following machineries: 1) Earthen Brick Charcoal Oven; 2) Charcoal Pulverizer; 3) Batch Mixer; and 4) Compactor.

These developed machines and technologies won major prizes (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd or finalist) in Region 1 and national level competitions sponsored by the ILARRDEC (Ilocos Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium), DOST (Department of Science and Technology), TAPI (Technology Application and Promotion Institute), CHED-HEI (Commission on Higher Education-Higher Education Institution), PCIERD (Philippine Council for Industry Energy Research Development), PCARRD (Philippine Council for Agriculture Forestry and Natural Resources and Development ), DA-BAR (Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research), and NEDA-IFAD (National Economic Development Authority-International Fund for Agricultural Development). In addition, Engr. Zafaralla awarded twice (2003 & 2013) the Institutional Tuklas Award and as the 2007 Most Outstanding Full-time Researcher sponsored by MMSU. He is also a holder of Patents of the developed machines issued by the Philippine Intellectual Property Office.

These developed machines and technologies has been adapted by LGUs (Local Government Units), NGOs (Non-Government Organizations), and private businessmen.