In honor of International Asteroid Day, several Filipinos were given the honor of having their names used to name asteroids to celebrate their achievements in science and technology in the Philippines. One such Filipina was Ms. Nadine Antonette Obafial, a 4th-year Robotics Engineering student at Ateneo de Davao University.
Ms. Obafial and her team participated in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2017, where she won 2nd Place. The team’s outstanding plant science project proved that the Acacia bark extract was an effective organic insecticide against an adult black rice bug. Her team’s exceptional science investigatory project significantly contributed to the country’s scientific development.
With this achievement, an asteroid from the solar system’s main belt, discovered on 30 July 2000, was named after Ms. Obafial. This asteroid would now be known by its official name, 34044 OBAFIAL, based on the surname of Ms. Obafial.