Pinoy to Receive 'Young Inventors Prize' in Iceland

For young inventors worldwide, like Filipino Mark Kennedy Bantugon, 26, all roads lead to Reykjavik, Iceland on June 18.

- JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ

Not just to see the Aurora Borealis, but to witness something as inspiring—the "Young Inventors Prize 2025," known also as "Tomorrow Shapers." These 10 young inventors, including our very own Mark, a farmer's son from Batangas, were selected from 450 candidates by an independent jury.

Bantugon, the son of a farmer and a schoolteacher, is an aeronautical engineer. Inspired by the leaking roofs of his youth and the chewing gum he and his four siblings used to patch them up, he developed Pili Seal®, a bio-based alternative derived from the agricultural waste of Pili tree resin. The material, an aircraft sealant and adhesive, aims to improve workplace safety in the aviation industry and reduce environmental impact. It was this innovation that has earned him a place as one of the 10 global innovators in the Young Inventors Prize 2025.

Bantugon's early exposure to farm life in Batangas sealed, so to speak, his role in his innovation journey. He remembers patching up leaky roofs using chewing gum, sparking his curiosity about adhesives and sealants. This interest continued into his aeronautical engineering studies, where an internship at Lufthansa Technik Philippines exposed him to the hazards of conventional sealants and adhesives.

We get to know more about this young inventor, who has transformed agricultural waste into a high-performance sealant and loves to sing during his free time, in an interview before he flew to Iceland.

Q: How did your journey as an inventor begin?