In 2008, Rolex Award for Enterprise awarded the university alumni, professor, inventor and agricultural engineer Alexis Belonio due to his creation of a low-cost and environment friendly invention of the rice husk stove. Engr. Belonio is the first Filipino awardee of Rolex Award for Enterprise that has resulted the establishment of the Center for Rice Husk Energy Technology (CRHET) (Iloilo Rice Husk Center) at Central. The research center is attached to the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences and since it was established, it focuses on various technologies that will be developed and the utilization of rice husks as fuel and clean energy for cooking. The "CPU Center for Rice Husk Energy Technology" (CRHET) obtained funding from the Rolex Awards for Enterprise 2008.