Local Scientist[1]

Local SCIENTIST JOSE CRUZ

Doctor Jose Cruz was born on September 17, 1932. He has been recognized for his scientific and technological contributions to electrical engineering through the development of several methods for the sensitivity analysis of dynamic systems with respect to parameters variations; establishment of the concept comparison sensitivity matrix that captures the effect of feedback on altering the influence of parameter variations on system output errors in multivariable feedback system; and the maintenance of system optimality for a range parameter values even when the feedback control structure is fixed. Dr. Cruz has immensely contributed to the improvement of the quality of engineering education in the Philippines through: the Master of Engineering programs in several consortia of engineering schools he helped develop; the placement of many ESEP scholars in Ph.D. sandwich programs in the US; the arrangement for short visits and observations to the US by officials and scholars from the engineering faculty of various universities in the Philippines:·

GREGORIO VELASQUEZ

Dr. Velasquez is a pioneer in Philippine physiology. He was elected as Academician on 1978 and conferred as National Scientist on 1982. He made the original intensive study of the local Myxophyceae or the blue green algae and dedicates at least 30 years of fruitful work in the study of Philippine algae from which he acknowledged local and international credit. Way back, he was a laboratory assistant in the Department of Botany, University of the Philippines until he became Professor in Botany in 1958. He was selected Emeritus Professor when he stop working in November 1967. Among his abundant honors are Distinguished Science Medal and Diploma of Honor from the Republic of the Philippines (1956), the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (1956-57). He is also honored in the Men of Science, Division of Biological Sciences in1969, World's Who's Who in Sciences in 1970 and the Republic of the Philippines Cultural Heritage award in 1972

Benito Vergara

Born on June 23, 1934, National Scientist Vergara obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of the Philippines, his master's degree from University of Hawaii, and his doctoral degree from the University of Chicago majoring in Plant Sciences. He was elected as Academician on 1987. He worked full time on rice from 1961 to 1995. He was the Director for Administration before his early retirement from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). He is still involved with rice but has shifted his concentration in ornamental plants and the expansion of the Philippine Science Heritage Center or Salinlahi. Dr. Vergara trust that his utmost contributions to science are his studies on rice, his plentiful graduate students, his book on Farmer's Primer on Growing Rice, which has been translated into more than 40 languages, and his improvement of the Riceworld Museum and at the present the Philippine Science Heritage Center. Dr. Vergara was bestow the rank and title of a National Scientist on 2001; the highest honor that can be granted to a man of science.

PAOLO C. CAMPOS

Dr. Paulo Campos, a health scientist was born on July 27, 1921,he was distinguished for his effort on Nuclear medicine. Dr. Campos authored/co-authored 75 scientific journal a few of which were awarding. His researches include The Genetic Factor in Endemic Goiter won First Prizes in Research Award; Cr-51 Tagged Red Cell Studies and the Observation on some Parameter of Insulin Action. He was also credited for founding the first and best-known Radioisotope Laboratory in the country, the initial Research Laboratory in the Department of Medicine, University of the Philippines and the Thyroid Clinic of the UP-PGH Medical Center. Dr. Campos accomplishment in research the Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science named him Outstanding Scientist (Gregoria Y. Zara) Award in 1969. He developed an interest in nuclear medicine while at Johns Hopkins, and completed a training course on the field at Oak Ridge Two years after his return to the Philippines in 1958, he was named as the head of the Department of Medicine of the University of the Philippines, and concurrently, the head of the department's Research Laboratories. With funding provided by the International Atomic Energy Authority and other Philippine institutions, the the first radioisotope laboratory was established at the Philippine General Hospital. As a result, it was made possible for the first time in the country to conduct such procedures as the basal metabolism test and radioactive iodine therapy [5] In 1960, Campos also helped established the first thyroid clinic in the Philippines, also at the Philippine General Hospital. At the clinic, and with funding from the IAEA and later, the World

Health Organization, Campos conducted considerable

research on goiter, a common medical problem in the Philippines. His team first suggested the injection of iodized oil to goiter patients, a treatment later advocated by the WHO.

RICARDO LANTICAN

Dr. Ricardo M. Lantican, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, was declared National Scientist by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and conferred the honor in Malacañang in December 5, 2005. Dr. Lantican’s pioneering scientific works in plant genetics and varietal improvement have had worldwide significance, impact, and applications. He and his team developed a new plant architecture in mungbean, combined with resistance to Cercospora leaf spot, which increased yield levels in Asian farming systems. He initiated the varietal improvement of legumes in the Philippines in the 1960s, which produced more than 20 varieties of mungbean (CES and Pag-asa series), soybean and peanut, some of which are commercially planted and used as parental types in Asia and international breeding programs. His original work with a colleague and a graduate student on extra-nuclear inheritance of susceptibility to the corn blight disease in the 1960s was considered a first in the world. Subsequent rehabilitation of hybrid seed production in the US relied on the Philippine experience and generated renewed interest in conserving genetic diversity.

FRANCISCO FRONDA

Doctor Francisco Fronda is best known as the Father of poultry science in the Philippines. He had improved methods of production for the poultry and livestock industry. He is also the author of the book Poultry Science Production and was one of the first five people in the world to earn a doctorate in Poultry Science. Having devoted over 6 decades of his life to teaching, research and extension services, Dr. Fronda contributed immensely to the development of poultry industry not only in the Philippines but in Asia region as well. In recognition of his pioneering contributions, he was cited as the Father of Poultry Science in the Philippines by the Philippine Association of Animal Science, 1980; and Father of Thai Poultry Industry honor presented by Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess of Thailand, 1982. Dr. Fronda has no less than 500 scientific articles of great value in the development of poultry and livestock industry. He also authored a textbook in Poultry Science Production for students in agriculture and co-authored a series of books entitled Let Us Raise Series for secondary and elementary pupils.

JOSE R. VELASCO

He (February 4, 1916 — January 24, 2007) was a Filipino plant physiologist and agricultural chemist noted for his research on soil and plant nutrition and on coconut diseases. In 1998, he was recognized as a National Scientist of the Philippines. During World War II, Velasco conducted research on the photoperiodism of the rice plant. Among his findings, which were published only after the end of the war, was that the Elon-elon variety flowered during short days when there was less than 12 hours of light.[5] Velasco was also noted for his research on the physiology of the coconut, a common crop in the Philippines. He studied the mineral nutrition of areas planted to coconut, the development and utilization of coconut products, and the nature and cause of cadang-cadang, a disease that plagued the crop of small coconut farmers throughout the country.[6] With respect to cadangcadang, Velasco was skeptical of the still-prevalent view that the disease was viral in nature, and devoted considerable effort to prove his thesis that it was caused by an element in the soil that was toxic to the coconut plant

LOURDES J. CRUZ

She is a Filipina biochemist. She is best known for her research on the properties of toxins found in Conus snails. She was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist in 2008. Dr. Lourdes Cruz has published over 120 scientific papers, and has contributed greatly to the understanding of the biochemistry of toxic peptides gathered from the venom of fish-hunting Conus marine snails. Her studies contributed to the characterization of over 50 biologically active peptides, which were later used as biochemical probes for examining the activities of the human brain. In 2001, she established the Rural Livelihood Incubator, a program which aimed to alleviate poverty and socio-political instability in the rural areas by giving job and livelihood opportunities to their people.

DR. GREGORIO Y. ZARA, D.SC

Gregorio Zara born in Lipa City, Batangas, is one of the best known scientist from the Philippines. In 1926, Gregorio Zara graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 1927, he received his Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Michigan. In 1930, he graduated with a Doctorate of Physics from Sorbonne University. On September 30, 1954 Gregorio Zara's alcohol-fueled airplane engine was successfully tested and flown at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Earth Induction Compass,1929, patented by Belgian Government Aircraft Engine designed to fly on PLAIN ALCOHOL as fuel, 1952 Semi-automatic Propeller-making Machine, 1952 TV-Telephone (PicturePhone),1955 Thermo-Solar Energy Machine, 1961 -- first in the country, reaches a temperature of 3000F, can melt copper, iron, welding rods Solar Water Heater (SolarSorber) -- made of copper tubing, heats water to 180F in 7 minutes Sun Stove Solar Battery -- first in the country, runs a radio and electric fan Drinking Glass Vapor Chamber, 1962 -- simplest in the world Airplane Propeller Design, 1963 -- certified airworthy 1964 first Philippine-made Airplane Propeller -- made of Manggachappui wood, flown by Maj. Henry Meider, USAF first Technicolor TV-receiver in the Philippines Microscope with collapsible stage made of local Philippine materials -- magnifies to 1500 diameters General Marex X-10 -- an electronic robot capable of talking, walking, and obeying commands first Spectroscope in the Philippines

DR. BALDOMERO OLIVERA

MAKATI CITY -- After years of tedious research, Filipino scientist Dr. Baldomero Olivera and his team at the University of Utah discovered a major breakthrough in pain management. Now, deadly pain might have finally met its match in Ziconotide (trade name Prialt). The breakthrough research was presented by none other than Olivera himself to doctors, scientists, investors, students and the media gathered at the Filipinas Heritage Museum on July 6. His talk, "Turning Killers into Pain Killers", was part of Innovation Forum, a series of bimonthly forums on various technologies sponsored by the Ayala Foundation and InfoDev. His Seaside Discovery opens a new drug pipeline for pain and other serious diseases. Olivera is among the few scientists who have chosen to tap animal wildlife as a pharmacological source of treatment. Olivera developed a keen interest in seashells as a young boy in the Philippines. He would gather and bring them home so he could compare them with the diagrams in the pages of his books on marine life. One particular seashell, the cone snail, became the focus of Olivares and his team. Studying them had been like second nature to Olivares since cone snails are abundant in tropical countries like the Philippines. The team's curiosity was particularly aroused by the duality of the seashell being exquisite on the outside but highly lethal on the inside. After further research, they found out that the cone snail's venom which contains conotoxins has an equally antidotal effect. Conotoxins is now being considered to yield new drugs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders aside from pain.