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 cadang-
cadang, 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 bi-
monthly 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.