PAASE hosts 31APAMS on June 15-17 at National Science Complex in UP Diliman

The Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE), with its co-host, the National Institute of Physics, UP Diliman, invites all academics, business and government leaders, and the general public, to participate in the 31st Annual PAASE Meeting and Symposium (31APAMS) on June 15-17 at the National Institute of Physics, College of Science, National Science Complex, UP Diliman. With the theme “Science and Engineering Education, Research and Innovation Toward National Development and Global Competitiveness,” 31APAMS will feature plenary and parallel sessions of scientific technical presentations (oral and poster), focus group discussions (FGDs), academic innovation (discovery and invention) booths, commercial sponsor booths, and pitching competitions. For more information on PAASE and the 31APAMS program of activities, please visit www.paase.org.

Participants in 31APAMS will include foreign-based and local PAASE members, faculty members, researchers, students and administrators from several universities in the country, as well as reference persons from the government and private sectors, who will share their expertise on specific topics in the FGDs. At the opening ceremony in the morning of June 15, UP President Alfredo E. Pascual will give the welcome address, DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo will share his views on DOST’s R&D priorities and the Balik Scientist program, and 2010 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Professor Richard Heck, will be honored and featured. After the opening of the poster exhibits, key talks will be given by government and business leaders, Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, Rep. Luis R. Villafuerte, Dr. Abraham Pascual of Pascual Laboratories, and Diosdado Banatao of Tallwood Ventures.

The FGDs, held simultaneously in the afternoon of June 15, will be an important highlight of 31APAMS. In this activity, participants will engage in discussions on key issues that affect the state of science and engineering education, research and innovation in our country. The goal is to produce action plans and recommendations that will become PAASE’s advocacies. The FGD topics are: 1) Initiatives to Increase R&D Funding; 2) Government Legislation and S&T Development; 3) Science and Engineering (specific disciplines) Curriculum Review; 4) Internal and External Review of Research Proposals and Output; 5) Environmental and Disaster Mitigation; 6) Secondary Education: Curriculum Review in Science and Engineering from K-12; 7) Energy and Sustainability; and 8) Millennium Development Goals.

Filipino scientists will have the opportunity to present their research in parallel oral sessions and poster sessions on a wide range of topics: Climate, Environment, Energy, Materials, Engineering, Agriculture, Biology, Natural Products, Biomedical Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, and Computational Sciences and Mathematics. Plenary scientific speakers are 2010 and 2011 Severino and Paz Koh Awardees in Science, Dr. Rigoberto Advincula and Dr. Carlito Lebrilla, respectively; 2011 SP Koh Awardee in Engineering Dr. Felix Buot; and Professor of Physics and UP Diliman Chancellor Dr. Caesar Saloma.

An exciting part of 31APAMS for students will be the three-minute pitching competitions for scientific posters and the innovation (discovery and invention) booths. Business leaders will judge the innovation competition. Monetary awards for these two competitions will be contributed by foreign-based PAASE members and by Ayala Foundation, respectively. The participation of students who are presenting papers is being partly supported by generous donors from PAASE.

PAASE was founded in 1980 in Indiana, USA, by Dr. Severino L. Koh, together with Drs. Pat L. Mangonon, Edgar H. Buyco and Charles Melendres. Dr. Koh subsequently transferred to UMBC (University of Maryland-Baltimore County) where he was professor and chairman of Civil and Environmental Engineering for many years. As envisioned by Prof. Koh, PAASE aims to promote the advancement of science, engineering, and technology, to encourage collaborative work among scientists and engineers of Philippine descent in research and development through scholarly and scientific endeavors, to support efforts that advance science and technology, and to recognize and honor the achievements of scientists and engineers of Philippine descent.

Presently, PAASE has more than 240 regular and associate members based in the US, Philippines and other countries. This represents the largest group of Filipino scientists and engineers in the world. Many PAASE members have contributed to the development of Philippine science and engineering in the last two decades in various ways, e.g., teaching, research mentoring and collaboration, research grants, donations of education and research materials, seminars, contributions to science and engineering public policy, consultancies in the government and business sectors, etc. PAASE also has been the source of many Balik Scientists in the last few years. In 2006, PAASE members led a campaign to increase government support for science and technology in the country. This campaign resulted in the allocation of funds for the construction of the National Science Complex in UP Diliman, for more S&T graduate scholarships from DOST and CHED, and a significant increase in the DOST budget for R&D grants. It is thus auspicious that 31APAMS is held at the National Science Complex.

The spirit of volunteerism among PAASE members remains strong. We hope that at 31APAMS, especially through the FGDs, PAASE can pursue new advocacies and continue to contribute to science engineering education, innovation and business development in our country.

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Gisela P. Concepcion is a professor at the Marine Science Institute in UP Diliman where she teaches graduate courses and pursues research on marine drug discovery and biomedical research. She is the current president of PAASE. She is a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and is the current vice president for academic affairs of the UP System. E-mail at [email protected].