By Dhel Nazario
Six Filipinos were among the 100 scientists listed in a recent article published by the Asian Scientist Magazine who are outstanding in their respective fields.
Asian Scientist Magazine (ASIAN SCIENTIST MAGAZINE / MANILA BULLETIN)
At the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Drs. Rosalinda C. Torres and Marissa A. Paglicawan, both of the Industrial; Technology Development Institute, were joined by six others from the Philippines.
Torres, who is Scientist I and Chief of the Standards and Testing Division, qualified under Chemistry for her research on the larvicidal ability of Philippine medicinal plants. Paglicawan, also Scientist I and Head of the Advanced Materials Section at the Materials Science Division, qualified under Materials Science for her research on turning Manila hemp or abaca into an engineering material.
Japanese researchers dominated both disciplines.
Others from the Philippines were Artemio Salazar of the University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños for Agriculture; Rody Sy of UP Manila for Biomedical Science; Ricardo Balog of the University of Sto. Tomas and Elmer Dadios of De La Salle University for Engineering; Gay Jane Perez of UP Diliman for Environmental Sciences and Geology; and Charissa Marcaida Ferrera of UP Diliman for Life Sciences.
Gathered from diverse disciplines that covered from materials science to molecular biology and particle physics, the list named representatives from China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
These include 17 in Life Sciences, 15 in Biomedical Science, 12 in Engineering, 12 in Materials Science, 9 in Leadership, eight in Chemistry, eight in Environmental Sciences and Geology, seven in Agriculture, seven in Mathematics, and five in Physics.
According to the Asia Scientist Magazine, Asia currently supplies the world a quarter of its publications, written by Asians now numbering a third of all scientific researchers worldwide.
It added that the 2010 U.S. National Science Foundation Key Science and Engineering Indicators reported that these represented a shift in the world’s scientific research center of gravity to Asia.
The Asian Scientist Magazine is an award-winning science and technology magazine that highlights research and development news stories from Asia to a global audience. The magazine covers science, medical and technology news updates from the Asia and Australasia regions.