5 Famous Filipino Chemists and Their Significant Contributions

Filipino had been always known for their great contributions and achievements throughout the world in all sort of fields, be it in sports, arts, theater, architecture and science. These fellowmen had brought pride and dignity to our country. And in this article, we’re going to name some of the famous Filipino scientist in the field of chemistry, their contributions and research that made an impact to the world of science.

·      Alfredo Santos – is a National Scientist born on August 15, 1900, who devoted his life and career on the study of chemistry of natural harvest and the properties of Philippine medicinal plants. He has finished a lot of work in the isolation and elucidation of the phaeantharine and other alkaloids from Philippine medical plants. Due to his researches, he received outstanding awards including President Magsaysay’s Distinguished Service Star in 1954 and Outstanding Pharmacist Researcher of the Philippine Pharmaceutical Association in the year 1953. He finished his BS degree on Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the University of the Philippines and his doctorate degree in Pharmacy in the University of Santo Tomas in the year 1925.

Alfredo O. Santos

·         Jose O. Juliano – is a famous Filipino scientist born on October 16, 1932, who became famous for his researches in nuclear chemistry and physics. A chemist by profession, he was in charge of grain quality research at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) from the year 1961 to 1993. He was also one of the receivers of the The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award in the year 1959 for his involvement in Nuclear Science and became an affiliate of the American Nuclear Society, American Physical Society and American Chemical Society. He completed his B.S.A., major in Agriculture Chemistry and Mathematics, in the University of the Philippines, his M.S. major in Electrochemistry and Chemical Engineering in the Louisiana State University and his Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry and Physics in the University of California in the year 1957.

Jose O. Juliano

·         Julian A. Banzon – is a Filipino chemist born in Balanga, Bataan on March 25, 1908, who researched methods of producing alternative fuels from coconut and sugarcanes. He experimented with the production of ethyl esters fuels from coconut and sugarcanes, and invented a means of extracting residual coconut oil by a chemical process. He finished his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of the Philippines in the year 1930 and his Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry from Iowa State University in the year 1940. He became a National Scientist in the year 1986 and received notable awards such as the Distinguished Service Award from the Integrated Chemist of the Philippines Inc. in the year 1980 and Chemist of the Year Award from the Professional Regulation Commission in the year 1978.

Julian A. Banzon

·        Amando Kapauan – is a Filipino chemist and researcher born on July 4, 1931. He was one of the scientist who initiated investigations in the 1970s on heavy metal analysis in our environment and among one of those who first look into the problem of mercury in the environment, and designed the appropriate equipment for mercury analysis in water, fish and soil. He also linked with international groups and taught one of the first environmental chemistry courses in the country. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines in the year 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and obtained his doctorate degree from the University of Southern California. He was also one of the founders of the Philippine Institute of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

·         Anacleto del Rosario – was a leading chemist during the Spanish period and was called as the “Father of Laboratory Science” in the Philippines. As a chemist, Del Rosario partly built the commercial names of the manufacturers of the Ayala distillery where he was successful in producing alcohol from nipa tuba (wine) that was absolutely free of characteristic odor. They exhibited the alcohol at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1881 and won first prize. He also worked as a chemist in the La Rosario distillery and was appointed as a pharmacist member of the Sanitary Commission in the 8^th district of Manila in the year 1882. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Ateneo Municipal de Manila and then enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas and took a course in pharmacy.

Anacleto Del Rosario

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5 Famous Filipino Biologists and Their Significant Contributions

Filipinos have been famous all over the world in major field like arts, literature, technology and science especially in the field of biology. These Filipino biologists are famous for their notable discoveries, research and contributions that changed and made an impact to this field of natural science. Here are some of the most famous Filipino biologists, their scientific contributions and their achievements:

·         Asuncion K. Raymundo – is the first Filipina Molecular Microbiologist to pioneer the application of biotechnology in the Philippines. Dr. Raymundo found a way to discriminate local prevalent pathogen strains like Ralstonia solanacearum and Xanthomonas oryzae to allow selection of the appropriate variety resistant to this strain for planting.  Dr. Raymundo completed her bachelor’s degree (cum laude) at the University of the Philippines, College of Agriculture, major in Soil Microbiolog and received her Masteral at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, both in the United States. Dr. Raymundo received a number of awards in recognition of her work in microbiology, microbial genetics and biotechnology like the National Research Council of the Philippines Distinguished Award in Biology, Crop Science of the Philippine Achievement Award in Research and Outstanding Microbiologist Award given by the Philippine Society for Microbiology.

Asuncion K. Raymundo

·     Prescillano M. Zamora – is known for his works on plant anatomy-morphology, pteridophyte biology, and the preservation of environment and natural resources policy study. His work on the xylem elements on vascular plants is the basis for the formulation of the two-phase wall deposition concept which was now accepted universally. Dr. Zamora finished his study in B.S. Agriculuture and M.S. Agronomy at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, and his Ph.D. (Holiculture) at Rutgers State University in the year 1966. His studies on the taxonomy of Philippine ferns led to the discovery for more discoveries for more species of the group. With his achievements, he was a NSF Research grantee and a UP Professional Chair Holder.

Prescillano M. Zamora

·         Bienvenido O. Juliano – is a National Scientist who focused on the properties of starch and protein in relation to rice grain quality. He is one of the 1964 TOYM Awardees for Science. He was in charge of grain quality research at the International Rice Research Institute from 1961-1993 and contributed much to the basic knowledge in differences between varieties of grain quality of rice. He showed that any lose content of starch is the key determinant of eating quality of milled rice in Asia and extremely negatively connected with stickiness of cooked rice.

Bienvenido Juliano

·      Edgardo D. Gomez – is a world-renowed marine biologist and professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines (UP), Marine Science Institute (MSI) in Diliman, Quezon City. He was acknowledged because of his exceptional research triumphs on marine ecosystems that serve as foundation for the supervision and protection programs for the country’s ocean and marine resources. He was born on November 7, 1983. His study on coral reefs led to his work on the true giant clam (Tridacna gigas) and is credited for saving his shelled mollusk from extinction. He also holds a Ph.D. in marine biology granted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego.

Edgardo D. Gomez

·         Evelyn Mae T. Mendoza – is an academician in the Forefront of Plant Biotechnology. It there is a plant expert in the Philippines who can answer questions on plant biotechnology, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and nutritional acceptability of plan foods. She was born on August 7, 1947 and obtained her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry (cum laude) from Mapua Institute of Technology in 1967, her master’s degree and doctorate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the United States in 1975. She has received a number of awards and recognition because of her works including Recognition Award from the Institute of Plant Breeding, the CSSP’s (Crop Science Society of the Philippines) Achievement Award for Research and 1989 Outstanding Researcher, University of the Philippines, Los Baños. 

Evelyn Mae Mendoza

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