A water resource management plan was successfully outlined at the Training Workshop on Water Management held last 10-22 March 2015 at the University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños. The 12-day workshop involved twenty participants from the local government units of six municipalities in Laguna, the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Laguna Lake Development Authority, and LIMAS Marina. But the initiative that resulted in the draft management plan is only among the major offshoots of the program Towards Good Water Governance for Development: A Multi-Case Analysis, which previously led to three similar multi-sector discussions. In […]
The 2015 National Book Development Trust Fund Grant
The National Book Development Board (NBDB), the government agency mandated to develop and support the Philippine book publishing industry, has recently launched a call for applications for the National Book Development Trust Fund Grant for 2015. Authors and organizations are invited to submit at least 25 percent of their manuscripts or research works for books. The chosen works will receive a grant of P200,000.00 each. Manuscripts or research works for books should be on any of the following subjects: 1. local history and culture (written in Filipino, English, or any Philippine language) 2. traditional medicine, integrative medicine or tropical medicine 3. food science […]
Music, Humanities and a Globalized Society
Music, Humanities and a Globalized Society Gisela P. Concepcion (Speech delivered at SEADOM Congress 2015, University of the Philippines Diliman) Introduction “The future is first shaped by words, whose meanings shift as ourselves change.” This is a line from a poem composed by eminent poet and University of the Philippines professor emeritus Gémino Abad. In twelve simple words, Prof. Abad was able to capture the value of the humanities, and it is that they embody the things that move us, that drive us to choose one path over another, such impetuses being truth, beauty and goodness. Like words, music can […]
UP Diliman celebrates the International Year of Light with multi-disciplinary symposium IlumiNASYON
The Philippines joins hands with the rest of the world in observing the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL 2015). In UP Diliman, the National Institute of Physics (NIP) is at the forefront of the celebration with the multi-disciplinary symposium called IlumiNASYON. To be held on 9 and 16 March 2015, IlumiNASYON aims to illustrate how light has benefitted society and how it continues to capture our imagination. Speakers will give popularized versions of the basic principles of optical effects used in their studies, and the evolution and current level of their research as it relates to the present state of […]
EIDR Cycle 6 First Batch
The following are invited to submit their full proposals. EIDR CODE TITLE PROGRAM LEADER PROJECT LEADERS C06-003 Molecular and Culture-Based Characterization of Bacterial Community from Selected Hyperalkaline Environments in the Philippines and Laboratory Scale Production of an Industrially Important Metabolite Nacita B. Lantican (IBS, UPLB) Ma. Genalyn Q, Diaz, Noel G. Sabino, Andrew D. Montecillo C06-006 Lake to watershed ecosystems assessment (LAWA) program toward a more sustainable management of large urban lake systems (Physical hazards, pollution, watershed management and ecosystems assessment) Maria Victoria O. Espaldon (SESAM, UPLB) Betchaida Payot, Noelynna Ramos, Nathaniel Bantayan C06-009 Is […]
Academe, industry partner for an international symposium on geosciences
Local and foreign experts from different fields of the earth sciences gathered to discuss new findings and innovations in an international symposium convened by the Rushurgent-Working Group (RWG) of the University of the Philippines (UP) National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS). The symposium, titled Crust-mantle Evolution in Active Arcs, was held last February 12 and 13, 2015 at Sequoia Hotel in Quezon City. The first day highlighted new knowledge and scientific data on tectonics, igneous and sedimentary geochemistry, paleontology and geophysics, while the second day dealt with new data that has uses in industry and in geohazard assessment. The tone of the […]
Behavior of mice shows importance of individual training in group emergency escape
Knowledge of how groups escape in emergency situations is crucial to human safety but how can experiments on crowd emergency evacuation be performed under genuine settings? The solution, as conceived by a group of researchers from the University of the Philippines Diliman, is to study the behavior of mice under duress. According to Drs. Caesar Saloma, Gay Jane Perez, Catherine Ann Gavile, Jacqueline Judith Ick-Joson and Cynthia Palmes-Saloma, experimenting with mice avoids serious ethical and legal issues that arise when dealing with unwitting human participants while minimizing concerns regarding the reliability of results obtained from simulated experiments using actors. Mice were […]
Filipino scientists discover new plant species with great phytoremediation potential
A new hypernickelophore species of Phyllanthus (Phyllanthaceae) was discovered by the team of Marilyn Quimado, Edwino Fernando, Lorele Trinidad and Augustine Doronila during their botanical exploration of ultramafic sites in Luzon and Mindanao. Phyllanthus erythrotrichus was located in Sta. Cruz, Zambales while Phyllanthus securinegoides, previously only analyzed through herbarium specimens, was found thriving in Taganito, Surigao del Norte. Both were compared to a known hypernickelophore, Phyllanthus balgooyi, collected by the group earlier in the cities of Narra and Puerto Princesa in Palawan. Phyllanthus erythrotrichus and P. securinegoides have more than 10,000 µg g-1 nickel in the leaves and 1,195 µg g-1 […]
Scholarship and service: Short-term Foreign Training and Externship in Industry
Training and externship are often associated with academic and professional development. But for UP, it is also about service. Our programs for short-term training in foreign universities and externship in industry are envisioned to spur and nurture a culture of scholarship driven by individual commitment and determination. This is achieved through continuous voluntary mentoring: those who obtain financial support from UP for short-term training abroad and externship are encouraged to fill in for the next batch of colleagues who will also leave for foreign training or externship. That batch then does the same for the one next in line, and so […]
Public Policy Journal relaunched after almost a decade
A new issue of Public Policy Journal (PPJ) was released again by the Center for Integrative and Development (CIDS) after eight long years. Launched last December 10, 2014 in the presence of UP President Alfredo Pascual, the 2007-2013 issue is a compilation of journal feature papers written by esteemed educators and public policy figures from the University of the Philippines: Prof. Gerardo Sicat on the reform of Philippine labor policies; National Scientist Raul Fabella on the role of the state and collective action; Prof. Ramon Pedro Paterno on universal health care financing; and UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan on changing identities among Chinese […]
