Alumni Milestones

The University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman) Institute of Civil Engineering has once again demonstrated its excellence in the field of engineering by topping the April 2023 Civil Engineer Licensure Examination with an impressive 95.12% passing rate. The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced the results on April 28, 2023, revealing that 2,935 examinees took the test nationwide.

The UP Diliman Institute of Civil Engineering produced the highest-ranking passers in the examination, including Casmer Blah Dilangalen who ranked second, and Emilson Ryan Domanog Antes who ranked third. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the passers, particularly our graduates from the UP Diliman Institute of Civil Engineering, for their remarkable achievements.

The UP Diliman Institute of Civil Engineering has a long-standing tradition of producing top-notch civil engineers who contribute to the nation’s development and progress. The latest batch of passers is a reflection of the institute’s commitment to producing highly competent engineers who are dedicated to serving the country.

The UP Diliman Institute of Civil Engineering continues to produce excellent graduates who will make significant contributions to the nation’s development. We congratulate all the passers of the April 2023 licensure examinations and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

Source: https://coe.upd.edu.ph/2023/04/29/up-diliman-tops-the-2023-civil-engineer-licensure-exams/

A team of physicists, including a Filipino researcher, have found that existing theories don’t completely account for the mysterious behavior of high-temperature superconducting materials that have left even Nobel laureates stumped for decades. The team’s discovery, which promises to spark completely new lines of research, was published recently in the prestigious journal, Nature Materials.

Superconducting materials enable electricity to pass through them with no resistance, potentially allowing the creation of everything from magnetic-levitation trains to unprecedentedly powerful supercomputers. For a special kind of materials called high-temperature superconducting cuprates, superconductivity happens when electrons are removed in a process called “doping.”

Baffling even Nobel laureates for decades

Exactly how and why this happens is a mystery that has baffled even Nobel laureates. It was commonly thought, however, that when a large number of electrons are removed—that is, when cuprate superconductors are “overdoped”—they would behave as described by Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) Theory, which was developed in the 1950s and has been used ever since to help explain conventional superconducting materials.

But new experiments by a team of researchers supervised by Dr. Milan P. Allan of Leiden University in the Netherlands has shown that this is not the case. Filipino physicist Dr. Miguel Sulangi from the University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science National Institute of Physics (UPD-CS NIP) collaborated with Dr. Allan’s team on the theoretical modeling of these materials.

“Our paper poses a challenge to the present understanding of cuprate superconductors at so-called ‘overdoping,’” Dr. Sulangi said. “This is the latest of a fresh round of papers showing that overdoped cuprates are not as conventional or ‘BCS-like’ as everyone previously thought they were.”

A deeper mystery than originally thought

Dr. Sulangi expressed hope that these new findings would not just rewrite textbooks but also spark new research interest in overdoped cuprates, which have largely been overlooked—particularly by scientists who believed that the materials’ superconductivity could simply be explained by traditional BCS theory. “We hope to convince experimentalists and theorists that these materials are anomalous and worthy of intense study. We want to provoke further research into this,” he explained.

“What makes this study important is that it not only clarifies the nature of overdoped cuprate superconductivity, but it also reveals that the mystery surrounding cuprate superconductors is deeper than we originally thought,” said UPD-CS NIP associate professor Dr. Kristian Hauser Villegas, who was not involved with the study. “It’s good to see more Filipino researchers working at the forefront of physics and other fields, shoulder to shoulder with international colleagues. Hopefully, this encourages more Filipino kids to pursue science and add to our collective contributions to the growth of human knowledge,” he added.

The team described their findings in a paper entitled, Puddle formation and persistent gaps across the non-mean-field breakdown of superconductivity in overdoped (Pb,Bi)2Sr2CuO6+δ.

For interview requests and other concerns, please contact [email protected].

References:

Tromp, W.O., Benschop, T., Ge, JF. et al. Puddle formation and persistent gaps across the non-mean-field breakdown of superconductivity in overdoped (Pb,Bi)2Sr2CuO6+δ. Nature Materials. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01497-1

Source: https://journal.com.ph/upd-cs-nip-physicist-co-authors-groundbreaking-research-on-mysterious-superconductors/

To see more photos, please visit the University of the Philippines Baguio Facebook

IN PHOTOS | The University of the Philippines – Baguio recognized the outstanding alumni for their exceptional accomplishments and achievements in various fields.

UP Baguio Chancellor Corazon Abansi and UP Alumni Association Baguio – Northern Luzon Chapter Baguio President Lilia Bautista awarded plaques to eight alumni during the UP Baguio Alumni Homecoming Gala Night over the weekend in Baguio City.

Awardees include Apayao Representative Eleanor Bulut-Begtang, Film and Television Director and Writer Zig Dulay, Nueva Vizcaya State University Professor Emerita Loreta Vivian Galima, Baguio City Health Office Medical Officer Dr. Donnabel Tubera-Panes, Film Television and Theatre Director and Writer Emmanuel Palo, BFAR – National Fisheries Research and Development Institute Scientist Mudjekeewis Santos, PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management PCol. Benjamin Sembrano, and President Ramon Magsaysay State University Professor Ferdinand Tamoria.

The awardees have demonstrated exceptional achievements in their chosen fields of endeavor and have given outstanding contributions that bring about significant benefits to the society and distinct honor to the University.

UP Baguio Chancellor Abansi also awarded citations to the outgoing officers of the UP Alumni Association – Northern Luzon Chapter Baguio while the incoming set of alumni officials were inducted into office.

Source: University of the Philippines Baguio Facebook

The UP-PGH Division of Cardiovascular Medicine is proud to congratulate our graduates who recently passed the 2023 Philippine Specialty Board of Adult Cardiology (SBAC) Examination. 100% passing rate for our newest set of young cardiologists.

Dr. Paul Anthony O. Alad
Dr. Paula Victoria Catherine Y. Cheng
Dr. Aiza Katrina F. Reyes
Dr. Zane Oliver M. Nelson III
Dr. Bryan Paul G. Ramirez
Dr. Sonny C. Sendon
Dr. Bai Sitti Ameerah Asleah B. Tago

Padayon sa ating mga bagong cardiologist para sa bayan! Pagsilbihan ang Inang Bayan nang buong puso!

Source: UP PGH Department of Medicine Facebook

The Government of Japan announced on April 29, 2023 the conferment of The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon on Dr. Cynthia Neri Zayas, the Philippines’ leading maritime anthropologist and foremost Japanologist, in recognition of her contributions to promoting Japanese culture and society through her research and professorial stints.

We extend our sincere congratulations to Dr. Cynthia Neri Zayas and his family on this Conferment.

Read more on her profile on the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines website

Source: Embassy of Japan in the Philippines 在フィリピン日本国大使館 Facebook

Manila, Philippines – St. Luke’s Medical Center, the premier healthcare institution in the Philippines, ushers in a new leadership that would allow the hospital to continue to deliver high-quality health services to its patients while remaining at the forefront of medical innovation.

On April 26, 2023, in Taguig City, St. Luke’s board of trustees approved the appointment of Dr. Dennis P. Serrano as the new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective May 1, 2023. Prior to this appointment, he was the hospital’s Executive Vice President for One Healthcare System.

With Dr. Serrano’s appointment, his predecessor, Dr. Arturo S. De La Peña, takes a new role in leading St. Luke’s Medical Research & Policy Institute and St. Luke’s Innovation & Transformation Center. He is also a board member of St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Dr. Serrano brings decades of experience in the medical field to his new role. A graduate of the UP College of Medicine in 1989, he took on his residency training in urology at the PGH and finished it in 1994. In 2005, Dr. Serrano attained his Master’s Degree in Hospital Administration from UP Manila.

He is one of the key individuals behind the success and continuous innovation at St. Luke’s Medical Center, where he spearheaded the Institution’s Robotic Radical Prostatectomy program in 2010. Other than his contribution to the medical center, he held leadership roles in various medical associations, both local and international.

His expertise, experience, and commitment to excellence will be instrumental in leading St. Luke’s Medical Center to provide the best care for its patients and community. He plans to focus on enhancing the patient experience and the culture of care for its employees. This will involve creating a more supportive environment for patients, implementing better tools for staff efficient workflow, and increasing communication between patients, their family members, and physicians. All these efforts would ensure that all patients get the best possible care in a safe and supportive environment while also creating a culture of appreciation among its employees.

Source: https://www.stlukes.com.ph/news-and-events/news-and-press-release/St-Lukes-Medical-Center-Welcomes-New-President-and-Chief-Executive-Officer

Ms. AL Ramirez



Asst. Prof. Donne Jone Sodusta, a faculty member at the Division of Professional Education of the College of Arts and Sciences, UP Visayas was given the Distinguished Dissertation Prize of the Taiwan Association for Sociology of Education (TASE). This is for his dissertation paper titled “Contriving and Curating Indigeneity: Problematization of the Philippines’ Indigenous Peoples Education.”

Sodusta earned his PhD degree at the National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan through the Taiwan Elite University postgraduate scholarship. His areas of research and interests are in policies and practices in multicultural education issues and indigenous peoples’ education.

He is currently teaching research and social sciences subjects to graduate students of the UPV Graduate School and the high school students of UP High School in Iloilo.

More photos on UP Visayas Facebook

UP Associate Professor Nick Deocampo was recently given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the FDCPH for “a life dedicated to scholarship in Philippine cinema.”

Congratulations Associate Professor Deocampo!

Read more: web.facebook.com/FDCP.ph/posts/

Source: University of the Philippines Twitter