UST College of Science: 80 years of producing excellent scientists

What do Carmen Kanapi (first Filipina geneticist), Fransisco Duque (health secretary) Antonio Ma. Guerrero (former president of Eveready Phils.), and Vim Nadera and Michiko Yamamoto (award-winning writers) have in common?

All have been graduates of the College of Science of the University of Santo Tomas.

Since its foundation in 1926, the College of Science has been one of the pillars of science education in the Philippines. It is the first institution of higher learning in the Philippines to offer chemistry courses to its students in 1894.

Likewise, psychology education in the Philippines traces its roots partly through the efforts of Fr. Angel de Blas, OP, founder and first chairman of the Department of Psychology.

Several luminaries in the academe, the scientific community and the industry owe their baccalaureate education to the College of Science of the Pontifical, Royal, and Catholic University of Santo Tomas.

The present-day college boasts of a Level III accreditation by the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Committee on Accreditation (PACUCOA) and two departments recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as Centers of Excellence (Chemistry) and Development (Biological Sciences).

It offers Baccalaureate (BS) degrees in Applied Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Math (Actuarial Science), Microbiology and Psychology.

Its roster of alumni, faculty and students has been consistent in producing scientific research of national and international importance.

These have garnered recognitions from award-giving bodies both here and abroad such as the National Academy of Science and Technology, National Research Council of the Philippines and the Far Eastern Economic Review-Hewlett Packard Search for Outstanding Young Scientists.

The college is also at the forefront of the university’s thrust to produce quality publications in ISI-indexed journals.

In its bid to continue its tradition of excellence in science, the college recognizes the importance of partnership between the scientific community and the industry.

The college is currently celebrating Science Week 2007 with the theme "Science and Industry in Synergy," with various lectures, fora, exhibits and magic shows highlighting the partnership between the two.

These activities showcase not only the transfer of knowledge generated from basic and applied research to industry, but also the redirection of research according to the demands of the industry.

The opening ceremonies last Monday was highlighted by the keynote speech given by Science and Technology Secretary Dr. Estrella Alabastro.

It also included the giving out of the 80th Jubilee Awards and Albertus Magnus Achievement Awards to outstanding alumni.

The awardees included Duque, MD; Prof. Gerardo Janairo, PhD; Prof. Gloria de Castro-Bernas, PhD (posthumous); Zeno "Nonoy" Zuñiga, MD; Michiko Yamamoto and Vim Nadera. They led this year’s batch of 15 awardees in both categories.

The celebration will be capped off by an alumni homecoming dubbed "Balik Agham" tomorrow, 3 p.m., at the Plaza Mayor, UST campus.

Truly, the UST College of Science has been, and will always be, an integral part of science education in the Philippines. As its current Dean, Dr. Fortunato Sevilla III, puts it: "Basta (UST) science, magaling!"