The Integrated Chemists of the Philippines (ICP) is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Gerardo C. Janairo as Outstanding Chemist of 2017 by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
Dr. Janairo obtained his BS and MS chemistry degrees at the University of Santo Tomas, and earned a Doctor of Science in Chemistry degree (magna cum laude) at the Eberhard-Karls-Universität zu Tübingen in Germany. Dr. Janairo specializes in organic chemistry, natural products chemistry, and carbohydrate synthesis. His researches have been published in well-established scientific journals, and presented in local and international conferences.
Since 1979, Dr. Janairo has been affiliated with the Chemistry Department of De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila. He served as the director of DLSU’s Marine Biology Station from 1989 to 1990, and served as department chair twice, from 1996 to 1997 and from 1999 to 2000. In 1994, he was conferred by DLSU as a University Fellow, a title bestowed to faculty members in recognition of their teaching and research. In 2002, he became the dean of DLSU’s College of Science, an iconic position that he held for ten years. In 2015, Dr. Janairo took on a bigger administrative role as he began to serve as University Chancellor.
Dr. Janairo held various national positions in different organizations. He served as a board member (1992-1994), vice president (1994-1996), and president (1996-2000) of the Organic Chemistry Teachers’ Association; executive vice president (2004-2006) and president (2006-2008) of the Association of Philippine Colleges of Arts and Sciences; and served as a technical panel member at the Commission of Higher Education (1996-2007) and the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute Consortium Program (2009-2012).
Dr. Janairo received numerous awards to his name. Some of which are: Outstanding Young Scientist of the Philippines (1993) by the National Academy of Science and Technology; Outstanding Teacher of De La Salle University College of Science (1994); the Oustanding Teacher Award (1997) by Proctor and Gamble Philippines; and the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Achievement Award in Chemical Science (2014). He was also a recipient of numerous grants, such as: the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science research and travel grant thrice, in Kitasato University (1988), Tokyo Institute of Technology (1995), and Sophia University (1999); the International Development Program of Australia research and travel grant (James Cook University, Australia, 1990); the British Council research and travel grant (University of Southampton, United Kingdom, 1993); and the Sophia Fellowship research and travel grant (Sophia University, Japan, 2002). In addition, Dr. Janairo also received accolades from the University of Santo Tomas, such as: the Outstanding Alumnus Award in Academe (2006); the Albertus Magnus Award in Science (2007); The Outstanding Thomasian Alumni (2016); and one of the Ten Outstanding Thomasian Alumni Scientist Tribute for Science Education (2017).
Truly, this year’s Outstanding Chemist awardee is illustrious, and thousands of his former students in DLSU can definitely attest to this. He is deeply loved by them, and that would be another prestigious award in itself. Congratulations, Dr. J!
