LIST OF NOMINEES:

Academe*
Dr. Lilibeth Coo – UP Diliman (CV – Lilibeth Coo)

Government*
Dr. Rosalinda Torres – ITDI-DOST (CV – Torres)

Industry*
1. Ms. Edna C. Mijares – President and CEO, Jefcor Lab (CV – Mijares)
2. Mr. Ricardo Capistrano – Diversey Philippines, Inc. (CV – Capistrano)

* Names of other nominees were submitted but the nominees declined or did not confirm the nomination.

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. The brief CVs of the candidates are posted above alongside their respective names.
2. In the ballot (Word file, sent via email), indicate your PRC Chemist License Number. The Comelec shall count votes only from those with valid PRC Chemist licenses and updated ICP membership.
3. Please vote for candidate for each sectoral slot.
4. If you wish to abstain. Please write “abstain” on the space provided.
5. Election period will be on September 28 (Friday) until October 5 (Friday).
5. Send back the accomplished ballot to info@icp.org.ph.

The Integrated Chemists of the Philippines (ICP), in cooperation with the Board of Chemistry, will conduct the Oath Taking for Chemists together with the distribution of PRC Certificates of Registration and Professional ID Cards to those who passed the September 2012 Chemistry Licensure Examination. The Top Ten examinees and Most Outstanding Schools will also be recognized by the Board of Chemistry.

The Oath Taking for Chemists will be held on October 12, 2012 (Friday), 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. at the Manila Hotel, Manila. Attire is strictly Business Attire.

For more details, please download the document: Oathtaking of New Chemists 2012 — Announcement and invitation letter

by Jaclyn S. Escaño

Dr. Fabian M. Dayrit has been teaching college chemistry in the Ateneo de Manila University since 1983. He has been the director of the National Chemistry Instrumentation Center (NCIC), which houses the first high field Fourier transform-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer and high resolution Mass Spectrometer (MS) in the country, since 1994. He was the Dean of the School of Science and Engineering, having served from 2000 to 2011. He was also the founder and first director of the Environmental Science Program, which started in 1992 and later elevated to a department in 1998.

Currently, he is the president of the Integrated Chemists of the Philippines (ICP). A post that that he has held since 1995. The ICP is the accredited professional organization of the Chemistry profession under the Professional Regulation Commission. He has been the chair for the Technical Panel for Nanotechnology of the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research & Development of Department of Science & Technology since 2009, a consultant on Confirmatory Drug Testing using Mass Spectrometry for the Department of Health (DOH) since 2008, chair of the steering committee for the Science Education Graduate Scholarships for the Commission on Higher Education since 2007, a member of the Board of Trustees for the Philippine Institute for Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) for DOH since 2006 and a member of the Editorial Board of the Philippine Journal of Science since 2005. He was the project leader of the DOST Roadmap for Nanotechnology Development in the Philippines, which identified the priority areas for the development of nanotechnology R&D in the country. He is also a member of various scientific and professional societies which include the Philippine-American Association of Science and Engineering (PAASE), Natural Products Society of the Philippines (NPSP), National Research Council of the Philippines and the American Chemical Society.

Dr. Dayrit’s research interests include coconut research and development, chemistry of biologically-active natural products, NMR and MS instrumentation and environmental science. His scientific works have resulted in various publications in ISI-listed and non-ISI listed journals and academic awards. In 2010, he received the “Award of Excellence in Science & Engineering” from the Philippine Development Foundation USA during the Philippine Development Forum.  He was elected Academician to the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 2009. He and Dr. Marissa Noel received an “Award for Best Paper” for their work entitled, “Triterpenes in the Callus Culture of Vitex negundo L.” from NAST in 2007.

Dr. Dayrit has always been a true-blue Atenean, having studied there since grade school up to college. In 1975, he graduated cum laude from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in BS Chemistry. He then received his M.A. and PhD degrees in Chemistry from Princeton University in 1978 and 1981, respectively.

He is married to Ma. Corazon Baytion and they have two children, Enzo and Felicia. Dr. Dayrit’s hobbies include photography, cycling and swimming.

By Mr. West Paraiso

Dr. Marco Nemesio Montaño has devoted his career working on seaweeds since 1977 as a research associate at the Marine Science Institute, UP Diliman, until today as Full Professor of the same institute. He obtained his PhD in Biological Chemistry from Griffith University in Australia where he worked on isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites from marine organisms.

Dr. Montaño specializes in marine natural products, algal polysaccharides, and marine pollution chemistry. He has written numerous journal and technical articles on extraction technologies and physicochemical and spectroscopic characterization of algal polysaccharides such as agar and carrageenan and ecotoxicity studies on marine organisms. He has also co-authored several books such as Agar Processing and Characterization, Philippine Seaweeds as Bioremediation Agents, Primer on Farming and Strain Selection of Kappaphycus and Eucheuma in the Philippines, and The Seaweed Resources of the Philippines. He is also involved in product development from seaweeds, one such product with approved patent and trademark is Seamoy, a seaweed-based, low-cost air freshener gel.

Dr. Montaño has held various administrative positions and committee memberships both inside and outside UP, including Deputy Directorships at MSI and a membership in the Technical Committee on Marine Science Education of CHED. He is also at present the Editor-in-chief of ScienceDiliman. Dr. Montaño has recently been awarded the prestigious PRC Outstanding Professional of the Year Award for Chemistry.

He continues to be the torch-bearer of Philippine marine algal chemistry research and is currently heading several government-funded projects such as improvement of seaweed post-harvest and carrageenan extraction technology, characterization and development of new red algal polysaccharide and oligosaccharide food and pharmaceutical products, bench-scale production of fucoidan from Philippine brown seaweeds for mariculture and medicinal applications, and screening for quorum sensing-inhibitory compounds from selected Philippine marine algae and surface-associated marine microorganisms.

The Outstanding Chemist for 2012 is given to Nemesio Estampador Montaño, Professor and Researcher at the UP Marine Science Institute.

For his outstanding demonstration of professional competence and integrity in the exercise of his profession manifested by his professional excellence and dedication which gained him respect as professor and researcher; for his meaningful participation in professional activities by organizing the continuing professional education trainings for ICP and sharing his expertise in providing symposia to the Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines and in other domestic and international organizations; and for his significant contributions to the advancement of the profession manifested by his demonstrated commitment in maintaining leadership in the research and development of seaweeds, remarkably shown by his significant local and international publications including his recognition as awardee of the National Research Council of the Philippines and his membership to the National Academy of Science and Technology.

2012 Outstanding Chemist awardee Dr Coke Montano (center) with ICP President Dr. Fabian Dayrit (left) and Chemistry Board examiner Dr Adoracion Resureccion (right).

Dr. Montano (fourth from left) with ICP Board Members Dr. Glenn Alea, Dr. Linda Torres, Ms. Priscilla Samonte, awardee, Dr. Fabian Dayrit Jr., Ms. Edna Mijares, Dr. Veronica Migo and Dr. Lily Varca.