Behind The Science Podcast

Dr. Angel T. Bautista VII is a Scientist I and the current Section Head of the Nuclear Materials Research Section of the DOST – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute. He obtained his BS Chemistry and MS Environmental Science degrees from UP Diliman, and PhD in Nuclear Engineering and Management from the University of Tokyo. He has been working at DOST-PNRI since 2009, where he specializes in the environmental aspects and applications of nuclear energy, science, and technology. His work related to the Fukushima Accident was awarded “Excellent Researcher of the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia” by the Government of Japan in 2021. His current research involvements and interests include the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Research Program Phase 1 (as Program Leader), Food Authenticity and Traceability Program (as Program Leader), investigating the elevated radioactive iodine-129 in the West Philippine Sea (as Project Leader), addressing arsenic contamination in Luzon (as Co-Project Leader), Philippine Remediation of Mine Tailings (as Study Leader), reconstruction of paleoenvironments using natural archives such as coral and sediment cores, and radiometric age dating (e.g., radiocarbon).

Article spotlight:

#BehindTheSciencePodcast is presented to you by the Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub and UP Resilience Institute.

Khelly is previously a part of the Volcano-Tectonics laboratory of UP-NIGS. He holds a graduate degree in Geology from the University of the Philippines, along with undergraduate degrees in Geology and Geological Engineering from Mapua Institute of Technology. Together with Dr. Mahar Lagmay and Dr. Sotiris Valkaniotis, they harnessed satellite data to quantify ground movements caused by the magnitude 6.6 earthquake on the Masbate Island in 2020. Currently, Khelly bridges theory and practice in the geotechnical and geospatial industries, where he continues to contribute to developing resilient infrastructure projects.

Article spotlight:

Sta. Rita, K. S., Valkaniotis, S., and Lagmay, A. M. F.: Surface rupture kinematics of the 2020 Mw 6.6 Masbate (Philippines) earthquake determined from optical and radar data, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1135–1161, 2024.

#BehindTheSciencePodcast is presented to you by the Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub and UP Resilience Institute.

Mr. Rodney Pino is an MS Graduate Fellow under the CIP program of the DOST-SEI, currently deployed at the Institute of Mathematics, UP Diliman. He earned his bachelor's degree from Cebu Technological University and completed his master's in applied mathematics at UP Diliman. Rodney's research focuses on optical character recognition (OCR) of the Filipino pre-colonial script, Baybayin, developing systems at various levels from character to block reading. His work on Baybayin OCR garnered significant media attention, including coverage in broadsheets, webpages, and national television, and he has also been invited to present his research at some cultural summits. He is currently working on a Baybayin OCR software that allows a user to translate Baybayin writings to Filipino Latin. Additionally, he plans to develop an OCR system that can automate Filipino writings to Baybayin, complementing the existing Baybayin to Filipino translation tool. Rodney hopes that these technological advancements will not only preserve the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines but also ensure that the Baybayin script continues to thrive in the digital age, making it accessible and comprehensible to a wider audience.

Article spotlight:

Pino R et al. 2021. Optical Character Recognition System for Baybayin Scripts Using Support Vector Machine. PeerJ Computer Science, 7:e360.

#BehindTheSciencePodcast is presented to you by the Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub and UP Resilience Institute.

Ms. Joey Cabasan discusses the importance of the Kalayaan Island Group and the Scarborough Shoal on the capture fisheries production in the country. She also shares her experiences during the various research cruises they conducted during these studies. Joey is currently a Project Technical Specialist at the University of the Philippines Mindanao under the Coral Reef Resiliency and Ecology Studies Laboratory.

Article spotlight:

Arceo H et al. 2020. Estimating the Potential Fisheries Production of Three Offshore Reefs in the West Philippine Sea, Philippines. Philipp J Sci 149(3): 647–658.

#BehindTheSciencePodcast is presented to you by the Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub and UP Resilience Institute.

Dr. Janneli Lea A. Soria is a geologist and science educator. She received her PhD in Earth Science from the Asian School of the Environment and a post-doctoral research fellowship from the Earth Observatory of Singapore, both at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She also holds an MS and Bachelors in Geology from UP Diliman. She collaborates with other geologists, oceanographers, engineers, social scientists, and historians in investigating coastal hazards. Most of her research career, so far, has been spent studying land subsidence in the northern Manila Bay delta complex, coastal erosion in the Ilocos region, sedimentation on coral reefs in Pangasinan, and the storm surges of Typhoon Reming in Albay, and Super Typhoon Yolanda in Samar and Leyte.

Featured article:

This podcast is co-presented by the UP Diliman College of Science, and the UP Resilience Institute.

Ms. Carmille Escape shares some of her work during the past 10 years with Project NOAH. She also shares their study about the cause of the 2018 Naga City landslide in Cebu. Ms. Escape currently works as a Surveying, GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist with the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES).

Featured article: Lagmay AMF, Escape CM, Ybañez AA, Suarez JK, Cuaresma G. 2020. Anatomy of the Naga City Landslide and Comparison With Historical Debris Avalanches and Analog Models. Frontiers in Earth Science. 8. ‌

This podcast is co-presented by the UP Diliman College of Science, and the UP Resilience Institute.

Dr. Cynthia Saloma of the UP - National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology recalls the events during the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses the role of the Philippine Genome Center in the COVID-19 response.

This podcast is co-presented by the UP Diliman College of Science, and the UP Resilience Institute.

Dr. Mahar Lagmay of the UP - Resilience Institute shares their recent findings about the tephra fall and base surge deposits from the 2020 Taal eruption. He also shares how he became a scientist and some notable contributions of Filipino volcanologists in the field of volcanology.

Featured articles:

This podcast is co-presented by the UP Diliman College of Science, and the UP Resilience Institute.

Dr. Fernando P. Siringan of the UP - Marine Science Institute shares how he started his research on submarine groundwater discharge 20 years ago and the subsequent studies he conducted with his students in Lingayen Gulf, Manila Bay, Verde Island Passage and Laguna Lake.

The featured articles can be downloaded from Dr. Siringan's Google Scholar account.

This episode is co-presented by the UP Diliman College of Science, and the UP Resilience Institute.

Dr. Likha Minimo of the UP - Resilience Institute discussed volcanic hazards such as debris avalanches and how she modeled the Buhi Debris Avalanche in Iriga Volcano that happened in 1520±30 BP. This debris avalanche was responsible for the formation of the Buhi Lake.

Featured article:

Minimo and Lagmay (2016). 3D modeling of the Buhi debris avalanche deposit of Iriga Volcano, Philippines by integrating shallow-seismic reflection and geological data. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 319:106-123.

This episode is co-presented by the UP Diliman College of Science, and the UP Resilience Institute.