Location (during time of takeover)
School/Institution
| Undergrad | University of the Philippines Diliman |
|---|---|
| Masters | Tohoku University |
Featured on July 16, 2023
This week, we’re joined by Engr. John Leur Labrador—the Chief Science Research Specialist of the Philippine Space Agency’s Spacecraft Mechanical and Autonomous Systems Development Division.
Leur graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman with a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering, after which he finished a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Tohoku University. His Master’s thesis involved developing an improved environment simulation for micro-satellites by analysing the flight data of DIWATA-1—the Philippines’ first-ever micro satellite, which he also helped to plan, design, and launch!
After graduation, Leur worked as an embedded systems engineer at UP Diliman’s PHL-MICROSAT Bus Development Team. There, he led a team of Filipino engineers that collaborated with Japanese counterparts to design, test and analyse the electronics and mechanical systems for the Philippines’ second micro-satellite, DIWATA-2.
Leur then worked as a University Researcher for the STAMINA4SPACE PHL-50 Project, where he managed the development of small satellite components for an indigenous micro-satellite, as well as led the development of a small satellite simulation system software, among others. Currently, he is also a Project Manager for the MULA satellite project, the next-generation Philippine satellite for earth observation.
Here are some other things to know about Leur:
- He likes playing basketball for fun. In fact, he played in a Junior PBA tournament back in my Grade School days. In his alternate life as a basketball player, he could be retired right now.
- He picked up coffee brewing as a hobby during the pandemic. Now, he has most of the popular coffee equipment for filter and espresso brewing methods. However, he only drinks a maximum of 2 cups of coffee a day!
- His name was given by his father Ruel (can you figure it out?). His parents intended its pronunciation to be “le-ur” and it evolved to “le-yur” in high school and college. Right now, his colleagues call him “lur.”
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This feature is made possible in collaboration with the Philippine Space Agency.
