Science Field: Engineering

Cristal Balaga is a mineral and metal processing engineer who recently graduated with an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master across Chile, Austria, and Finland. She trained under the EMJM PROMISE programme in hopes of taking the mineral processing sector into a sustainable future.

Dr. Izrael Zenar Bautista is a licensed Electronics Engineer and a Chief Science Research specialist at the Philippine Space Agency’s Space Mission and Control Operation Division. He specializes in satellite engineering and operations.

Neil Joshua Limbaga is a PhD student at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Sensors Group, Saudi Arabia who earlier this year worked with McLaren Racing of Formula One fame. His research focus is in integrated wearable systems for high-performance sports and health.

Dr. Ryan De Sotto is a microbiologist, environmental engineer and synthetic biologist at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation Research Programme. His current work is on engineering a probiotic organism for atopic dermatitis (eczema) treatment on top of other research projects.

Gizelle Danine Jamero is a Fire Safety Engineer with 10 years of experience in the field currently working for Arup in Dublin, Ireland as a Project Fire Engineer. She evaluates buildings and architectural plans for compliance with regulations and guidelines, conducts risk assessments, and develops fire safety strategies accordingly.

Angelico “Anjo” Obille is a PhD researcher at the University of Toronto, Canada Institute of Biomedical Engineering, reverse-engineering natural materials to find solutions to some sticky biomedical engineering challenges. They are studying wet adhesion mechanisms utilized by freshwater mussels (Dreissena sp.)

Gregor Ethan Posadas is a Master’s student and graduate research assistant at the Boise State College of Engineering, United States studying how delivering high concentration dissolved oxygen to wastewater treatment bioreactors affects plant performance.

Viviene Marie Dela Cruz is an engineer and scientist pursuing her PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom with a specialization in Space-Ground Laser Communications. She did optical fiber sensor system design at her alma mater until 2023 and worked as a researcher at Durham University in 2024.

Gabriel Gallardo, PhD is a product manager for quantum computing at Riverlane, United Kingdom. His doctoral research revolved around looking for dark matter through the ATLAS Experiment where he led the development and re-write of Python/C++ big data analysis frameworks for thousands of researchers on the project.

Chimira N. Andres is a PhD Earth & Space Science & Engineering student at York University, Canada. She also works with both the European (ESA) and Canadian (CSA) Space Agencies.

Ramir Seraphim Angeles is a bike enthusiast whose work as a sustainable transport planner and Civil Engineer has involved, among other things, the development of bike routes and public transportation infrastructure in cities. His company collects and processes transport data for clients in both the government and private sector.

Seigmund Jacob Dollolasa is a Research & Development Engineer at Era Polymers Pty. Ltd. in Australia. As their Research & Development Engineer, he handles the development and improvement of polymer products both new and existing.

Kimberly “Kim” Lagrama is a materials engineer and tribologist working on the construction of the European Spallation Source in Sweden as a Lead Design Engineering and Piping Engineering Specialist.

Lesly Zaren Endrinal is a Failure Analysis industry expert clocking in 25 years of experience in the field. Her thesis was on the failure analysis of microelectronic devices.

Dr. Keith Nealson “Keano” Penado is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics, Ateneo de Manila University. His work with plasma first studied its effect on rice seed germination, then its use in the pyrolysis of polystyrene.

Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano, Jr. is the first and current Director General (DG) of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA). He is a Full Professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman. As the PhilSA DG, he also holds the rank of Cabinet Secretary and is the Presidential Adviser on Space Matters.

John Paul “JP” Almonte is a licensed Electronics Engineer and Senior Science Research Specialist at the Space Mission Control and Operations Division of the Philippine Space Agency. He manages the operations of satellite ground stations and the Philippine microsatellite Diwata-2.

Paterno “Jowi” Miranda IV is a coastal engineer who is taking up his PhD jointly with Deltares and the University of Twente, Netherlands. His PhD research explores the modeling of mixed (sand-mud) sediments.

May Angelu Madarang is a research trainee at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology School at the University of Science and Technology. Her research deals primarily with device fabrication and testing, specializing in tunnel junction and solar cell fabrication.

Joshua Agar is a wind engineer and assistant professor at the UP Diliman currently working on the Multi-Hazard Impact-Based Forecasting – Early Warning System (MHIBF-EWS) Project.