Location (during time of takeover)
School/Institution
| Undergrad | University of the Philippines Diliman Chemistry |
|---|---|
| Masters | University of the Philippines Diliman Environmental Science |
| PhD | University of Rostock Soil Physics |
| Postdoc | Nipissing University |
| Teaching | University of the Philippines Diliman Environmental Science and Management |
Featured on June 7, 2026
We’re digging deep into the science of groundwater this week with Dr. Erwin Don Racasa, a licensed chemist, environmental scientist, and Associate Professor at the School of Environmental Science and Management of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
Erwin started out his scientific career as a chemist, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in the field from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman. He took the Philippine Professional Regulation Commission Chemistry Licensure Examination later that year and is currently a board-certified chemist. He remained with UP Diliman as a Senior Research Assistant at the Marine Science Institute. Simultaneously, he took up his Master’s in Environmental Science, during which he began working in current field of interest of submarine groundwater discharge. He worked for a year at the National Research Council of the Philippines as a Senior Science Research Specialist, then at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau as a Science Research Specialist. In 2019 he began his PhD at the University of Rostock, Germany, where he studied ground water from coastal fen peatlands. He graduated in 2024 as magna cum laude.
After his PhD, Erwin moved to Nipissing University, Canada as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. While there, he worked on the restoration of metal-contaminated peatlands and analyzed long-term hydrological data from climate change experiments. He has since returned to the Philippines and recently began working for UP Los Baños as an Associate Professor for the School of Environmental Science and Management.
Some fun facts about Erwin
- He likes flowers because they represent spring time and new beginnings. He has visited the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in the Netherlands twice and has grown sunflowers in garden pots in his balcony. He had a massive white orchid while living in Germany
- During the pandemic, he grew out his hair to 11 inches and later donated it to a hospital for the benefit of cancer patients
- He once saw the northern lights while he was living in Canada
