Field
Location (during time of takeover)
School/Institution
| Undergrad | University of the Philippines Diliman Physics |
|---|---|
| PhD | University of the Philippines Diliman Physics |
| Research | Linköping University Uppsala University |
| Teaching | Central Mindanao University De La Salle University Physics |
Featured on May 17, 2026
Kicking us into high gear this week is Pinoy Scientist Dr. Michelle Marie Villamayor, an Associate Professor and College Research Coordinator at the Central Mindanao University Department of Physics.
Michelle received her undergraduate degree in Physics from the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD). Committing to several more years at her alma mater’s Institute of Physics (NIP), she stayed at UPD until she completed her PhD in 2014. While there, she was also a researcher at the UPD-NIP Plasma Physics Laboratory. After her PhD, she spent a few years in Europe where she started off as a Senior Research Engineer at Linköping University, Sweden. She then moved to the Center for National Scientific Research (CNRS) in Grenoble, France and stayed for a year in Barcelona as a visiting researcher. She then returned to Sweden — now at Uppsala — first as a researcher on solid-state electronics at Uppsala University, then as a Process Engineer at Chromogenics AB.
Michelle returned to the Philippines in 2022, initially working as an Associate Professor at De La Salle University and Central Mindanao University before focusing on the latter. In 2022, she founded a plasma physics laboratory at Central Mindanao University and has remained there until now. She has dozens of papers to her name and has been invited to a number of conferences through the years.
Some fun facts about Michelle:
- She left the Philippines in 2015 after finishing her PhD and came home for good in 2022. She worked in three different universities and one company in Europe over 7 years.
- She was a former Philippine national team member in Karate and 3x National Champion. She was the sole Philippine representative during an international tournament in Iran in 2015 and has competed in China, Turkey, Sweden and Germany. She was also a team member in the UK. She now actively coaches college students.
- She started the Plasma Physics Laboratory in Central Mindanao University last 2022. They primarily focus on thin film technology and plasma agriculture, among others. Their work is being shared to local communities in Bukidnon.
