Field
Location (during time of takeover)
School/Institution
| Undergrad | University of the Philippines Diliman Applied Physics |
|---|---|
| Masters | University of the Philippines Diliman Physics |
| Teaching | University of the Philippines Diliman Physics |
| PhD | University of the Philippines Diliman Physics |
Featured on June 23, 2024
Bringing us to a fabulous finish for June is Pinoy Scientist Rene Principe Jr. They are an instructor at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, where they are also taking up their PhD in Physics.
Rene completed their Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics at the University of the Philippines Diliman, graduating Cum Laude in 2020. They immediately began their Master’s degree at the same university, finishing the program with an Excellence in Graduate Studies distinction. Towards the end of their graduate degree, they spent a few months as a technical consultant at the Philippine Space Agency, USAID Fish Right Program. Their Master’s thesis gathered insights into post-disaster behavior using geospatial data analytics in Python to analyze nighttime lights.
Rene is now taking their PhD in Physics at UP Diliman while continuing their work as a graduate student researcher at the Instrumentation Physics Laboratory, clocking in more than 6 years at the Video and Image Processing group. Since 2020, they have also served as an instructor at the National Institute of Physics.
Some fun facts about Rene:
- They began their university life at UP Diliman as a Degree Program with Available Slots (DPWAS) passer. It took several batch runs before they finally secured a spot in the BS Physics program. This redirection reignited their childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. Now, they’re pursuing a PhD in Physics!
- Growing up in extreme poverty, they couldn’t afford electricity, so they often studied by candlelight, sometimes burning their hair in the process. Since then, their hair has become a vibrant symbol of their journey from darkness to (dispersed) light. They have experimented with every hair color possible!
- Not a fun fact, but a unique set. They’re a survivor of several near-death experiences. They’ve been bitten in the face by their dog, poisoned by an “aswang” neighbor who was their mother’s close friend, nearly got burned alive when their village in Compostela Valley caught fire, and was nearly washed away by Tropical Storm Sendong’s flash flood in 2011.
