Name A Filipino Scientist

Raising a Rizal

MANILA, Philippines -- Dr. Jose Rizal is many things. He’s a doctor, a poet, a novelist, a sculptor, a painter, a patriot,  an educator, just to name a few.

He is the first Filipino polymath, a renaissance man whose expertise spans various fields. This means that Rizal is in the same rank as Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci; French mathematician Blaise Pascal; American scientist Benjamin Franklin, among others.

Rizal, the country’s national hero, is considered as one of the most brilliant Filipinos. The man who grew up in Calamba, Laguna and travelled the world — from Berlin to Madrid to Hong Kong — and impressed the people he worked with and spoke before with his intelligence and charisma.

He is, in more ways than one, the most famous gifted Filipino person.

Not born gifted

Rizal or Pepe to his family is the seventh among the 11 children of Francisco and Teodora Mercado. He grew up in a household with the resources he needed to excel.

According to historian and vice president of the Philippine Historical Association Michael Charleston Chua, the Rizal family had around 1,000 books at young Pepe’s disposal.

They live in an area surrounded by nature, a conducive place for exploration for the soon-to-be hero. His mother, a college graduate and a mathematician, taught Rizal Spanish and how education is the most important part in a man’s life. He even learned Filipino folklore from his nanny.

These factors played a big role in Rizal’s giftedness. “Rizal was not born gifted. He was gifted because of the circumstances and the socialization in the environment na kinalakhan niya,” Chua says. “Rizal was born in a place wherein he was surrounded by trees and animals. The Rizal family had 1,000 books. His mother, ito’y babae, sa panahon na hindi sila pinapahalagahan. Siya ay nagtapos ng kolehiyo. At isang babae na marunong mag Kastila na tinuruan pa ‘yung anak niya. Isa siyang magaling na Mathematician. She was able to impart the love for learning to Rizal.”

In Special Education (SpEd), these same factors can be attributed to a child’s giftedness. Although Rizal was not born gifted, the environment he lived in contributed largely to his excellence.

Biology: Filipino Scientist and their Contribution in Biology

Roberto del Rosario, a Filipino is claiming the right for the invention of the Sing-Along-System (SAS) that eventually led to the development of Karaoke, a Japanese term for "singing without accompaniment". Among del Rosario's other inventions were the Trebel Voice Color Code (VCC), the piano tuner's guide, the piano keyboard stressing device, the voice color tape, and the one-man-band (OMB). The OMB was later developed as the Sing-Along-System (SAS). discovered a luminous material called "fluorspar", which he coined with "escence". The National Academy of Science and Technology also dismissed Flores being the inventor of fluorescent lamp as a myth. "No scientific report, no valid statement, no rigorous documents can be used to credit Flores for the discovery of the fluorescent lamp. We have tried to correct this misconception, but the media (for one) and our textbooks (for another) keep using the Flores example," a Filipino scientist wrote in her column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer. A Filipino scientist reportedly discovered erythromycin in 1949. He was Dr. Abelardo Aguilar who died in 1993 without being recognized and rewarded for his discovery. Reports said Aguilar discovered the antibiotic from the Aspergillus species of fungi in 1949 and sent samples to Indiana-based pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly Co. The drug firm allegedly registered the propriety name Iloson for the antibiotic in honor of Iloilo province where Aguilar discovered it. In 1952, Eli Lilly Co. began the commercial distribution of Iloson, which was sold as an alternative to penicillin. Erythromycin, the generic name of Iloson, was reportedly the first successful macrolide antibiotic introduced in the US. is credited for eight major contributions to the Information Technology. Banatao is most known for introducing the first single-chip graphical user interface accelerator that made computers work a lot faster and for helping develop the Ethernet controller chip that made Internet possible. In 1989, he pioneered the local bus concept for personal computers and in the following year developed the First Windows accelerator chip. Intel is now using the chips and technologies developed by Banatao. He now runs his own semiconductor company, Mostron and Chips & Technology, which is based in California's Silicon Valley.

Chemistry - Science and Technology Iii

God's Destiny for Your Nation

Rice Today Volume 3 Number 2

Philippine journal of education

Asian firms, history, institutions and management