june-july 2013
UPD, UPM mentors win ISI awards Two assistant professors in UP Diliman
Photo from http://merliemalunan.blogspot.com/2012/08/miss-merlie-m.html
UP Tacloban poet wins Thai award
Dr. Merlie M. Alunan-Wenceslao has become the first Filipino recipient of the Sunthorn Phu Award conferred last June 26 in Bangkok, Thailand under the auspices of the ASEAN. The 2013 Sunthorn Phu Award held at the Small Hall, Thailand Cultural Centre, was organized by the Thai Ministry of Culture to promote and honor the literary talents of ASEAN creative poets. The national selection committee of
each ASEAN-member country selected one poet nominated their respective candidates based on the artists works deemed valuable to society and humankind. Dr. Alunan is a multi-awarded poet from Eastern Visayaswho has written, translated and edited several Visayan literatures. She is also a prolific writer in English, Waray Cebuano and other Visayan dialects. The other awardees were Dr. Awang Haji Hashim bin Haji Abdul Hamid of Brunei Darussalam, Ven Son of Cambodia, Agus Rahmat Sarjono of Indonesia, Dara Kanlagna of Lao PDR, Dr. Zurinah Binti Hassan of Malaysia, U Saw Lwin of Myanmar, Emeritus Professor Edwin Nadason Thumboo of Singapore, Naovarat Pongpaiboon of Thailand, and Tran Dang Khoa of Vietnam. During the ceremony, each poet was asked to recite their respective winning poems. Here is an excerpt of Dr. Alunan’s winning entry entitled “Butchery”. “The river Himanglos, witness to all these events, flows ever to the sea, and says nothing. But you, you to whom I am now telling what I have heard,
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I pray that you too would hear the roar of pain, the cry of the fallen, wounded beast, I pray the agony of those who are oppressed will echo deep in the caverns of your brain— So I won’t be alone now, I will have you, two of us now to share this grief— through its quite true, neither of us can change what’s fixed.”
and UP Mianila have won in this year’s search for International Statistical Institute (ISI) Jan Timbergen awardees based on their joint scientific study. The awardees are Iris Ivy Gauran and Ma. Sofia Criselda Poblador, both assistant professors in UPD’s School of Statistics and UPM, respectively, who won for their paper entitled “Classification of Congenital Hypothyroidism using Artificial Neural Networks.” The paper is a requirement for a graduate course in UP School of Statistics. They will receive the prestigious award during the 59th ISI World Statistics Congress to be held in Hong Kong from 25-30 August 2013. The Jan Tinbergen Awards is a biennial competition for young statisticians (less than 31 years old) worldwide based on a research paper in the theory and applications of statistics. This year, over 1,000 papers were submitted by young statisticians worldwide. Gauran (BS 2009-Cum Laude, MS 2012) is a tenured faculty of UPSS. She will pursue her PhD at University of Maryland Baltimore County starting September 2013. On the other hand, Poblador (BS 2009Cum Laude, MS 2012) is a faculty member of UPM’s College of Arts and Sciences,
The Sunthorn Phu award, launched on June 26 last year, was named after the famous Thai poet, Sunthorn Phu, who was recognized by the UNESCO as one of the world’s great personalities. The Sunthorn Phu awardees were presented with Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s plaque of honor, and received cash prize and airline tickets courtesy of Air Asia. They were also invited to a cultural exchange programme in Thailand from June 25-30, 2013. Philippine Ambassador to Bangkok Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia and Cultural Attache Sylvia M. Reyes attended the award ceremony and banquet. ((Article from: http://www.bangkokpe.com/ dr-merlie-m-alunan-is-the-first-filipino-recipient-toreceive-sunthorn-phu-award-2013/)
UP Baguio mathematicians make waves in Palawan By Paul Ignacio, Ti Similla
A delegation from the UP Baguio made a strong presence in the 2013 Mathematical Society of the Philippines (MSP)Annual Convention held last May 1718 at the Legend Hotel in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. The conference marked the 40th founding anniversary of MSP as the country’s largest professional organization dedicated to the promotion, development, and appreciation of mathematics and mathematics education in the country. The event was highlighted by four plenary talks featuring UP Baguio vice chancellor for academic affairs, Dr. Wilfredo Alangui, and five parallel paper presentations covering Algebra, Analysis, Graph Theory, Combinatorics, Applied Mathematics, and Mathematics Education. Six faculty members from UPB’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (DMCS) presented their researches during the parallel paper sessions. In the Applied Mathematics session, DMCS chair Dr. Joel Addawe presented his paper, “Modeling Malaria Transmission in an Age-Structured Population”; Dr. Juancho Collera on “Compound Laser
Modes of a Ring of Delay-Coupled Lasers”; and Andrei Domog o on “Numerical Bifurcation Analysis of Delay-Coupled Lasers with Unidirectional Coupling.” In the Algebra session, College of Science secretary Dr. Edna Gueco discussed “The Inertia of Complex λH-Orthogonal Matrices,” and I presented my work “On the Square and Cube Roots of p-adic Numbers.” The two-day convention was capped by Dr. Alangui’s talk entitled “The Ancestral Domain is My Classroom: Teaching Mathematics in a Culturally Responsive Way.” Citing literature, Dr. Alangui discussed the impact of mainstream education on indigenous students and presented current efforts on indigenous peoples’ education by indigenous communities and other institutions, including the Department of Education. He then shared his experiences in PAMANA KA, a school for Mangyan in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, especially in the teaching of math lessons that are rooted in the day to day life of the community.
Dr. Alangui challenged mathematics educators to support the various initiatives in IP math education. His session was chaired by Dr. Joey Balmaceda, dean of the College of Science in UP Diliman and chair of CHED’s Technical Panel for Mathematics. The convention also served as a venue to renew ties not only with colleagues across the country but also with our alumni. For mer DMCS faculty Rommel Gregorio, now with the Philippine Science High School – CAR campus and BS Math graduates Aldous Bueno, Julius Fergy Rabago, and John Rafael Antalan, all faculty members of Central Luzon State University, also delivered paper and poster presentations. Prof. Brenda Lyn Gavina, UPB alumnus and for mer DMCS faculty (and my undergraduate program adviser), was also present at this year’s convention, along with Prof. Puring Tangco, a graduate of the old MA in Math Education program of UP Baguio. DMCS faculty Rizavel Addawe and Joy Ascaño, and Mathematics alumnus Michelle Nicolas were also with the group.
Pobrador (top) and Gauran (above)
UP evolution now... ◄ Photo courtesy of Ti Similla
The UP Baguio delegation
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Chancellor for Academic Affairs Ronald Banzon, UPDIO director Maureen Anne Araneta, University Registrar Evangeline Amor, Diliman Interactive Learning Center director Peter Sy, members of the OICA Board, Professor Defeo, and other Diliman and UP System officials. Special performances were rendered at the exhibit opening by the UP Concert Chorus, fresh from their successful stint at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia and the UP Dance Company. The Celluloid Campus: The University of the Philippines in the Cinematic Imagination runs until July 31 and is open for public viewing Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University Theater Lobby.—MDJ, UPDIO