Speakers

HON. MARIO G. MONTEJO
Secretary
Department of Science and Technology
Republic of the Philippines

Secretary Montejo, a mechanical engineer by profession and an innovator, believes that the use of science and technology is always a sound development model for the improvement of the individual and society in terms of improved processes, products, services.

With his substantial background in engineering design and innovation spanning more than 20 years, he was selected as the 2014 University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) Most Distinguished Alumnus, and 2011 Distinguished Alumnus in Science and Technology.

In 2010, the UP College of Engineering has named him one of the “100 Outstanding Alumni Engineers of the Century” during the Centennial celebration of the University of the Philippines. Before joining the government service, Secretary Montejo was president of several engineering related firms along with the more recent ecotourism-related company.

His motto, ‘Local technology works!’ affirms a belief in the creativity of Filipinos particularly the Philippine scientific community.

PROF. DR. TOM A. VELDKAMP

Prof. Tom Veldkamp is the current Dean of the ITC faculty, University of Twente. He obtained his MSc in tropical soil science and his PhD in environmental sciences at Wageningen University. After working as a Mathematical Geologist at the Dutch geological survey, he moved back to Wageningen University. After several promotions he became Full Professor and Chair of Land Dynamics in 2002. In 2005 he also became head of the business unit at Landscape Centre inWageningen University and Research Centre. He joined Twente University in 2009 and was reappointed as Dean of ITC on January 1, 2015. His research interests are analysing and modelling land change science and landscape processes.

MR. SHIZUO YAMAMOTO
Vice President
Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

 Shizuo Yamamoto received his BSc degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Nagoya University in March 1977. He joined National Space Development Agency (NASDA) in April 1977. He was Section Chief of Data Processing Section, Earth Observation Center (EOC/NASDA) from 1982 to 1987 and was in charge of data processing of the US Landsat and the first Japanese Marine Observation Satellite (MOS-1).

Thereafter, Shizuo Yamamoto studied data processing technology of the optical sensing system at NASA/GSFC as a Visiting Fellow from March 1987 to March 1988. He was Senior Engineer at Earth Observation Program Management Department from 1995 to 1998 and was in charge of NASDA’s Program Manager of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), which was a cooperative project between Japan and NASA. He contributed to the success of TRMM program.

In 2007, Shizuo Yamamoto was appointed as Director of Systems Engineering Office and developed the R&D roadmap as the technological strategy in JAXA. Shizuo Yamamoto has been VicePresident of JAXA since 2013. He is responsible for all JAXA’s satellite projects of earth observation, communication, broad casting, and navigation. He aims to create a new outcome for utilization of JAXA’s new satellites, such as ALOS-2,which was launched in May 2014.

SEC. LUCILLE L. SERING
Commissioner/Vice Chairperson
Philippine Climate Change Commission

Secretary Mary Ann Lucille L. Sering is an environmental education advocate. Prior to her stint in Government, she served as the College Secretary or Associate Dean of the San Sebastian College of Law. She was also a professor handling environmental law and banking and finance subjects. While in the academe, she advocated for environmental law to be a mandatory subject in law schools. While teaching, she also studied her masters and earned her Masteral degree in social entrepreneurship specializing on microfinance from the prestigious Asian Institute of Management.

In 2007, she joined Government and was appointed as Undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources or DENR, handling Administration, Finance and Legal.  One of the youngest appointed to the post. While head of the legal department, she formed the Green Legal Warriors, a volunteer program for law students. She pushed for a specialized curriculum of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education to focus on environmental laws for all lawyers at the DENR.  The first of its kind ever introduced at the Department and in any MCLE course.

In 2009, she was selected as a member by then Chief Justice Reynato Puno of the Supreme Court, to the technical working group that drafted the landmark and the first Environment Rules of Court of the country. She was one of only two non-Supreme Court justices members that drafted the rules. The Environmental Rules of Court allows the filing of the Writ of Kalikasan, a legal remedy that protects one’s right for a healthy environment.

From the DENR, she was appointed as one of the pioneer member of the Climate Change Commission. A commission created by virtue of the law, the Climate Change Act of 2009.  The President of the Republic of the Philippines sits as Chairperson of the Commission. From a commissioner member, she was eventually promoted as a Vice-Chairperson of the Commission with the rank of Secretary in 2010.

In just two years in the Commission, she helped pushed for the passage of Republic Act 10174, amending the Climate Change Act. The law created the Peoples Survival Fund, a fund that will help local government finance its climate change adaptation and disaster risk management programs.

She also conceptualized the Eco-Town, a framework that will help local communities plan on how to protect the environment and still earn from it.  This framework is now currently piloted in 2 of the top poorest provinces in the country.

DR. CARLOS PRIMO C. DAVID
Executive Director
Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development
Department of Science and Technology, Republic of the Philippines

Dr. CP David is a licensed geologist and professor of Geology and Environmental Science in UP Diliman. A project leader of the Department of Science and Technology’s Project NOAH, Dr. David pioneers short term rainfall forecasting in the country using Doppler Weather Radar-based techniques and climate change-related research on water resources. He concurrently serves as Executive Director of DOST-PCIEERD, and as resident resource person for disaster preparedness for GMA News and Public Affairs. Dr. David is a member of the Panel of Experts (PoE) of the Climate Change Commission and was the 2013 awardee of the Oscar M. Lopez Professorial Chair for Climate Change Research.

An inventor by heart, Dr. David has received numerous accolades for his inventions such as Automated Weather Stations (Third Place, 2006 DOST-Search for Outstanding Invention/Research), ClimateX: a fully automated Doppler Radar based weather prediction tool (Winner, PCIEERD Outstanding R&D Awards 2015), and Moblocks®, a fun and educational toy for mission-based games and creative play (Philippine Patent Co-Owner, no. 1-2009-000107).

MR. ABHINEET JAIN
Regional Director
Sales Engineering for Asia Pacific Region
DigitalGlobe

Mr. Abhineet has been active in the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Industry for the last 20 years, having done his Masters in Botany and Post Graduate research in the field of climate change from Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), DehraDun, Department of Space, India.

In the last 15 years, Mr. Abhineet has served various roles in the industry as Industry Manager, channel Manager, Aerial Survey specialist (Products and Services) and head of Sales and business development with Intergraph and other prominent companies. Environment & Forestry and Disaster Management are among his favourite areas where he has been promoting the use of Remote Sensing.

DR. WOLFGANG-MARTIN BOERNER
Emeritus Professor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Boerner was born in Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea in 1937. He received the B.S. (Abitur) degree from the August von Platen Gymnasium, Ansbach, Germany; the M.S. (Dipl.-Ing.) degree in Communications and Electromagnetic Wave Engineering from the Technical University of Munich, Bavaria, Germany; and the Ph.D. degree in Electromagnetic Engineering Sciences from the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1958, 1963, and 1967, respectively.

Since 1978, he has been a Professor at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Director of its Communications, Sensing and Navigation Laboratory. While at UIC, he was awarded the Alexander von Humbolt Senior US Scientist, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science US Scientist, and the US Navy Distinguished Senior Professor awards; he is now a University of Illinois Distinguished Senior Professor Emeritus. He was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa of the Tomsk State University (Tomsk, West Siberia), of the University of Rennes (Bretagne, France), and of the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen (Nuremberg, Germany) – all in recognition for his profound contributions to the advancements of “Electromagnetic Vector (Polarization) Inverse Scattering, Radar Polarimetry, Interferometry and Tomography”.

For his contributions toward linking international research centers of Oceania & East/Austral-Asia via the Americas with Eurasia & Europe, Prof. Boerner was honored with the distinguished IEEE-GRSS Outstanding Services Award for 2005 and that of IECE-SANE for 2007; and most recently with a Special Recognition on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of IEEE-GRSS during the IGARSS-2012 at Munich, Germany for “his extraordinary technical contributions to the advancement of radar remote sensing and valued services to the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society of IEEE.”

Dr. Boerner is a member of numerous international scientific societies; he is a senior member of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) the American and the International Societies for Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry (ASRSP and ISRSP).

DR. W. TIMOTHY LIU
Senior Research Scientist
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology

Dr. W. Timothy Liu graduated from Ohio University in 1971, with a B.S. degree in physics, summa cum laude.  He received both his M.S. and Ph.D degrees in atmospheric sciences from University of Washington in 1974 and 1978. He joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a Principal Investigator in satellite oceanography in 1979, and has been a Senior Research Scientist (equivalent to a full professor at a major university) since 1993. He was the Project Scientist for 3 NASA Scatterometer missions, and Leader of the NASA Ocean Vector Winds Science Team from 1992 to 2008. He is currently a selected investigator in a number of space missions, including GPM, Aquarius, CYGNSS, GCOM-W. He has published 167 peer-reviewed scientific papers. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Meteorological Society, which conferred him the Verner Suomi Medal. He is a senior member of IEEE (top 8% of membership). He has received NASA’s Exceptional Achievement and Exceptional Scientific Achievement medals. His recent research interest includes ocean-atmosphere interaction, water cycle, carbon cycle and climate.

DR. ALFREDO MAHAR F. LAGMAY
Executive Director
Project Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazard (NOAH)
Department of Science and Technology

DR. JOSEFINO COMISO
Senior Research Scientist
Earth Sciences Division, Code 615
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Dr. Comiso has been studying climate change and polar processes as observed from space and was among the first researchers to report dramatic changes in the Arctic sea ice cover. He has been a member of satellite sensor teams, including the EOS-Aqua AMSR-E team, and has developed algorithms for the retrieval of sea ice concentration, surface temperature, and clouds. He was the chief scientist in numerous NASA aircraft missions in the Arctic and Antarctic that included a flight over a nuclear submarine near the North Pole and has participated in multiple Antarctic field programs.

Dr. Comiso has received the NASA exceptional scientific achievement award, several performance and group achievement awards and is the recipient of other outstanding achievement in science awards given by professional societies. He has authored or co-authored five books, several book chapters and more than 120 refereed journal articles. He was the coordinating lead author of the Cryosphere Chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Working Group 1 report on the “Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis.”

Dr. Comiso received his Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of the Philippines, Masters of Science degree in physics from Florida State University and Ph. D. in physics from the University of California in Los Angeles. He held a post-doctoral position at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville before joining NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.