Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presents the 2008
ASEAN Oustanding Scientist and Technologist award to Professor
Caesar Saloma in ceremonies during the 8th ASEAN Science and
Technology Week and the 50th National Science and Technology
Week celebration. (M. Pascua/OPS-NIB)
(UPD College of Science)--Caesar Saloma is the recipient of the prestigious 2008 ASEAN Outstanding Scientist and Technologist (AOST) Award.
The triennial award was created by the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology in the early 1990s and is given to ASEAN scientists and technologists whose outstanding S&T achievements have been nationally and internationally recognized. Saloma will be awarded on July 7, 2008 during the 8th ASEAN Science and Technology Week in Manila.
Saloma is a professor of physics at the National Institute of Physics in UP Diliman. He is currently the Dean of the College of Science.
Saloma is given the AOST award in recognition of his outstanding and significant contributions in photonics and signal processing that were accomplished with colleagues and students at the National Institute of Physics. His efforts have resulted in the development of novel and cost-effective techniques in optical signal recovery and retrieval. His findings are consistently published in high impact optics and applied physics journals of the world. He received the 2004 Galileo Galilei Award from the International Commission for Optics for his significant contributions in optics that were achieved under comparatively unfavorable conditions. He is the first and only scientist from an ASEAN member country to win the Galileo award.
Saloma became a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology in 2005. He also holds the appointment of UP Scientist III since 2006. Among his previous awards are: 2007 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award (Higher Education Category), 2006 UP Diliman Gawad Chanselor para sa Natatanging Guro and the Gawad Chanselor Hall of Fame in two separate categories (Pinakamahusay na Mananaliksik, Pinakamahusay na Nilathalang Pananaliksik). He was awarded (with V. Daria and J. Miranda) a United States patent (No. 7,235,988; 26 June 2007) for inventing a cost-effective and non-invasive method of identifying microscopic defects in integrated circuits.
Previous recipients of the AOST award are: Yodhathai Thebtaranonth (1995, Thailand), Bienvenido Juliano (1998, Philippines), Lourdes Cruz (2001, Philippines), Looi Lai Meng (2001, Malaysia), Ariff Bongso (2005, Singapore) and Sangkot Marzuki (2005, Indonesia).