Celebrating three decades of excellence in research and training.
It was a day of celebration and empowerment as the National Engineering Center (NEC), the UP College of Engineering’s (CoE) research and extension arm, celebrated its 30th anniversary last January 30 with the recognition of several key figures in the NEC for their exceptional service and performance over the years.
Exceptional. The NEC awards its finest lecturers at its 10th anniversary.
Between UPD Chancellor Sergio S. Cao (extreme left) and CoE Dean
and NEC
Executive Director Rowena Cristina L. Guevara (extreme right)
from left to
right are: Serafin Jig B. Lasquety Jr., Sabas B. Bergantinos,
Rosendo C. Perez Jr. and Prof. Joseph Gerard T. Reyes.
Fifteen lecturers from the NEC were recognized for their significant contributions to the NEC through its various training programs from 2005 to 2007. In addition to the plaques and certificates of recognition, they were each given cash incentives.
Accepting the award for those with regular public and in-house seminars were Sabas B. Bergantinos, Serafin B. Lasquety Jr., Renato B. Ong, Rosendo C. Perez Jr., Prof. Joseph Gerard T. Reyes and Renato A. Santos.
Five lecturers, including two from the CoE’s Department of Geodetic Engineering, were included in the awardees for the Geodetic Engineers Updating Program. Prof. Rowaldo del Mundo and Dr. Jordan Rel Orillaza joined Jessie Linn P. Ablao, Margaux Angelica R. Abella and Alexander C. Caparas in receiving the awards.
The last four awardees included Profs. Rowaldo R. del Mundo and Jordan Rel Orillaza of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering along with Ivan Benedict Nilo C. Cruz, and Jaime V. Mendoza.
Six employees were also awarded as the O.N.E. or Outstanding NEC Employee (see box story below). Victorio R. Fernandez, Rolando G. Calso, Nanette B. Pelaez and Redemto L. Beaquin Sr. were recognized as the O.N.Es for the last two quarters of 2006 and first two quarters of 2007, respectively.
Two of the NEC’s most ardent supporters, the NEA and the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, were given due recognition for their contribution in keeping the NEC at the top of its game.
The day kicked off with three simultaneous lectures concerning the engineering profession led by some of the most prominent figures in the industry.
The first was entitled “Geek Management: Are We Losing Our Engineers?” Invited speakers were Leonisa de la Leana, first Vice President and Head of Meralco’s Human Resource office; Rodolfo Martinez, Vice President for Canon Information Technology Philippines; and CoE’s Dean Rowena Cristina L. Guevara.
The talk focused on the challenges facing the country’s engineering workforce with many of them being lured by greener pastures abroad or by foreign companies operating here.
The second lecture, “Medium Term Solution to Urban Transport Problem” had the Department of Transportation and Communication Director for Planning Ildefonso Patdu Jr., National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) Director Regin Regidor and Metro Manila Development
Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando as guest speakers.
“Can We Achieve Energy Security by 2010?” was the title of the third lecture with TransAsia Oil and Energy Development Corporation President and CEO Francisco L. Viray, Chairperson of the CoE’s Energy Program as speaker.
This year’s theme is “Creating Solutions, Empowering People” which Guevara, its executive director and concurrent CoE dean says, displays the NEC’s commitment not only to the industry, but also the people behind it.
The NEC started out as a project in early 70s when then CoE dean Alfredo Junio proposed the idea of a center focusing on research and development, consultancy and continuing engineering education.
In 1977, 33 CoE faculty members were sent abroad to work on their graduate and post-graduate degrees under the United Nations Development Programme project. In 1978, Presidential Decree No. 1295 created the NEC.
Since then, it has grown to include four core research centers (the Building Research Service, the National Center for Transportation Studies, the National Hydraulic Research Center and the Training Center for Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry), with over 60 key training programs for industry and over 100 resource persons from both the academe and industry sharing their experience and expertise.