Julian A. Banzon

(1908 - 1988) .

Awarded as National Scientist for Biophysical Chemistry

Julian Banzon distinguished research is about methods of producing alternative fuels from various raw sources

Invented a means of extracting residual coconut oil by a chemical process rather than a physical process.

Experimented with the production of ethyl esters fuels from sugarcane and coconut


He graduated in University of the Philippines on 1930 with a degree of BS Chemistry and in PhD in Biophysical Iowa State University on 1940

 Awards:

•     1980: Distinguished Service Award - Integrated Chemist of the Philippines, Inc.
•     1978: Chemist of the Year Award - Professional Regulation Commission
•     1976: Philsugin Award - Crop Society of the Philippines

Angel Alcala - Filipino Biologist

Angel Chua Alcala

Angel Chua Alcala (b. 1 March 1929) is a Filipino marine biologist who was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 1992. He has done extensive work on Community Development in conjunction with Marine Development and Ecology, Marine Biogeography, and Marine Life Conservation.

Early life

Angel C. Alcala was born to Porfirio Alcala and Crescenciana Chua on 1 March 1929 in the small coastal village of Caliling, Cauayan, Negros Occidental. The Alcala household was a humble one, but the family had everything it needed as they lived where the products of the sea were bountiful.

Alcala attended high school on a scholarship at Kabankalan Academy. He was active in co-curricular activities as he took part in the school's [[Boy Scouts of the Philippines|Boy Scout troop], and was a member of the school's debate team.

In 1948, Alcala took a pre-medical course at Silliman University in Dumaguete. He was later accepted at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine but chose not to proceed because of his family's financial circumstances. Instead, he continued to study Biology at Silliman University and graduated magna cum laude in 1951.

Alcala's life-long interest in marine ecology started at an early age. His father was a fish farmer who made a living out of taking care of fish ponds that produced a steady supply of milkfish. As the eldest child, Alcala helped his father tend the fish ponds. He and his brothers also spent much of their time going after crabs, shrimp and shellfish and exploring the shallow waters and coral reefs near their home.

Dr. Angel Alcala has devoted more than 30 years studying how to conserve the marine ecosystems throughout Southeast Asia. What make him do this? It’s the fact that the sea is threatened because of the very riches it holds.

Dr. Alcala is an authority on community ecology, biogeography, and the systematic of amphibians and reptiles. He developed the first community-based program that created artificial coral reefs. This program became the model for similar fisheries development programs throughout establishing the Apo, Sumilon, Carbin, an Pamilacan marine reserves in the Philippines, Alcala is also the Director of the Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management.

Having written more than 60 scientific papers, Dr. Alcala believes that marine reserves have a significant role in ensuring fish abundance even in areas beyond the protected sanctuaries. This process, called “spillover,” is the focus of his work with the Pew Institute for Ocean Science. To set up more effective marine sanctuaries local communities and organizations to manage and protect the sanctuaries. Dr. Alcala believes that sustainable development it’s only possible through informed and committed human involvement.

Dr. Alcala has headed the Institute of Marine Biology at the University of the Philippines and was deputy executive director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development. He has been a visiting researcher at various universities and establishments, including the University of Florida and the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Alcala has also worked for the Philippine government as secretary of Environment and National Resources, and as chairman of the Commission on Higher Education.

Angel Alcala - Degrees:

• Undergraduate degree Silliman University

• Ph.D. Stanford University

Angel Alcala - Awards:

• 1994 - The Field Museum Founders' Council Award of Merit for contributions to environmental biology

• Magsaysay Award for Public Service

• Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation

Work with Philippine Amphibians & Reptiles:

Angel Alcala has done the most comprehensive studies on Philippine amphibians and reptiles, and minor studies on birds and mammals. His research was done between 1954 to 1999 lead to the addition of fifty new species of amphibians and reptiles.

Dr. Candido M. Africa

CANDIDO M. AFRICA (1895-1945)

Dr. Candido Macasaet Africa was a doctor of medicine, scholar and researcher. His contributions tp medical science made him internationally known and won "for the first time recognition of the Filipino scientist abroad, thus reflecting glory and honor upon his calling and country."

He was born in Lipa, Batangas on October 2, 1895. After graduating from the College of Medicine of the University of the Philippines, he taught at the Department of Parasitology, School of Hygiene and Public Health of the same college. He became associate professor and head of the department in 1932.


It was while teaching at the state university that he became involved in scientific research. In all, he wrote 19 scientific articles, some of which he co-authored with his colleagues Walfrido de Leon, E. Y. Garcia, P. G. Refuerzo, F. J. Dy, J. Soriano, J.O. Nolasco, S.F. Sta. Cruz and A. V. Vasquez Colet. Among his important works were "The Progress of Medical Science In The Philippines," "An Anthropod Associated with Chronic Dermatitis Involving The Face," "Three Cases Of Insect Bites Involving Triatoma Rubrofasciata, and "The Occurence Of Bartiella In Man, Monkey And Dog In The Philippines." Much of his researches dealt with parasites that caused heart failure. He also worked on their effects on the other parts of the human body. Finally, he undertook research on the causes and prevention of malaria.

In the course of his researches, he discovered four human flukes that attach themselves to the heart, resulting in disease and, eventually, death. This discovery was hailed as a significant contribution to medical science as it greatly benefited heart patients.

To improve his scientific skills, Dr. Africa studied at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and graduated with the degree of Doctor of Tropical Medicine in 1929. That same year he became a Fellow in the Tropen Institute of Hamburg, Germany. A year later, he received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. It allowed him to attend the Harvard Medical School at Cambridge, Massachusetts and John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in 1930-1931.

In recognition of his extensive contributions to scientific research, his works were compiled in special books and were exhibited in 1937, during the silver jubilee of Dr. Sadao Yosida of the institute for Research in Microbic Diseases of the Osaka Imperial University of Japan. In the same year, his works were also exhibited at the silver jubilee of Professor Sadamu Yokogawa of the Taihoku Imperial University in Formosa, and in the 30th year of the professorship of Dr. K. J. Skrajabin of the All-Union Institute of Helminthology in Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In 1938, in the silver jubilee of the professorship of Dr. Lauro Travassos of the Institute of Oswaldo Cruz in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, his works were also displayed.

Dr. Africa was known all over the world for his researches. This allowed him to visit leading laboratories undertaking experiments in parasitology in London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Paris, Utrecht, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Rome, and in other cities in Europe. He represented the Philippine Commonwealth at the Third International Congress of Microbiologists held in New York City, U.S.A., on September 1939. At this international gathering of well-known scientists, he read a monograph entitled. "Visceral Complications In Intestinal Heterophydiasis of Man."

His other valuable works include "Certain Developmental Stages of Ascaris Lumbricoides Ova In Live Tissue," "Preliminary Report in Cystercerous Cellulose In Man," "Notes on Malaria," and "Notes In The Prevention of Malaria."

Dr. Africa's activities, however, were not only confined to laboratory work. He was also an active member of scientific and technical organizations, like the American Society of Parasitologists, the Philippine Scientific Society and the National Research Council of which he was a charter member. He was also a member of the Association of Tropical Medicine, the Philippine Medical Association, The Phi Kappa phi, the Society For The Advancement of Research, and the Manila Medical Society.

As an authority on heart disease, he was written up in the 1938 editions of American Men of Science and in Who's Who Among physicians and Surgeons.

As an outstanding alumnus of the University of the Philippinzs, he was acclaimed one of the best scientists the state university had ever produced. In accordance with the recommendation of the Board of Citizens and the Board of Directors of the U.P. Alumni Association, he was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit and was conferred a Diploma of Honor for distinguished achievements in the field of parasitology.

He continued to serve in the government until the war broke out in 1941. He was a known figure among the Japanese military officers during the occupation of Manila but unfortunately he was one of those civilians who died in the battle of the liberation of Manila on February 12, 1945.


His colleagues did not forget him. In the General Session of the Philippine Medical Association held in Manila on May 8, 1946, Doctor Africa was honored with a citation naming him a great doctor and scientist