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One won an international award; one will lend expertise to a training/meeting abroad; another recently served as instructor for another country’s national event.

These are how three of PNRI’s staff, in the persons of Mr. Chitho Feliciano, Ms. Soledad Castañeda, and Ms. Ma. Teresa Salabit, are contributing to put the Philippines’ best foot forward in the nuclear technology arena.

The work of Mr. Feliciano, who is one of the youngest hires of the Institute, bested more than 200 other research studies in the just-concluded “6th International conference on Isotopes” held in Seoul, Korea, to win the Outstanding Research Award on the Application of Isotope for Life Science Research for his work on Antiproliferative and Radiosensitizing Activity of Grape Seed Extract on human Promyelocytic leukemia Cells”

The paper, which he co-authored with two researchers from the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, suggest that grape seed extract is able to effectively inhibit the proliferation of HL-60 (leukemia) cells and has a great potential as a natural radiosensitizing agent.

At the same Conference, Mr. Feliciano was also invited to serve as Chair of the Technical Session on Food Biotechnology and Mutation Breeding.

On the other hand, ms. Soledad Castañeda has been tapped by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to assist in the Training Meeting/Workshop on Isotopic age Determination Techniqueswhich it is organizing on the second week of June at the Argone national Laboratory in Illinois, USA.

Owing to her involvement as project leader in various endeavors in isotope hydrology, Ms. Castañeda has been invited to assist in providing training on the use of tritium-helium dating techniques for groundwater assessment.

The Institute’s regulatory group is also pitching in its own share. Ms. Salabit of the Safeguards Unit has just represented the country in the National Training on Radiation Detection Equipment for Front Line Officers that was conducted in Indonesia last week.

Ms. Salabit was invited by the IAEA to be part of the team that was responsible for the overall delivery of the said Training Course in Jakarta assisting, in particular, with the scheduled practical exercises and providing training lectures as necessary. This is her second such sojourn, having successfully contributed to a similar undertaking in Vietnam a couple of months ago.

All the above had afforded PNRI the opportunity to share its expertise abroad and to highlight Philippine talent in the international nuclear community.

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The Head of PNRI's Nuclear Regulations, Licensing and Safeguards Division, Ms. Eulinia M. Valdezco, added another feather to her cap as she successfully concluded her participation in France's Ecole Internationale de Droit Nucleaire (or the International School of Nuclear Law) which sent official information this month of her outstanding grades in the school's examinations.

After hurdling the course's case studies and online tests, Ms. Valdezco also ably defended her dissertation on “Analysis and Discussion of the Concepts of State Responsibility or State Liability in the Context of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency with Transboundary Effects”. Amid lawyers, legal advisers, counsels and other students, she now therefore finds herself one of the school's privileged alumni. Her Diplôme d'Université en Droit Nucléaire International (Diploma in International Nuclear Law) will be issued by the University of Montpellier in France.

The Nuclear Law School, which was established through the cooperation between the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the University of Montpellier, is organized annually with the aim of acquainting participants with all essential aspects of nuclear law, such as radiological protection, nuclear safety, radioactive waste management, transport of nuclear materials, physical protection, non-proliferation, regulation of trade and nuclear third party liability and insurance.

The School's 2008 session, which begins in August, is now open for admission. Financial support may be sought from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for those intending to join the nuclear law programme.

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Prof. (Dr.) Poong Hyun Seong, Commissioner of the Korea Nuclear Safety Commission and full professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), visited the Philippines this week to promote graduate studies offered by his Institute, particularly in the nuclear field.

At a meeting with young employees of PNRI and with select students from invited universities, he disclosed the details of the Master's and Ph.D. programmes available for 2008 at KAIST and of the scholarships that could be availed of by international students.

In particular, Prof. Seong Informed of the partnership between the Regional Office (RCARO) and KAIST which, since 2003, has seen the development and training of high-caliber students from the region in the area of nuclear technology.

For those interested to take up their studies in one of Korea's premier educational institutions, further details can be obtained from the website of RCARO (www.rcaro.org) or of KAIST (www.kaist.edu.kr). The deadline for applying for the RCARO/KAIST scholarship is on 25 April 2008, in time for the Fall Semester that commences on September.

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The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute welcomed this week FNCA expert, Dr. Tsuguo Genka, who arrived to share his knowledge and insights on Tc-99m, the impending world crisis on the supply of the said medical isotope, and the recent international research activities to help curb the supply concerns surrounding the most-used diagnostic radiopharmaceutical.

Dr. Genka had the opportunity to give a talk during Lecture Series of the Atomic Research Division and, similarly, to touch base with end-users and stakeholders such as the Philippine Society for Nuclear Medicine (PSNM) and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD).

The Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA), under which auspices his visit transpired, espoused a project on Tc-99m Generator Production using Mo-99 produced by (n,y) reaction and Poly-Zirconium Compound (PZC) adsorbent which made remarkable progress on the design production system in Japan and Indonesia.

The Philippines is also a partner in this endeavor through Project Leader Ms. Elvira Z. Sombrito, Head of PNRI's Chemistry Research Section.