MANUEL ROMULO EUGENIO NUCLEAR SCIENTIST AND EDUCATOR (10 June 1929 - 16 July 2005)
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Dr. Manuel R. Eugenio, former Commissioner of the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission ( now known as the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute) of the Department of Science and Technology passed away on Saturday, 16 July 2005 at the age of 76. He was born on June 10, 1929 to former Civil Defense Administrator Alfredo G. Eugenio and Josefina Romulo, sister of Carlos P. Romulo, the first Asian to serve as president of the United Nations General Assembly.
Dr. Eugenio began his career in the nuclear field in the Philippines when he joined the PAEC as a senior scientist in November 1958. In 1960, he was appointed as Chief of the Nuclear Engineering Department which was responsible for the production of radioisotopes. He became the Training Director of the PAEC Nuclear Training Institute in 1971. Three years after, he resigned from PAEC and left for the United States. He rejoined PAEC upon his return to the Philippines in 1978. Dr Eugenio was appointed as PAEC Commissioner in September 1984. In November 1987, he was appointed as Director of the Science Education Institute, DOST where he retired from government service.
Dr. Eugenio will be remembered for his pivotal role and outstanding contributions to the advancement of the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology in the country. He received a commendation from the University of Maryland Graduate School in the United States for his doctoral thesis "The Determination of Preferred Orientation in Rolled Electrical Steels Using Single Diffraction of Neutron". His studies on nuclear radiation and radioisotopes and on utilization of neutrons opened up many potential uses of atomic energy for industry, engineering, biology and medicine in the Philippines. Dr Eugenio's studies and development of local techniques in radioisotope production with the use of the Philippine Research Reactor (PRR-1) led to the local production of some 19 types of radioisotopes for use in biology, medicine, industry and research.
For his significant contributions in the field of nuclear science and technology, Dr. Eugenio was awarded the Rizal Pro-Patria Award in 1968.
Dr. Eugenio is survived by his wife, Aida Davila Eugenio, one of the first Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (TOWNS) Awardee, a Career Scientist II and a former Deputy Director of the PNRI.
His remains lie in state at the Don Bosco Chapel, Makati. Necrological services will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at the PNRI Auditorium in Diliman, Quezon City.
Philippines Host NDT Coordinators' Meeting
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Under the framework of the regional RCA project, RAS/8/100, a National NDT (Non-Destructive Testing) Coordinators Meeting will be hosted by the PNRI from 20 to 23 June 2005.
The main objectives of the meeting are to review and revise the National Action Plan of Member States participating in the regional project, and to discuss ways for mutual recognition of NDT standards and practices with a view of achieving harmonization at the regional level. In addition, a National Executive Manager's Seminar is planned to be conducted within the Meeting in order to effectively disseminate the potentials of nondestructive testing in various industrial applications.
Philippine participation in the Meeting is through the person of Mr. Renato Banaga, an NDT trainor and practitioner, who is also the designated National Project Coordinator for this project.
PNRI Receives Plaque of Recognition
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The PNRI received last April 19, a plaque of recognition from the Institute of Human Genetics (IHG), University of the Philippines in Manila, for its technical support and advocacy and promotion efforts for the IHG's Newborn Screening Program.
The awarding was part of a Thanksgiving Ceremony held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel, where newborn screening publications were also launched.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was also awarded on the same occasion with a plaque of appreciation for its technical and funding support to the program on neonatal screeing.
The event was organized principally to recognize individuals and institutions that were instrumental in the institutionalization of newborn screening in the Philippines and to launch newborn screening publications, including the Manual of Operations of the National Comprehensive Newborn Screening System, posters and flipcharts for the use of health professionals engaged in newborn screening.
The procedure of testing neonates for specific congenital diseases now enjoys nationwide support with the ratification of the Newborn Screening act of 2004, that requires all health facilities to include newborn screening among their child care services.
PNRI Director Is IAEA SAGTAC Chair
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Dr. Alumanda M. dela Rosa, PNRI Director, has accepted the invitation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed El Baradei to participate in the IAEA Standing Advisory Group on Technical Assistance and Cooperation (SAGTAC) as Chair for the period until 2008. Dr. dela Rosa is the first woman to lead the committee as well as the first to come from a developing country.
In her letter congratulating Dr. dela Rosa, the Honorable Ma. Lourdes Ramiro-Lopez, Assistant Secretary, United Nations and Other International Organizations Office, Department of Foreign Affairs said that the appointment "is a recognition of your personal competence and our country's contribution to enhancing technical cooperation among the Member States and the Agency.
Composed of up to 20 members, the purpose of SAGTAC is to advise the IAEA Director General on the Agency's technical cooperation activities in terms of their relevance and impact. The members of SAGTAC are recognized senior experts in the peaceful uses of atomic energy and/or in funding, policy making and management strategies for technical cooperation, and are drawn from Member States.
In particular, SAGTAC provides advice on policy and strategy relating to technical cooperation programmes and activities including advice regarding methods and means of strengthening cooperation with and between Member States and engaging external stakeholders. It also makes recommendations for increasing the effectiveness, improving the efficiency and demonstrating the impact of Agency technical cooperation activities while maintaining responsiveness to Member Sates' needs.
