10 July 2014, 10:54 p.m. – TWO THOMASIANS were recognized in the 36th Annual Scientific Meeting of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) held at the Philippine International Convention Center Thursday.
Thomas Edison dela Cruz, head of the Department of Biological Sciences of the College of Science and a resident researcher of the Research Center for the Natural Sciences, won this year’s NAST-The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Prize for Young Scientists for his research on biodiversity, and ecological patterns of marine and mangrove fungi.
Rey Alfred Rañola, a graduate from the College of Science, bagged the Best Scientific Poster Award for his paper titled “Room Temperature Trimethylamine Sensor Based on Hybrid Graphene/Polyaniline Nanocomposite.” The poster won in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences category.
The NAST-TWAS Prize for Young Scientists is given annually to outstanding Filipino scientists in selected disciplines—Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics.
The NAST is an advisory body of the Department of Science and Technology that recognizes Filipinos’ outstanding achievements in science and technology, while TWAS promotes “scientific capacity and excellence” by providing research grants, fellowships, awards, and workshops to more than 600 members in 76 countries.
Other awards given include Outstanding Young Scientist, which Dela Cruz won in 2012, Outstanding Scientific Paper, Outstanding Books and Monographs, Talent Search for Young Scientist, and the Environmental Science Award.
