New Faculty Members
The Department of Engineering Science warmly welcomes its new faculty members who will bring a breath of fresh air to the already diverse profile of the department.
First on the list is Asst. Prof. Christian Laurence E. Aquino, who earned his BS Metallurgical Engineering and MS Materials Science and Engineering degree in UP Diliman. Formerly a research fellow and lecturer in UPD teaching materials engineering courses, Sir CL hopes to bring in the department his background in material synthesis for energy and environmental applications as a full time faculty member, in time for the establishment of the MatE program in UPLB. Hailing from the province of Isabela, Sir CL believes that teaching and doing research in UP is a career he believes to be the most rewarding and fulfilling. In his free time, he loves to play badminton with his friends and colleagues.
Engr. Phoebe Liwai A. Gregorio is a licensed Civil Engineer who finished her BS degree in UP Los Baños in 2020. Although not entirely a new face in the department as she was a lecturer in DES prior to her full time appointment, Ma’am Liwai took the opportunity of becoming a full time faculty after being encouraged by her peers. In fact, this comes not as a surprise since she came from a family of teachers (her father and grandfather were both UPLB faculty members, this makes her a third generation academic of her family). Aside from her prowess in numbers, Ma’am Liwai also has a knack for the arts as she has a strong background in music, poetry, theater, and ballet. She is a member of the UPLB Choral Ensemble and Harmonya, where she plays the violin.
Joining the ranks of the DES faculty is Asst. Prof. Jesha Faye T. Librea, a graduate of BS Materials Engineering and MS Materials Science and Engineering from UP Diliman. Born and raised in Zamboanga del Sur, Ma’am Jesha specializes in waste material valorization and construction materials. Like Sir CL, she is also a former materials engineering lecturer in UPD prior to her appointment in DES. When asked of her motivations in teaching, Ma’am Jesha thought that teaching part time was a transition phase of her other career goals but realized later on that teaching full time is equally amazing. In her free time, she consumes a lot of anime, KPop and solves puzzles. She both enjoys traveling and staying indoors. When asked what she does to cope with stress, she shared her non-negotiables: sleep and online shopping.
Last on the list, but definitely not the least, is Engr. Camille G. Martinez, an alumna of IABE where she earned her BS degree in 2017. Engr. Calix is currently working on her thesis for her degree in MS Agricultural Engineering in the same institute. A resident of Bulacan, Engr. Calix also came from a family of teachers and has gained experience volunteering to teach in review classes in the past. Because of her discovered prowess in instruction, people asked her to consider teaching. After giving it some thought, Calix realized that becoming a full time faculty of DES is a worthwhile career path because she sees it as a way to directly give back to the country. Aside from her interests in gravity-fed drip irrigation and low-cost sensors (Arduino), Calix is also a commissioned graphic artist.
Returning Faculty Members
The Department is delighted to welcome back Dr. Erwin C. Escobar and Dr. Maria Morissa D. Lu from their study abroad.
Dr. Escobar finished his PhD in Energy Science and Technology at Myongji University, South Korea in August 2021. His doctoral studies were funded by Brain Korea 21 Plus, a Korean government scholarship. His research interests are biofuels, wastewater treatment, watershed hydrology, and development of nanomaterial products. Since 2007, his 27 published articles have received 45 citations. This 2022, his journal articles are “Hyper-crosslinked tetraphenylborate as a regenerable sorbent for Cs+ sequestration in aqueous media through cation-π interactions” (main author) and “Hydroxypicolinic acid tethered on magnetite core-silica shell (HPCA@SiO2@Fe3O4) as an effective and reusable adsorbent for practical Co(II) recovery” (co-author).
With the support from The University of the Philippines – Ph.D. and Master’s Fellowship Program for Faculty and REPS, Assistant Professor Lu earned her Ph.D. in Engineering Technology from KU Leuven in Belgium in March 2022. During her Ph.D., she published peer-reviewed articles such as “Improving moisture durability of flax fibre composites by using non-dry fibres”, “Effects of water immersion ageing on composites made of non-dry flax fibres” and “Moisture sorption and thickness swelling of flax fibre and flax fibre composites”. She attended and presented in conferences in Southampton, UK (Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, SAMPE Europe, 2018) as well as in Porto, Portugal (4th International Conference on Natural Fibers, 2019). She also virtually attended and presented in the 5th International Conference on Natural Fibers, held on 17-19th May 2021.
All of them are hoping to meet their students and colleagues very soon face to face. Welcome back to DES!