College of Science holds Professorial Chair Lecture Series

LAST SEPTEMBER 11, THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE HOSTED AN ONLINE PROFESSORIAL CHAIR LECTURE SERIES featuring five of its top faculty members.

Prof. Divina Amalin, University Fellow of the Biology Department and concurrent holder of the Cesar A. Buenaventura Distinguished Professorial Chair in the College of Science, delivered a lecture on “Cacao Bio-based Pest Management Program: Strengthening Sustainable Cacao Farming System in the Philippines.”

Her study focused on sustainable intensification of the cocoa farming system to enable farmers to address climate variability and extreme events in the future.

University Fellow Prof. Wilfredo Roehl Licuanan, also of the Biology Department, shared his research on “Box jellyfishes, the box jellyfish problem, and proposed solutions to this problem in the Philippines.”

Licuanan holds the Br. H. Alfred Shields Chair in Biology and Br. Cresentius Richard Duerr FSC Chair in Biochemistry. His presentation briefly reviewed the biology and ecology of box jellyfishes
and discussed the latest findings and implications of the DOST-PCAARRD-funded Jellyfish Ecology and Envenomations Project (JEEP).

Another University Fellow, Prof. Drexel Camacho of the Chemistry Department and holder of the Br. Goslin Camillus Chair of Life Sciences & Don Jose Cojuangco Chair in Chemistry, delivered a lecture on “Designing Cellulosic Materials for Practical Applications.” His lecture presented the various approaches on natural cellulosic materials for non-food applications.

For her part, Prof. Angelyn Lao, full professor of the Mathematics and Statistics Department and holder of the Br. C. John Lynam Chair in Mathematics and Br. Albinus Peter Chair in Mathematics, shared her research on “Graph Theoretical Analysis of Biological and Ecological Systems.” She offered new perspectives on established biological and ecological theories as well as tools to address new challenges.

Lastly, Physics Department Full Professor and Br. Henry Virgil Pellant Chair in Physics and Salvador R. Gonzalez Chair in Physics, Prof. Romeric Pobre, delivered a talk on the “Effects of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) on BxPC-3 Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells and Normal Human Dermal Fibroblast (HDFn) Cells.” His study showed that PEMF has significant cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on human pancreatic cancer cells.