Another Asteroid Named after a Young Filipino
Congratulations to another great Filipino who was given recognition for his outstanding work! 😀
An asteroid will be named after Miguel Arnold Reyes, a young Filipino student who won the second grand award in the recent 2011 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in Los Angeles, California.
Miguel Arnold Reyes (left) and Angeli Joyce Dy bested more than a thousand students from 65 countries in the 2011 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held in Los Angeles, California, USA. Credit: Nykko Santos - GMA News
Reyes, who graduated from the Philippine Science High School, also received from the Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology $1,500 as prize for his research “Synthesis and Characterization of Composite Plastics from Thermoplastic Starch and Nano-sized Calcium Phosphate for Film Packaging” which seeks to produce biodegradable plastic for film packaging from a composite of thermoplastics from cornstarch and nano-sized phosphate particles.
Among Filipinos who had a privilege to have asteroids named after them were former Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Director Dr. Roman Kintanar, Edwin Aguirre, Imelda Joson, Philippine Science High School Western Visayas Campus Director Josette Biyo, Allan Noriel Estrella, Jeric Valles Macalintal, Prem Vilas Fortran Rara and Father Victor Badillo.
Emeline Paat: A Filipino Space Entrepreneur
Another inspiring fellow Filipino who loves the space! 🙂
Emeline Paat is the first Filipina to go on a zero gravity flight training. And although she hasn’t gone into outer space just yet, Emeline was promised a suborbital flight when she left Space Adventures in 2007.
She graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Physics degree in 1989, and had landed a teaching job in her alma mater. She was about to begin her second year of teaching when she got a scholarship for the summer program at the International Space University (ISU) in France.
When she finished the ISU summer program, she got hired as a computer programmer for Data Technology Systems in Geneva, Switzerland. After that, she worked as a research assistant for York University in Canada. A year later, she returned to ISU as Academic Coordinator and Deputy Program Director for the summer space program.
In 1999, she was hired as Program Director for Space Adventures, the world’s first private company to send paying tourists to space.
She is currently the Vice President of Programs and Curriculum at Singularity University, located inside the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research center in Silicon Valley, where courses like artificial intelligence and nanotechnology are taught.
She is also a consultant for a family-owned space partnership company and manager for Moon Express, one of 20 teams worldwide competing for the $30 million Google Lunar XPrize which will allow a private company to land an unmanned spaceship on the moon.
Looking back at her career, Emeline says one of the keys to her success was her persistence to keep moving forward to reach her goal.
Don’t be afraid of taking risks. You can’t go anywhere by standing still. There’s a lot of opportunities out there. You need to know when to take the right opportunity. – Emeline Paat
Realizing another dream, Emeline's first book about space travel will be released in June 2011.
I would like to thank UP AstroSoc’s faculty adviser, Dr. Perry Esguerra for telling us about this.
There’s really nothing impossible if you are that passionate and determined to reach your goals. 🙂 Ad astra per aspera!
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Original article was posted by GMA News. You can read more about Emeline Paat here.
Journey to the Stars 