The Galileo Galilei Award of the International Commission of Optics (ICO) is given for outstanding contributions to the field of optics achieved under “comparatively unfavorable circumstances,” refering to “difficult economic or social conditions or lack of access to scientific or technical facilities or sources of information.” The outstanding contributions must be documented, if applicable, by internationally-acknowledged publications. The award is normally given to one person; however, if a collective contribution is judged to be worthy of the award, a team of several persons may be selected. The award consists of the Galileo Galilei Medal, a silver medal with the portrait of Galileo Galilei donated by the Italian Society of Optics and Photonics, SIOF (Società Italiana di Ottica e Fotonica); assistance in travel to present an invited paper and receive the award at the ICO Congress or another ICO meeting mutually agreed to by the Bureau and the award winner, a cash donation and special attention and appropriate measures of ICO to support the future activities of the award winner. The award was established by the 1993 General Assembly of ICO and has been awarded annually since 1994.
Caesar A. Saloma, PhD (2004)
National Institute of Physics, College of Science
(To date, he is the only Filipino to receive the prestigious recognition.)
The Global 500 Roll of Honour recognizes individuals and organizations for outstanding achievements in protection and improvement of the environment. The last Global 500 Roll of Honour awards were made in 2003. A successor system of UNEP awards called Champions of the Earth started in 2005.
(+) Edgardo D. Gomez, PhD (1989)
National Scientist
Professor Emeritus
Founding Director, The Marine Science Institute, College of Science
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is given to persons, regardless of race, nationality, creed or gender, who address issues of human development in Asia with courage and creativity, and in doing so have made contributions which have transformed their societies for the better. Given since 1958, the roster of awardees includes social and political leaders who have led independence movements; established, restored, or strengthened democratic institutions; and reformed inept government systems. Other awardees have modernized their post-war economies; preserved and promoted indigenous cultures; and pioneered in setting up basic human services programs in health, education and social welfare especially for the poor and marginalized.
Raymundo P. Cayabyab (2019 awardee)
Bienvenido Lumbera Jr., PhD
Professor Emeritus, College of Arts and Letters
Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication
The Southeast Asian Writers Award honors leading poets and writers in 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) namely: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Presented annually since 1979, the winners are recommended by peers from the Southeast Asian region, although not all countries in ASEAN are represented every year. The award is sometimes given for a specific work by an author, or it could be awarded for lifetime achievement. The types of works that are honored vary, and have included poetry, short stories, novels, plays, folklore and scholarly and religious works.
Romulo P. Baquiran Jr., PhD (2011)
Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature, College of Arts and Letters
Victor Emmanuel Carmelo Nadera Jr., PhD (2006)
Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature, College of Arts and Letters
Domingo G. Landicho, PhD (2003)
Professor Emeritus, College of Arts and Letters
Virgilio S. Almario, PhD (1988)
National Artist for Literature
Professor Emeritus and former dean, College of Arts and Letters
The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) Young Scientist Award puts the spotlight on the initial phases of a career in Food Science and Technology. Established in 2006, it recognizes the recipient’s potential to make outstanding scientific contributions to the field of food science and technology and the potential for future scientific leadership. The (IUFoST) is the global scientific organization representing over 300,000 food scientists and technologists from more than 75 countries. IUFoST aims to stimulate the ongoing exchange of knowledge in those scientific disciplines and technologies relating to the expansion, improvement, distribution and conservation of the world’s food supply.
(+) Alonzo A. Gabriel, PhD (2013)
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Home Economics
(To date, he is the only Filipino scientist to receive the prestigious international recognition.)
The Premio Feronia is Italy’s top literary award for foreign authors. Established in 1992 and promoted by the City of Fiano Romano in the province of Rome, the award is divided into four sections namely: Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction and Special Recognition to a foreign author. According to the organizers, the award is considered “antipremio” and choices are based on the quality of the texts rather than the “marketing strategies of dominant publishing houses.”
Gemino H. Abad, PhD
Foreign Author category, 2009
Department of English and Comparative Literature, College of Arts and Letters
(To date, he is the only Filipino to receive the prestigious literary award.)
The John D. Rockefeller III Award is presented yearly by the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) to an individual from Asia or the United States who has made a significant contribution to the international understanding, practice, or study of the visual or performing arts of Asia. This award for outstanding professional achievement commemorates the deep and long standing interest of John D. Rockefeller III in Asian art and culture and given to individuals active in their field. Candidates must be nominated by artists, scholars, and others professionally involved in Asian art and culture. Recipients are selected by the ACC trustees in consultation with various specialists in the candidates’ fields as well as with qualified individuals having firsthand knowledge of the nominees’ professional activities and accomplishments. The first award was given in 1986.
(+) Jose Maceda,PhD
National Artist for Music, 1987
Former Dean, College of Music
The Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) is given yearly by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) to honor 10 outstanding people under the age of 40 who excel in their fields of expertise and provide extraordinary service to their communities whether through service, innovation, determination or revolutionary thinking, thus creating a positive impact on a local or global level. The first awarding ceremony was held in 1983. JCI is a worldwide non-profit organization of young active citizens, ages 18 to 40, dedicated to creating positive change in their communities through projects that target solutions to local problems.
(+) Alonzo A. Gabriel, PhD (2014)
Academic leadership and/or accomplishment category
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Home Economics
The Plinius Medal is given to mid-career scientists with outstanding research achievements in fields related to natural hazards, and how their researches have been applied in risk mitigation. The European Geosciences Union (EGU) started giving the award in 2002. It was named after Gaius Plinius Secundus (~23 – 79 A.D.), a Roman naturalist who wrote Historia naturalis, an encyclopedia of natural science. EGU is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It was established in September 2002 as a merger of the European Geophysical Society (EGS) and the European Union of Geosciences (EUG), and has headquarters in Munich, Germany.
Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay, PhD (2015)
National Institute of Geological Sciences, College of Science
(To date, he is the first Asian to receive the award)
Established in 1999, the Cochran-Hansen Prize is given every two years by the International Association of Survey Statisticians (IASS) to the best paper/s on survey methods conducted by young statisticians from a developing country or transition country. IASS, on the other hand, is a section of the International Statistical Institute, a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 1885. IASS aims to promote progress in the practice and theory of sample surveys and censuses among statisticians, governments and the public in different countries.
Prof. Kevin Carl P. Santos (2015)
School of Statistics
(To date, the first Filipino to win the award.)
Since 2009, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung or BMBF) has held the prestigious Green Talents – International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development (Green Talents Award) to promote the international exchange of ideas regarding green solutions. The award honors 25 young researchers from around the world each year. The winners come from various scientific disciplines and are recognized for their outstanding achievements in making societies more sustainable.
Joey D. Ocon, PhD (2015)
Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
(To date, he is the first Filipino to win the award.)
The Philippines Promising Star Awards 2016 is organized by the Intellectual Property & Science (IP & Science) business of Thomson Reuters and recognizes Filipino researchers based in the Philippines who have produced world-class research papers in their respective fields as indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection. Recipients are distinguished in nine broad fields: social science, computer science, clinical medicine, plant and animal science, neuroscience and behavior, economics and business, molecular biology and genetics, materials science, and environment/ecology.
Clarissa C. David, PhD (for Social Science)
Department of Graduate Studies, College of Mass Communication
Armand Salvador B. Mijares, PhD (for Social Science)
Archaeological Studies Program
Windell R. Rivera, PhD (for Plant and Animal Science)
Institute of Biology, College of Science
Maria Corazon A. De Ungria, PhD (for Molecular Biology and Genetics)
Philippine Genome Center
Natural Sciences Research Institute, College of Science
Augustus C. Resurreccion, PhD (for Environment/Ecology)
Institute of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering
The Japan International Award for Young Agricultural Researchers, an annual award which began in 2007, is organized and presented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan through the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS). Its purpose is to increase motivation among young researchers contributing to research and development in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and related industries in developing regions, which is promoted by Japan for the benefit of those countries.
(+) Alonzo A. Gabriel, PhD (2014)
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Home Economics
Asia is home to a diversity of ethnic groups, languages, and cultures. The City of Fukuoka played a significant role as Japan’s gateway for exchanges with the rest of the Asian region. Thus, the Fukuoka Prize was established in 1990 through the collaboration of the City Government, academia and private businesses to contribute to peace, and further understand Asian region cultures. Since then, many laureates have been awarded the Prize for their contributions in the fields of Asian studies, Asian art and Asian culture.