UP Diliman (UPD) mourns the passing of professor emeritus and former College of Science (CS) dean Jose Maria “Joey” P. Balmaceda, PhD on July 16.
Balmaceda began teaching in 1981 at the then Department of Mathematics (DM), now Institute of Mathematics (IM). From instructor, he rose to the position of professor 12, and eventually appointed as professor emeritus by the UP Board of Regents on 26 Sept. 2024.
Several academic institutions, organizations, colleagues, and friends posted on Facebook accounts and pages their sympathies and condolences to Balmaceda’s family and loved ones.
In a Facebook post, the IM honored Balmaceda, detailing how he devoted his career for more than four decades in advancing mathematics through teaching, research, academic leadership, and public service. Furthermore, the IM stated, “his breadth of experience, sound judgment, and profound knowledge of the University made him an invaluable source of counsel for colleagues and academic leaders alike.”
The institute described Balmaceda as a key figure in the IM history. He was instrumental in transforming the former department into an institute and helped in shaping its undergraduate and graduate curricula through every major revision over the past three decades.
The IM explained that through Balmaceda’s vision, dedicated leadership, and enduring commitment to academic excellence, the institute has been nationally and internationally known as a center for mathematics research and education.
The CS for its part paid tribute to its former dean by remembering Balmaceda’s steadfast and principled leadership that helped CS during the transformative chapter in its history.
According to its Facebook post, Balmaceda “played an important role in further strengthening the National Science Complex and advancing the College as a leading center for scientific research, graduate education, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Guided by the principles of transparency, collegiality, academic excellence, integrity, and academic freedom, he championed merit-based faculty promotion and fostered an environment in which the college’s institutes could thrive while working toward a shared vison of excellence.”
Balmaceda served for two terms as CS dean (2011-2014; 2014-2017). He was also UP assistant vice president for academic affairs from 1999 to 2005 and IM director from 2007 to 2010.
Recognized both nationally and internationally for his contributions to mathematics, Balmaceda has received numerous prestigious awards that include the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Achievement Award in Mathematical Sciences (2000), the Third World Academy of Sciences–NAST Science Prize in Mathematics (1996), and the NAST Outstanding Young Scientist Award (1995). He was elected to the NAST Philippines as academician in 2008. He received the UPD Gawad Chancellor Pinakamahusay na Guro – Assistant Professor in 1996, and the Gawad Tsanselor para sa Natatanging Guro in 2016.
He received his BS mathematics and MS mathematics from UPD in 1981 and 1983, respectively. He later earned his PhD in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993.