my photo is in the news!

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Yes, a photo of me this time... well, my 2005 self... with the same short hairstyle! Only the eyeglasses are different and the watch. Looking at it, I wonder where that watch is right now.

The article is "Philippines Suffers Shortage of Science Workers" published by Intellasia.Net (Vietnamese online news site) in February 2011. The photo of me was taken when I just started graduate school (and was still enrolled at the University of Sydney). The lab was still new at the time this photo was taken. Everyone was really excited that day because it was one of the first times that the press was dropping by to take photos of us, the lab's staff! And no less than Agence France-Presse was there too.

Here's the link of the article:

In this photo, I was weighing rice flour into aluminum pans so that I could measure the temperature at which the rice samples begin to cook. This experiment was part of my study (with other co-authors) on starch chemistry that eventually got published in 2010. 

I am happy to report to the writer of this article that I'm still with the Institute and I'm still in the Philippines. I have to agree with the article, though, that a lot of the Pinoy scientific talent is being pulled away towards greener pastures in other countries. 

Scientists are humans too; they do need to feed their families and provide bright futures to their kids. If they couldn't practice their professions and get paid well here and if they are globally competitive, they will leave eventually. 

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