Pride in the Filipino - a post from Philippine Update
forum
With so much bad news all around us, it's time we
hear some good
News again!
Do you know
that Diosdado Banatao, an engineer from Cagayan,
Philippines,
made GUI (graphical user interface (GUI) possible?
Without
which we will still be limited to that green monitor that
can only
display text?
- 64% of
Asian-Americans were netizens and 85% of Fil-Am homes
have computers?
Here'a some
more from R. Balboa, what else did Filipinos invent?
- Clonal
mist technology for hardwood trees, commercial
fluorescent lamp, karaoke, etc.
-Polio
vaccine was discovered using Philippine monkeys.
-Zebronkey,
half-zebra and half-donkey, was first bred in Manila
Zoo in 1962.
-Dr. Rafael
D. Guerrero III demonstrated that tilapia's fry fed
with sex
hormones can turn female potential fry into male.
-The
Filipino doctor who co-created the drug Erythromycin
(Ilosone.)
from Iloilo soil was Abelardo Aguilar.
-In Spring
1999, the water-based insect buster called Household
Insecticide
(HI) won Gonzalo Catan Jr. the Silver Medal at the
27th International Exhibition of
Inventions in Geneva, Switzerland.
This Filipino innovation makes use of 21 useful
microorganisms, among
other
materials, to kill flies, mosquitoes, termites, ants,
roaches, as
well as dog ticks, fleas and lice.
-Two
Filipino inventors scored a pair of gold medals in the
International
Invention, Innovation, Industrial Design and
Technology
Exhibition (ITEX 2000) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
in September 2000. Engr. Cornelio Seqo of Los Banos,
Laguna and
Rolando dela
Cruz garnered golds for their inventions called,
respectively, "Pressure Fluid Machine" and "Topical
Formulation in
Removing
Warts, Moles and the Like Using Cashew Nuts (Annacardium
occidentale)." Dela Cruz spent 25 years of research for his
winning cashew nut preparation known as Dewart and
Demole. Seno has four
US and four Philippine patents under his name.
-The
University of the Philippines developed an anti-cough
medicine (Ascof) and a diuretic (Releaf) from
Philippine herbs lagundi and
sambong,
respectively, which won a silver in the 1997
International Inventors' Fair in Switzerland. The
research papers were organized
by Dr.
Francis Gomez.
-Besides
inventing the banana vinegar, Maria Carlita Rex-Doran
also produced an ampalaya (bittermelon) concoction
for diabetes
mellitus and HIV infection. The World Intellectual
Property Organization
(WIPO)
conferred on her the Gold Medal in 1989, four years after
another
Filipina inventor, Olympia Gonzales, achieved the same
award.
-Who first
made the banana catsup and the pineapple vinegar? Maria
Ylagan Orosa
of the Philippines.
-Dr. Ramon
Barba discovered that spraying mango trees with
potassium
nitrate induced flowering all year round. This
technology made the Philippines a leading exporter
of mangoes and mango
products
such as candy, puree and juice.
-In 1971, a
team was led by Dr. Emerita V. de Guzman in making the
first
makapuno (coconut mutant for delicacies) harvest from a test
tube... A
student at the University of Santo Tomas named Teodula
K. Africa made the first nata de coco (fermented
coconut gelatin) in
1979.
-Milagros A.
Ramos invented the submerged method of cultivating
edible
mushroom mycelium (the vegetative stage of mushrooms) in
liquid
medium in 1963. Her concept departed from the traditional
bed-culture
method.
-The world's
rice research leader, International Rice Research
Institute
(IRRI), is located in Los Baqos, Laguna Philippines...
The leading
rice exporter is Thailand, followed by the USA... The
Philippines'
foremost rice breeder, Dr. Rodolfo Aquino, was one of
the
scientists who developed IR8, the 1966 strain of the rice
variety that
launched Asia's "Green Revolution." {Written Aug 15
99... In
1970, Dr. Ricardo Lantican of Los Baqos led a corn
research
that saved America's corn industry from the Southern leaf
blight.
-Dr. Nic
Liquido pioneered the research on light-activated dyes
that control
many fruit flies. He is a University of the
Philippines
(UP) alumnus and former lab director of the US Dept.
of Agriculture (USDA) Research Service. {Written Aug
15 99... Dr.
Baldomero
Olivera, a UP Summa cum Laude graduate, discovered
conotoxins,
a bunch of biomolecules in Philippine marine snails
now used in international neuroscience research... A
seacone known
scientifically as Conus lapulapu was named after Lapulapu, the
Philippine
hero who killed Ferdinand Magellan in war.
-Dr.
Florante Quiocho, a Filipino scientist, solved the structure
of
calmodulin bound to its ligand (calcium).
-Urine is
normally used in drug detection, but Dr. Enrique Ostrea
discovered
that the use of meconium (the baby's first stools) was
more
sensitive since the drugs taken by the mother accumulate in
the fetus'
intestines. This mec test is now used by the US
National Institutes of Health, and Ostrea has
received numerous awards and
US patents.
-Dr. Jorge
Camara, a University of the Philippines graduate, made
history as
the world's first doctor to use teleophthalmology when
he guided
Dr. Susan Senft in removing an eye tumor via two-way,
closed
circuit television in 1999.
-In the
1970s, immunologist Eduardo A. Padlan, together with Dr.
D. R. Davies, used x-ray crystallography to study
the antibody, which
was helpful
in diagnosing cancer cells and in understanding the
immune
system as a whole. Ned Teves, a Filipino anesthesiologist,
invented the
endotracheal tube cardiac monitor. {Written Aug 15 99
-Wilmo
Orejola, a Filipino surgeon, created the harmonic scalpel,
an
ultrasonic surgical knife that doesn't burn flesh. He has more
than a dozen
medical and toy patents in the US and in the
Philippines... Francis Duhaylongsod, a Filipino heart surgeon in
Hawaii,
invented an operation called minimally-invasive cardiac
surgery.
This uses smaller cuts into the body, reducing the
nine-week
recovery period to two.
-The
orthopedist who authored the ''Fracture Classification
Manual'' now
widely used all over the world was who? Ramon
Gustilo, a Filipino surgeon who holds nine patents
for artificial bone
replacement
systems.
-Dr. E. V.
Macalalag Jr., chief urologist of the Philippine Army
General
Hospital, discovered that water from young coconut could
be used as universal urinary stone solvent. He named
this procedure
as bukolysis.
-Who
invented the fluorescent lamp? Thomas Edison discovered the
electric
light and Nikola Tesla invented the fluorescent lighting.
But the
fluorescent lamp we use today was invented by Agapito
Flores, a
Filipino electrician. Americans helped Filipino
politicians
to develop it for worldwide commerce. General Electric
has denied
this. Similarly, the anti-cancer drug
Taxol was invented by Filipinos
using
Philippine yew (Taxus matrana) but patented by Americans.
-Francisco
Quisumbing, a Filipino chemist, invented Quink pen ink
which he
sold to Parker for international consumption. The ink
cleans the
pen as it writes, dries quickly on paper, and remains
liquid
inside the tube.
-Juanito A.
Simon, a US-educated and -trained metallurgist who
smoothly
speaks Kapampangan, formulated the Per'tua motor
lubricant internationally known as Tribotech
(www.tribotech.com). This
product is
now used by McDonnell Douglas in AH-65 Apache combat
support
helicopters, Boeing autoclaves and giant ovens which bake
vital
aircraft parts.
-A
rust-proofing and water-coating material rolled into one called
Marglue
Marcoat was invented by Margie Centeno of the Philippines.
-Melano
tells the contents of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank
and
automatically shuts off gas flow to the burner once a hose or
tank leaks.
This safety device was created by Arquillo Melano Sr.
and had
never been instituted by American, European and Japanese
manufacturers earlier.
-Felix D.
Maramba Sr. invented the power generator fed by charcoal
and coconut
oil.
-Dr. Antonio
Mateo made the double-flaring tool (DFT) for plumbing
installation
for airtight sealing of joints. He was awarded the
WIPO Gold
Medal in Geneva, Switzerland in 1994. His company AMECOS
also markets
the fire blanket, a Filipino innovation that saves
lives and
properties in case of fire.
-NEW! WIPO
Inventor of the Year 1995 Edgardo Vazquez brought home
the Gold
Medal for the modular housing called Vazbuilt. This is a
system for
building fire-, termite-, typhoon- and earthquake-proof
houses in
less than a month using prefabricated posts and panels.
Engr. James
Reamon also took a gold from the WIPO in 1984 for his
Jimbo Ventilation
System. {Added Jan 30 01
-Rodolfo
Arambulo of Laguna, Philippines developed Multishock, a
bullet type
that increases the firepower and stopping power of an
ordinary gun
with multiple hits in a single shot. It is considered
as the first
of its kind in the world.
-Engr.
Leonardo Gasendo of Manila made the super windmill as well
as the salt
evaporator. {Written Aug 15 99
-Architect
Eddie Urcia, a Bicolano who owns a bicycle factory in
Brunei,
invented and patented the world's fastest bike with
48-gear combinations.
-Filipina
Margie Talaugon made the first car seat pillow for a
child... The
windshield wiper was the 1903 idea of Alabama's Mary
Anderson.
-Filipino
inventor Daniel Dingel started working on a
water-powered car and prototype in 1969. According
to the Philippine Daily
Inquirer,
his hydrogen reactor uses electricity from a 12-volt car
battery to
transform ordinary tap water with salt into deuterium
oxide or
heavy water. European and other foreign cars run on
liquid hydrogen, not ordinary water; they also make
use of fuel cell
engines
instead of internal combustion engines. (Dingel's car has
never been
patented and commercialized because of what he suspects
as an
anti-Dingel car conspiracy by multinational oil companies.)
{Added
Summer 99
-Roberto del
Rosario invented the piano tuner's guide, the piano
keyboard
stressing device, the voice color tape, and the
one-man-band
(OMB). The OMB was later developed as the
Sing-Along-System (SAS) to aid his voice students. His first model
came out in
the 1970s, and was copied by the Japanese who named
their device
the karaoke. The July 24, 1999 Philippine Daily
Inquirer
reported that Del Rosario filed a suit and was
consequently
awarded sole authority over karaoke's Philippine
production.
-Ironmate, a
device that automatically shuts off electricity when
a flatiron is rested on it, was designed by Rodolfo
Biescas Sr. of
Albay,
Philippines.
-Camilo M.
Tabalba, a Filipino engineer, headed a team to make the
telephone
electronic in 1970. By 1975, he published his findings,
including
the development of the dynamic transducer (a
transmission circuit replacing the carbon
transmitter). His work helped in the
development
of the modern Touchtone phone.
-Engr. Jose
Zafaralla of Mariano Marcos State University in Batac,
Ilocos Norte
invented a machine that makes straight bamboo poles
for use in
making furniture and other bamboocrafts.
-The 22-watt
reflectorized circular lamp was built in a wooden box
by Eduardo
Sta. Ines. The auxiliary is a plastic diffuser and a
stainless-steel
reflector that gives a bright and wide
illuminator.
-Dr.
Josefino Comiso, a Filipino physicist with NASA, first
discovered a
recurring polynya (semipermanent area of open water
in sea ice) in the Cosmonaut Sea, south of the
Indian Ocean.
-The first
Filipina engineer to become NASA Space Mission manager
was Angelita
Albano Castro Kelly, who studied Mathematics/Physics
at the
University of Santo Tomas in Manila and finished Summa cum
Laude. She
traces her roots to Bacarra, Ilocos Norte.
-Filipino
Eugene Resos designed the pilot seat for Boeing 747
jumbo jet in 1968. {Written Aug 15 99
-Flying in
1954 at the Manila International Airport, the airplane
with an
engine using alcohol was invented by Dr. Gregorio Zara
(born on
March 8, 1902). He also made the TV-telephone
(videophone), a device that enables callers to view each other
onscreen.
-Who created
the Lunar Rover or moon buggy used in 1969 by
American astronauts who first landed on the moon? A
Filipino employee of
Lockheed
Corporation christened Eduardo San Juan.
-Filipino
astronomers Edwin Aguirre and Imelda Joson discovered
Asteroid
6282 (called Edwelda after their first names), an
asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter.
-Dr. Jose B.
Cruz used engineering and mathematics to devise the
comparison
sensitivity matrix for evaluating changes occurring in
different
components - from the parts of an ordinary flashlight to
the
automatic control and feedback of a Patriot missile. He
graduated
Summa cum Laude from the University of the Philippines.
-Who
pioneered the padding or translational technique now widely
used in
complexity theory? Dr. Carlos H. Ibarra, a Filipino
professor at
University of California (Santa Barbara) who has been
a leading
researcher on the design and analysis of algorithms, the
theory of
computation, computational complexity, parallel
computing and digital libraries.
-Edward
Sanchez, a Mensan, bagged the grand prize in the first
Philippine
Search for Product Excellence in Information
Technology. {Written Aug 15 99
-The
inventor of the one-chip video camera was Marc Loinaz, a
Filipino
resident of New Jersey who works with Lucent
Technologies. He was featured in the July 1999 issue of Discover Magazine.
-Diosdado
Banatao, an engineer from Cagayan, Philippines,
pioneered graphics acceleration, introducing the
world's 1st graphical user
interface
(GUI) accelerator. He also contributed designs like the
ethernet, a
networking protocol plugged into PCs... Asian-Indian
Vinod Dham
made the Pentium chip for Intel and the K6 processor
for AMD.
I hope one
of these Filipinos will make you proud, not to mention
Carlos P.
Romulo, Ben Cayetano, Lea Salonga, your mom and dad, and
of course
Jose Rizal.