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| Roger Posadas, PhD |
It's been years passed since former professor Roger Posadas passed away last August 20 2017.
Known for his staunch patriotism and the desire to make science and technology a major part of national Policy, Roger has left a legacy that not just provided development in the academe but also in cultivating younger minds the value of Science and Technology for the people.
A Graduate of bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of the Philippines in 1964. Roger earned a PhD in Relativity Physics from the University of Pittsburgh through a scholarship grant from Rockefeller Foundation in 1970. However, he earned that doctorate without taking a master's degree. His dissertation, “The Motion and Structure of Singularities in General Relativity”, was written under the guidance and supervision of Emeritus Professor Ezra T. Newman, an American physicist known for his many contributions to general relativity theory.
He taught for several UP Diliman academic institutions, including the College of Science, the Technology Management Center, and the College of Business Administration. He also held many administrative positions at the University, most notably as Department Chair of Physics from 1980 to 1992, dean of the College of Science from 1983 to 1993, and Chancellor of UP Diliman from 1993 to 1996.
During his term as Chancellor of the University in Diliman he was also credited for the establishment of the Technology Management Center (TMC), an institution offering advanced studies on science and technology management, in February 1995. In TMC, the Master of Technology Management program was first offered in June 1996. Furthermore, the Center for Environmental Research, Education and Services, the Archaeological Studies Center, and the Materials Science and Engineering Center were also established during his term.
But his quest for making science and technology for the people a matter of national policy is more than an academic-related nor a technocratic issue. An activist during the First Quarter Storm and Martial Law periods, he, as member of "Samahan ng Makabayang Siyentipiko" (Society of Nationalist Scientists), wrote papers on various social issues, such as on the oil crisis and the state of science in the country during the Marcos regime- and was seen as subersive forcing Posadas and other members to go underground, until 1975, when he was caught by the military. There were even stories that Posadas was once known for making Molotov bombs that can’t be put out by water. Its existence (and the reasons behind it), however can’t be verified.
But even during Martial Law he continued to push forward his patriotic vision for science and technology. In 1976, he was recruited by Francisco Nemenzo jr., who was then dean of University of the Philippines College of Arts and Sciences, to teach in the College again. There, he and other known scholars actively pursued the advancement of science in the country. With Fr. Ben Nebres of Ateneo de Manila University, Salvador Gonzales from De La Salle University, and William Padolina from UP Los Baños, they formed the Kapisanan ng mga Siyentipikong Pilipino (KSP) or the Association of Filipino Scientists. The KSP made plans for science in the country, which included the PhD consortium program, the establishment of the UPD College of Science (from the former College of Arts and Sciences) and the creation of a council for natural science and mathematics that eventually became the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD). Posadas was at the helm of these projects. In 1979, he founded the Samahang Pisika ng Pilipinas (Physics Society of the Philippines).
Outside UP, Posadas served as managing director of the Research and Innovation Center of Lyceum of the Philippines in Cavite. He was also hired by the University of the East during the time of President Ester Garcia (his colleague in UP and in SMS), albeit briefly, as its professor.
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| Doc Roger Posadas has a long history of coalition-building. Left-Right: Juan Ponce Enrile, Roger Posadas, Etta Rosales, Rafael Baylosis, Joselito Jacinto, Leo Romero. The picture was from an event entitled: "National Consultation on Philippine Industrialization" with the theme: "Industry for the Nation, Progress for the People". |
Altogether, his life as a scholar, scientist, patriot, and nationalist has been rather interesting. He was a visionary and institutional builder who preferred to pursue something higher than being content in a bureaucratic post and following the customary path. His bluntness, insensitivity, and maybe arrogance in his professional interactions with others may have produced big problems and cost him his reputation. The biggest irony is that the Technology Management Center, which is now fully operating and has produced many graduates, was founded on a curriculum devised by a man who nearly went to prison for it- only to be vindicated in 2013 yet "too late" for him as the scholar already lost his job, career, and practically everything else that he had because of the graft case he had to fight for many years.
A radical to the end, Posadas seriously urged the government to adopt a technonationalist position, by "throwing overboard neoliberal policies forcing the country to depend on multinationals" and to pursue technological self reliance. Based from his writings, including his comments on social media would say that the bluntness in his statements is based on truth- that science and technology should first meant to address the nation's needs than to impress others. And some even controversial in nature. In an instance, Posadas, as a Nuclear Physicist supported nuclear power in the Philippines as a long-term option for power generation that would bring supply security, stability, and reliability along with other renweable energy sources like Solar, Geothermal, and Hydroelectric. Furthermore, nuclear electricity will boost the Philippine government's push for industrialistion and urbanisation "as outlined in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP)" according to the Physicist, and is critical for the country on the path to growth to have the accessible and necessary capacity to satisfy the nation's expanding demand requirements.
Pardon if to recall about his life based on the notes this writer read as well as his commentaries in social media although sometimes his views differ from that of his fellow patriots in the academe and in the "sci-tech scene", some of which often debatable and even assailable because of his recent political beliefs. But his principlism on science and technology may find it radical and even assailing to some that even the recent microsatellite launch or the projects from the Department of Science and Technology was dismissed by Posadas himself as "irrelevant" to the primary needs of the Filipinos. How come? True that these achievements deserve the praise, but how about the practicality? The relevance to the needs of many? Is the UP Monorail or the hybrid train able to be used to prove its efficiency and its suitability? How about having an industry that's more than just creating banana chips, banana ketchup, and fish sauce? The scholar had passed on to history long ago, but his sentiment continues to linger as patriotic and nationalist scientists and innovators expressed the same statements as his.
As previously stated, he envisioned a country that is economically independent by becoming energy self-sufficient and by making industrialisation as a matter of national policy, promoting further local innovation and creativity, as well as self-sufficiency and development through the efficient and wisely use of local resources, manpower, and the application of knowledge.
Sources:
https://upd.edu.ph/chancellorposadas/
https://upd.edu.ph/dr-roger-d-posadas-72/