FOR SCHOOL of Science and Engineering (SOSE) Dean Fabian Dayrit, Ph.D, being recognized for one’s efforts goes beyond the award and the honor that comes with it. For Dayrit, to claim honor from such achievements entails a certain responsibility—acknowledging that despite what has been achieved, a lot is still yet to be done.
“There are things we have to live up to or things we have to do,” he added.
Dayrit was recognized by the Philippine Development Foundation-USA during a forum held on September 25 in California, USA.
The forum, the first the foundation has launched, featured “business leaders and professionals who have made extraordinary achievements in their fields and have also helped the Philippines move forward in its growth and development through strategic giving.”
According to Dayrit, the Philippine Development Forum was “put up to highlight [how] Filipinos in the US can assist Philippine development mainly [in] the target areas [of] science and technology, and education.”
Aside from being the “Excellence in Science and Technology” awardee, he was also one of the panelists who discussed strategic policies and programs in education, science and technology, and business competitiveness that would address the country’s development problems.
More work to be done
Despite his achievement, Dayrit gave more weight to the discussions made during the forum.
“It [was] a nice recognition…but I think that was [only] half the excitement of the event. The other half would still be the forum itself where we tackled two main issues: science and technology in the Philippines’ education and in the industry side,” he said.
Being the only attendee from the Ateneo or any other private university, Dayrit said that the award is not just recognition for what he or the school had been able to contribute to the field of science and technology. Rather, it is an indication that there are still things that needed to be done.
“[The award is also recognition] for what we are able to do in the university. But certainly, it should also be a signal that we have to be more active in these things… I think work [still] needs to be done.”
Small steps, big impact
Dayrit said that SOSE and the Ateneo, though relatively small compared to the other players in the academe, can have a great impact on the academe if the key areas to work on were chosen more carefully.
“Impact in the academe would be measured by the quality of the students and in the publications. Both are important for the advancement and the reputation of the school. But more than that, we also have to look at what’s the impact to society,” he said.
According to Dayrit, due to limited resources and time, choosing strategies that could help the most people and which could be maximized is the best thing to do.
Chemistry Chair Regina So, said that Dayrit winning the award can also be of advantage to society.
“The award will benefit the Ateneo community and the students directly and indirectly by the bigger network [because] visibility and influence would increase. [There might be] more scientists coming in to give lectures; and more money coming in from the government and private sector,” she added.
‘Well-deserved’
The SOSE faculty and staff were proud of Dayrit’s achievement and expressed their congratulations.
“Winning this award marks [Dayrit’s] lifetime achievement as a person in science. I saw his passion [for] science, his contributions in lifting the state of science and technology, and [his ways of influencing] the policymakers in the academe and the scientific community by [his endeavors],” So added.
Chemistry Associate Professor Soma Chakraborty also said that Dayrit deserved the award.
“I was thrilled to know about this success and I feel that he and his achievements will serve as [a source] of inspiration to all the researchers in the Ateneo community,” she added.
She believed that Dayrit’s basic research work will answer several fundamental queries which are still unknown to the world.
