BSU faculty nat’l scientist awardee

By Grace T. Bengwayan

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Roscinto Ian Canicosa Lumbres, Associate Professor III of the College of Forestry, and currently the director of Center for Geoinformatics, Benguet State University here was awarded one of Outstanding Young Scientist of the Philippines by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).
    In ceremonies at the Manila Hotel last July 14, Dr. Lumbres together with ten others nationwide received a plaque and cash awards.
    The citation was “in recognition of his pioneering researches on growth modeling of Pinus kesiya (Benguet pine), a very unique forest ecosystem in the Philippines  and for his works in biodiversity and carbon stock assessment of unique forest ecosystem to better protect our biodiversity and mitigate climate change through forest protection.”
    Signed by NAST President Rhodora V. Azanza and NAST Secretary Jaime C. Montoya, the citation further provided that Prof. Lumbres  “fitted several models that can be used to easily determine the various parameters of the forest species, which is important in forest utilization, protection and conservation…”
    The citation further stated that he “assisted the Department of Agiculture in assessing the climate risk vulnerability of major crops in the Cordillera Administrative Region”

    Lumbres is involved in research titled: Modelling Carbon Stock Assessment: the Role of Benguet Pine (Pinus kesiya) in Climate Change Mitigation, on top of his involvement in seven other researches on Climate-Risk Vulnerability Assessment, Community Based Flood Risk Management, GIS Data Base and mapping, among others. 

    He said NAST looks at the impact of the applicant’s research, particularly on the number of citations. Dr. Lumbres has more than 190 citations.

    He added NAST also considers the mentoring aspect or how research results are shared to the end user. In the case of Prof. Lumbres, he has been training LGUs and other stakeholders on Geographic Information System (GIS) for mapping and Risk Assessment, and other emerging technologies such as remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicle. 

    The Outstanding Young Scientist (OYS) Awards “are given to young scientist who have made significant contributions to science and technology.” 

    As per NAST, “judging is based on: Quality and number of scientific works and publications, contributions to the advancement of science in general and science in the Philippines in particular; and contributions to the well-being of Philippine economy and culture”.

    Lumbres is the third BSU personnel who was accorded the OYS Award, the first being Dr. William D. Dar and the second is Dr. Zenaida N. Ganga.

    He said the perks of being awarded an OYS are: membership to the OYS Incorporated, access to a P1 Million Research Grant (subject to approval) and a cash prize of P150,000.

    He expressed his willingness to mentor faculty members with potentials for the prestigious award.