Update From Friends of Philippine Science

From: Ms. Ruth Buchanan, PSHS Batch '83 (Silver Jubilarian Batch)

May 3, 2008 - Town Hall Meeting
PSHS International Town Hall Meeting
Topic: Alumni and NGOs

ALL PSHS Alumni

DATE: May 3, 2008 Saturday
TIME: 3:00 PM California Time
LOCATION: 1-218-936-1600
Access Code: 19831983

Our topic is "Alumni and NGO's." Our guest speakers include PSHS alumni from various Alumni Batches who are doing interesting work within their non-governmental organizations. They will discuss what it is like to work in an NGO, their organizations' missions, the challenges they face, and how PSHS alumni around the world can benefit by tapping into the network of PSHS alumni who are working with NGO's. We will also provide listeners with the latest news about our activities to benefit PSHS. Please join us!

Friends of Philippine Science
302 Washington Street Suite 512
San Diego, California 92103

A-GRID: Ateneo Grid and High Performance Computing Research Group

Today (29 April 2008) I spent a few hours creating and modifying the temporary website of my research group: the Ateneo Grid and High Performance Computing Research Group or A-GRID.

Visit the temporary website that I created (click on the following link): A-GRID

Official Group Photo: International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

Photo Caption: Participants in the International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008) held on 7-11 April 2008 in Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. Source: http://event.twgrid.org/isgc2008/

Note: Click on the photo to see a larger view.

CHED (Philippine Commission on Higher Education) Technical Committee on IT (Information Technology) Curriculum Development

Photo Caption: Members of the CHED Technical Panel on IT Curriculum Development pose for a group picture during a meeting held last April 24, 2008. I am 5th from the left front row and my colleage Dr. Caslon Chua is on the extreme right front row.

Early this year (January 2008) I was appointed by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to be a member of the CHED TPITE Technical Committee on IT Curriculum Development.

Yesterday (April 24, 2008) the Committee met at the Old Swiss Inn Restaurant, Belen St., Paco, Manila starting at 9:00 a.m.

The CHED TPITE Technical Committee on IT (Information Technology) Curriculum Development consists of the following members:

1. Dr. Caslon Chua (Dean, College of Computer Studies, De La Salle University-Manila)

2. Ms. Joanne dela Cuesta

3. Ms. Michelle Casio

4. Dr. Bartolome Tanguillig

5. Dr. Rafael Saldaña (Ateneo de Manila University)

Visit of Dr. Bernard Mely (CNRS, France) in Ateneo de Manila University, 23 April 2008

Photo Caption: (L-R) Fr. Ben Nebres, SJ, Ms. Ines Loge, Dr. Bernard Mely, Dr. Raffy Saldaña

Photo Caption: (L-R) Ms. Ines Loge, Dr. Fabian Dayrit, Dr. Raffy Saldaña, Dr. Bernard Mely


Today (23 April 2008) Dr. Bernard Mely, Director, South East Asia Bureau of the Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France) and Ms. Ines Loge, science and technology attache of the Embassy of France to the Philippines, had a meeting with Fr. Ben Nebres, SJ (president of Ateneo de Manila University), Dr. Fabian Dayrit (dean of the School of Science and Engineering of Ateneo), chairpersons and representatives of the different departments in the School of Science and Engineering and me.

Dr. Mely who is based in Hanoi, Vietnam presented some information about the CNRS and its programs related to research collaboration between France and countries in South East Asia.

After the meeting, Dr. Dayrit and I accompanied Dr. Mely and Ms. Loge to different scientific laboratories in the campus.

To see more photos of Dr. Mely's visit in Ateneo, click on the following link (then click on each photo to see a larger image or select 'Slideshow' for an animated view):

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/115/Visit_of_Dr._Bernard_Mely_CNRS_SE_Director_in_Ateneo_23_April_2008


Cheers,

Raffy
4/23/08

PISAY ! (PSHS Alumni Forum and Updates)

Greetings to all Philippine Science High School (PSHS or Pisay) Alumni from all campuses!

The current board members of the Philippine Science High School Alumni Association (PSHS AA), in cooperation with the Philippine Science High School National Alumni Association (NAA), would like to supplement the PSHS Alumni website (http://www.pshsaa.org/) with an official blog: PISAY! (PSHS Alumni Forum and Updates) (http://pisayforum.blogspot.com).

The aim of PISAY! is to inform the PSHS Alumni from all campuses about current issues and concerns pertaining to the PSHS alumni.

It also aims to solicit feedback/comments/reactions/suggestions regarding these issues and concerns.

The moderator of this blog is Dr. Rafael "Raffy" Saldaña, corporate secretary of the PSHS National Alumni Association and assistant corporate secretary of the PSHS Alumni Association.
For inquiries, send e-mail to pisayforum@gmail.com

Best Regards,

Raffy Saldaña
in Quezon City, Philippines
4/20/08

-----

http://pisayforum.blogspot.com/

PISAY ! (PSHS Alumni Forum and Updates)

"Reach for our dreams... Strive for our goals... Search for the untarnished truth!" ... This is the official blog of the Philippine Science High School Alumni Association, created in cooperation with the PSHS National Alumni Association, that is dedicated to current issues pertaining to the PSHS (or 'Pisay') alumni from all PSHS campuses. For inquiries send e-mail to pisayforum@gmail.com

HealthGrid 2008, June 2 - 4, Chicago, USA

HealthGrid 2008


"The HealthGrid conference is the premier conference on the transformation of biomedical research, education and medical care through the application of Grid technologies.


HealthGrid is dedicated to:

.

• Enhancing biomedical research and healthcare delivery


• Creating an open collaborative virtual community


• Communicating the collective knowledge of the HealthGrid community

HealthGrid is an interdisciplinary community of computer scientists, physicians, medical educators and students, epidemiologists, bioinformatics and medical informatics experts, military medicine specialists, security and policy makers, economists and futurists.

The conference program will include a number of high-profile keynote presentations, complemented by a set of refereed papers, which will be selected through the present call for papers."

Conference Website: http://chicago2008.healthgrid.org/

CARS 2008: Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery, 25 - 28 June 2008, Barcelona, Spain

Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery 22nd International Congress and Exhibition (CARS 2008)
June 25 - 28, 2008, Barcelona, Spain
http://www.cars-int.org/

Joint Congress of ISCAS, EuroPACS, CAR, CMI, and CAD

*** The full program is available at http://www.cars-int.org/ ***
*** Discounted fees for registrations until April 25, 2008***

Dear colleague,

with the support of many colleagues and professional societies, the final CARS program for Barcelona is now available on the website. CARS distinguishes itself most clearly from other congresses in its focus on innovative solutions to image and model guided diagnosis and therapy. Fulfilling modern clinical requirements with R&D excellence is the core value provided in 474 lecture and poster presentations included in 66 scientific/medical sessions, workshops and tutorials of the CARS 2008 program.

In addition, 90 invited presentations will be given by international experts to provide CARS attendees with the latest developments on advanced methods and technologies for health care. Special events have been included to focus on highly innovative developments which impact the future of health care. Examples are the interactice session on breast CAD, sessions on cone beam CT, biomarkers, open source software, validation, surgical workflow, model-guided therapy, surgical robotics, surgical PACS and the digital operating room. With this level of active participation from many institutions world wide, which substantially exceeded any expectations, CARS 2008 in Barcelona provides a highly professional program for the participants.


We invite you to take part in the exciting events of CARS 2008 and to visit and enjoy Barcelona in June. Barcelona and Catalonia with its rich culture, art and architecture, a wide variety of scenery and a renowned cuisine will make your participation at CARS 2008 an unforgettable event.

Please note that discounted fees for registration are available until April 25, 2008.

Yours sincerely,

Javier Herrero, MD, PhD // Heinz U. Lemke, PhD
CARS 2008 President // CARS Organizer

CARS Conference Office

Im Gut 1579790 Kuessaberg, Germany

Tel. +49-7742-922 434

Fax: +49-7742-922 438

For registration and additional information, contact the CARS Conference Office at

office@cars-int.org

CARS congress website: http://www.cars-int.org/

IJCARS website: www.springer.com/11548

IJCARS Manuscripts Submissions: www.editorialmanager.com/jcars

Notice: PSHS NAA Annual General Meeting Postponed

Dear PSHS Alumni:

Please be informed that the PSHS National Alumni Association Annual General Meeting (originally scheduled this Saturday, April 26, 2008) has been postponed to June 14, 2008 (Saturday).

For inquiries please send e-mail to raffysaldana@gmail.com

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Rafael P. Saldaña
Corporate Secretary
PSHS National Alumni Association

PSHS National Alumni Association Board of Trustees Meeting (April 21, 2008)

Photo Caption: (L-R): Raffy, Raymond, Butch, Ciel, Joey O., Roggie, Joey T., Joel, Jun, and Dang

Members of the Board of Trustees of the Philippine National Alumni Association (PSHS NAA) met last night (April 21, 2008) in Cafe Breton, The Podium, Ortigas, Pasig City Philippines.

.

Those present in the meeting are as follows:

1. Dr. Cielito "Ciel" Habito (Chairman/President)

2. Prof. Fructuoso "Jun" Sabug (Vice-President)

3. Dr. Rafael "Raffy" Saldana (Corporate Secretary)

4. Mr. Rogel "Roggie" Zenarosa (Treasurer)

5. Mr. Raymond Ancog (Asst. Treasurer)

6. Ms. Criselda "Dang" Flores (Board Member)

7. Mr. Joel Garduce (Board Member)

8. Mr. Caesar "Buth" Zaldarriaga (Chair, PSHS Alumni Association)

9. Atty. Jose Maria "Joey" Ochave (Legal Consultant)

10. Atty. Joe Nathan "Joey" Tenafrancia (Legal Consultant)

The meeting had the following agenda:

1. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting

2. Discussion on the NAA-AA unification process

3. Preparations for the NAA annual general meeting

4. Updates on the PSHS summer remedial program for 3 seniors

5. Other matters

Click on the following link to view more photos taken during the meeting:

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/114

After the meeting, those present greeted Ciel with a "Happy Birthday." Ciel celebrated his nth birthday the day before (April 20). Happy birthday again Ciel! And thanks for the birthday blow-out :)

Cheers,

Raffy

4/22/08

Celebrate Earth Day (April 22)

It's Earth Day today, April 22, 2008. Let us all do our share in the protection of the evironment.


Related Links:

1. History of Earth Day: http://www.project21.org/EarthDay07History.html

2. Wikipedia article on Earth Day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day

3. Earth Day Network:
http://ww2.earthday.net/

Cheers,

Raffy
4/22/08


.

Image Source: www.CatholicGreetings.org

Cover Sheet (Requirements in Filing for Amendments)

Requirements for Filing Amendments to the Securities and Exchange Commission

Note: I need to file amendments of articles of incorporation/by-laws for one of the organizations wherein I am the corporate secretary. I tried to search for the procedures and basic requirements for filing the amendments from the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (http://www.sec.gov.ph) but I couldn't find them. After several referrals I was able to get a copy of the requirements/procedures.

I am publishing the document in this blog so that other people may have an easier time locating the document (using Google search).

Click on the Figure to see a larger view.

Cheers,

Raffy
4/21/08

Ateneo 'Big Blue Run' (20 April 2008)

Note: There is a school/community run today (20 April 2008) in Ateneo de Manila University. Called the "Big Blue Run" the event starts at 7:00 a.m. There are 5 divisions:

.

1. Grade School (3 kilometers)

2. High School (3 kilometers)

3. College (5 kilometers, Men/Women)

4. Faculty and Staff (5 kilometers, Men/Women)

5. Open (5 kilometers, Men/Women)

KUDOS to all participants and winners!!!

.

Ad Majorem, Dei Gloriam.

.

Cheers,

.

Raffy

4/20/08

Dinner in Taipei (Thanks to Dr. Heng-Shuen Chen of National Taiwan University)

Photo Caption: Some of the guests during a dinner hosted by Dr. Heng-Shuen Chen in Formosa Restaurant, Taipei, Taiwan. (L-R): Dr. Yannick Legre (3rd from left) followed by Dr. Raffy Saldaña and Dr. Heng-Shuen Chen (extreme right).

Last April 10, 2008 (while I was in Taipei, Taiwan for the International Symposium on Grid Computing, ISGC 2008) my colleague, Dr. Heng-Shuen Chen, professor of medicine in National Taiwan University, treated me and Dr. Yannick Legre (president of HealthGrid, http://www.healthgrid.org/) to a dinner in Formosa Restaurant in Taipei together with some of Dr. Chen's medical interns and graduate students (including Ms. Merri Su).

Dr. Chen and Merri Su are our partners (from Taiwan) in the French government funded international research collaboration project on content-based image retrieval using grid computing, the ONCO-MEDIA project (See http://www.onco-media.com/).

Click on the following link to view photos taken during our dinner in Formosa restaurant:

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/113/Taipei_Dinner_10_April_2008

Thank you, Dr. Chen and Merri for the very nice dinner.

Cheers,

Raffy
4/19/08

An Ecotour of Turtle Island, Taiwan

Figure Caption: Map of Taiwan showing the location of Turtle Island (northeastern portion).

Last April 12, 2008 (Saturday), I was privileged to join an ecotour of Turtle Island in the northeastern part of Taiwan. I was part of a group consisting of my colleagues in the EUAsiaGrid Project and some participants in the International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC). The tour was arranged by the Academia Sinica Grid Computing Center (ASGC) headed by its director, Dr. Simon Lin.

I was informed that only 500 visitors were allowed to tour Turtle Island in a given day. Applications to visit the island have to be done several days in advanced.

Turtle Island is an ecological preservation area. Its former inhabitants have already been transferred to the main island of Taiwan.

Click on the following links to view photos of our tour in Turtle Island, Taiwan:

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/110/A_Visit_To_Turtle_Island_Taiwan_ISCG_2008_Post-Conference_Tour

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/111/A_Visit_To_Turtle_Island_Taiwan_Part_2

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/112/A_Visit_to_Turtle_Island_Part_3_Taiwan_12_April_2008

PSHS Alumni Association Board Resolution

Note: Click on the Figure to see a larger view.

----

From Butch Zaldarriaga, Chairman of the Philippine Science High School Alumni Association:

Dear Fellow Board Members,

Kindly share the attached board resolution (re: PSHS BOT decision to extend remedial classes to 3 senior students who failed in Math 5) with your respective batch egroups. It is our responsibility to inform the alumni community where the Board stands on issues such as this.

Give your own introduction/ backgrounder to this controversy so they know where we're coming from.

Thanks and regards,

Butch

-------------------------------

Related Links:

http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2008/03/clarification-on-issue-value-of-pisay.html

http://kikyouoneesama.multiply.com/journal/item/317/The_Value_of_a_Pisay_Diploma

Congratulations, Dr. Prisno (SHINE 208 International Student Awardee)

Pinoy doctor gets special award in UK writing contest

(Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89504/Pinoy-doctor-gets-special-award-in-UK-writing-contest)

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino taking up his doctoral degree in the United Kingdom received a special award from an international competition which celebrates the achievements of international students and their contributions to the UK.The Department of Foreign Affairs reported the accomplishment of Dr. Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III, a third-year PhD student at the School of Social Sciences of Cardiff University in Wales.

Prisno received a “Highly Commended" award from the SHINE 2008 International Student Award from the British Council, the UK's international organization for educational opportunities and cultural relations.“I am extremely happy with the award as I have made a very good name for Cardiff University and my country, the Philippines," Prisno said.According to the DFA, Prisno joined the contest for people to understand the plight of populations in poverty and marginalized conditions, and what he does to help the less fortunate. He is the first Filipino to win the award.

Eligible international students had to write a letter narrating how the UK has excited or challenged them.“It’s easy to enter. Simply write us a letter telling us all about your time in the UK and how the UK has challenged and excited you.

Our panel of judges – other students, education professionals and British Council colleagues – will choose the best letters to become shining examples of UKlife for future international students," read in the competitions’ website.

Prisno, who hails from Tacloban City, is a medical doctor with special interest in global health and international health policy. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (cum laude) degree and Doctor of Medicine from the University of the Philippines. Prisno has worked in the field of international health and health research and policy in the Philippines, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Brazil under the European Union, World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization. His PhD research looks at the sexual risk taking behavior of merchant seafarers in the context of AIDS. “I have been working mostly in the area of health and welfare, poverty and HIV/AIDS. My research is looking at the vulnerability of seafarers to HIV/AIDS," he explained.

- Mark J. Ubalde, GMANews.TV

--------

Note: I think that Dr. Prisno and I were together in one of the International Science and Engineering (ISEF) events organized by Intel, either in ISEF 2003 (in Cleveland, Ohio, USA) or in ISEF 2006 (in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA). I was one of the Grand Awards Judges in these events.

Cheers,

Raffy
4/15/08

Ateneo Wins Microsoft Imagine Cup 2008 (Philippines)

Photo Caption: Members of the Champion Team (Team 3 Pi/4) from Ateneo de Manila University during the Awarding Ceremony of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2008 (Philippines). Source: http://jayrreyes.multiply.com/photos/album/94/Imagine_Cup_Finals_2008#98 )


With great honor and pride, the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science announces the winners of the 2008 Microsoft Imagine Cup Software Design Competition:

Champion: Team 3 Pi/4

Wilhansen Joseph Li 3CS
Salvador Reyes Jr. 4CS
Roderick Simon Tan 3ME
Coach: Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Ph.D.

1st Runner Up: Team Tibecom

Marion Joren Olmillo, 2MIS
Kristine Ester Pascual, 2CS
Victor Patrick Tanedo, 2CS

Coach: Adrian Rodriguez BSCS 2005

Our champions will represent the Philippines in the Imagine Cup World finals this coming July in Paris, France.

Congratulations!

Ma. Regina E. Estuar, Ph.D.
Officer-in-Charge
Department of Information Systems and Computer Science
School of Science and Engineering
Ateneo de Manila University

--------

Note: Dr. Ma. Mercedes "Didith" Rodrigo is my colleague in the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science; Wilhansen "Wil" Li and Salvador 'JR' Reyes Jr. are former students of mine in calculus. Congratulations to Didith, Wil, JR, and the rest of the Ateneo winning teams in the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2008.

Related Link: http://jayrreyes.multiply.com/journal/item/416/Ateneo_team_wins_Microsoft_Imagine_Cup_2008_in_RP_

Cheers,

Raffy
4/15/08

Invitation: Seminar on Molecular Dynamics

You are cordially invited to a Seminar on:

Fatty Acids in Aqueous Solution: A Molecular Dynamics Study


Erwin P. Enriquez and Deniz P. Wong
Department of Chemistry
School of Science and Engineering,
Ateneo de Manila University
April 17, 2008, Thursday, 4:30-6:00 pm
Schmitt Hall C109


The aim of the study is to determine the unique feature of the C-12 fatty acid (lauric acid) in comparison with other fatty acids from C8 to C16 when dissolved inaqueous solution. This is motivated by the question: why the C-12 is the best length interms of the antimicrobial properties of the fatty acids, which in turn,might be linked to thegood medicinal properties of coconut oil (which is roughly 50% in C12).


ABSTRACT

A promising discovery about coconut oil is its anti-bacterial and anti-viral activity, which are believed to be due to its high (about 50 %) laurate (C-12) content.[1]-[2] There have been several hypotheses regarding this antimicrobial action—it is suggested that the fatty acid either destroys the lipid-coating that protects gram-positive bacteria or that it interferes with the signal transduction of viruses.[3] Further, it is still not clear why the C-12 among other fatty acids of other chain lengths has such an optimal antimicrobial property. One explanation is that the inhibitory fatty acid must be sufficiently water soluble to reach an effective concentration in the aqueous solution and yet hydrophobic enough to interact with the hydrophobic proteins or lipids on the microbial cell surface.[4]

Towards this inquiry, we embarked on a molecular dynamics (MD) investigation of a homologous series of fatty acids from C-8 to C-16 to observe any structural features that may be unique for C-12 when dissolved in aqueous solution. Molecular dynamics was done for a single fatty acid molecule (in carboxylate form) in a water box (using the TIP3P water model) with periodic boundary conditions. The MD software used was NAMD 2.6 which was run on a quad-core PC on a Windows XP platform. VegaZZ 2.1.0 was used to prepare the molecules prior to MD calculation, and analysis of the data was done using VMD 1.8.6.

The MD simulations reveal that all the fatty acid molecules were stable in a generally stretched conformation in aqueous solution during the 1 ns simulation runs. Qualitatively, one can argue that the conformational stability of the acid in water is due to three competing forces: (1) backbone strain, (2) hydration forces due to H-bonding or polar interactions, and (3) the hydrophobic effect. The hydrophobic effect is an entropic contribution to the stability of the system in order to minimize the ordering of water molecules surrounding a nonpolar region of a molecule.[5] The first effect is attributed to the conformational flexibility of the chain. On the other hand, the 2nd and 3rd effects should be evident in the structuring or ordering of water near the carboxylate end of the molecule (C1) and along the generally nonpolar alkyl backbone of the fatty acid (C2 to CN), respectively. The ordering of water in the hydration layers surrounding the fatty acid is evident in the so-called radial distribution functions g(r) of Cn-OH2O, which are calculated from the MD runs. The gives the average pair-wise separation of the Cn atom from the oxygen atoms of water (OH2O) in the simulation box. The stable folded length of the fatty acid due to these competing forces is also evident in the .
We hypothesize that the length of C-12 is indeed an optimal length that minimizes the effect of these three competing forces and that this may be demonstrated in the mapping of the g(r)’s along the backbone of the molecule. The results show high structuring of water at or near the polar carboxylate end group, as expected. There is also ordering of water near the methyl terminus and water “depletion” around the alkyl backbone, which are attributed to the hydrophobic effect.5

Selected References:

[1] Kabara, J., D. Swieczkowski, et al. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., 1972, 2, 23-28.
[2] Bergsson, G., J. Arnfinnsson, et al. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 1998, 42, 2290-2294.
[3] Thormar, H., C. Issacs, et al. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 1987, 31, 27-31.
[4] Wang L. and E. Johnson Appl.and Environ. Microb. 1992, 58, 624-629
[5] Chandler, D. Nature 2005, 437, 640-647

Fr. Joey Fermin Needs Help (A Liver Donor)

Living Liver Donor Needed

Message from Bansky Fermin (brother of Fr. Joey Fermin):

I am writing this email to ask for your help in finding a living liver donor for my brother, Fr. Joey Fermin, SJ.

As some of you may know as you have children or nephews in the Ateneo Grade School, he was the headmaster for the past 6 years until December 2007.

Late last year he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. What was baffling was that the disease was rapidly progressing. The nature of his cirrhosis is unknown as he is not an alcoholic and never had hepatitis.

It is my hope that this email touches somebody's heart to be willing enough to share a part of his/her liver to allow my brother to live longer and do more good in this world.

If not, your prayers for us to be able to find a willing donor is already a big help.The living donor liver transplantation will require the donor to give a portion of his/her liver.

I know that it is a lot to ask for but our family and the Jesuit community are exhausting all venues to find a living donor.

It's a bit more difficult in his case as he has a rare blood type, A+, and none of us in the family are compatible with his blood type. If it weren't so, I would have given mine in a heartbeat.

The criteria for a living donor are the following:

Blood type: A+
Age: between 18-55 yrs. Old
Must be negative for hepatitis B and C and have no serious medical condition such as diabetes, heart disease or cancer.

Person to contact: Dr. Tex Paurom, SJ
Cell No.: 0928 5067276
Email: texmdsj@yahoo. com
Loyola House of StudiesAteneo de Manila

Thank you for taking time to read this and please pass on this email to your friends to help us widen the network so that hopefully, someone will be able to step forward.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: I know Fr. Joey Fermin personally. He used to be the headmaster in Ateneo de Manila University Grade School. He also used to hold Sunday mass in the Philippine Science High School (Main Campus) Dormitory. I hope that Fr. Joey finds a donor soon. Let us all pray for Fr. Joey.

Raffy
4/15/08

Notice: Philippine Science High School National Alumni Association (PSHS NAA) Annual Meeting

PHILIPPINE SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL NATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC.
Philippine Science High School, Agham Road, Diliman, Quezon City 1104, Phillippines

TO ALL CONCERNED: NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

WHAT: Philippine Science High School National Alumni Association Annual Meeting

WHEN: Saturday, April 26, 2008

TIME: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon

WHERE: Philippine Science High School, Agham Road, Diliman, Quezon City

PROPOSED AGENDA:

1. Reading of the minutes of the previous meeting and action taken thereon;

2. Unfinished business;

3. New business;

4. Election (only for vacant positions in the PSHS NAA Board of Trustees)

5. Ratification of the acts of the board and the Executive Officers;

6. Other matters.
6.1 Update on the PSHS Alumni Association and PSHS National Alumni Association unification efforts.
6.2 Update on the PSHS Summer Remedial Program.
6.3 Other updates

NOTES:

1. On Voting: Proxy – Members of good standing shall be entitled to one vote, and they may vote in person or by proxy which must be in writing and signed by the member giving the proxy, provided the proxy is likewise a member of good standing of the Corporation.

2. On Membership

Based on the PSHS NAA Constitution the following shall be the classes of members of the Corporation:

a. Regular Members:

Every member who is a graduate of the Philippine Science High School System, consisting of the existing campuses mentioned in Republic Act (“R.A.”) No. 8496, as amended by R.A. No. 9036, and future campuses which shall be established under said laws, may become a member of the Corporation.

b. Honorary Members:

A non-graduate of the Philippine Science High School System who has rendered valuable service to the Philippine Science High School System and/or the Corporation may be nominated as an honorary member by any regular member in good standing of the Association and may be elected as such by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees.
Every member who has paid all membership dues and all authorized special assessments, plus surcharges owing thereon, and who is not under suspension from membership privileges, is a member in good standing.


Notice Prepared By:

(Sgd.) Dr. Rafael P. Saldaña
Corporate Secretary
PSHS National Alumni Association
11 April 2008

Contact Details:

Telephone/Fax: +63 2 7090907
Mobile: +63 928 5043121
E-mail: raffysaldana@gmail.com
BLOG: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/

Last Minute Internet Access in Taipei, Taiwan (April 14, 2008)

Notes:

Allan (Espinosa, our cluster system administrator in Ateneo de Manila University) and I are now in Taipei Taoyuan International Airport and will board our plane (Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 0311) on our way back to Manila.

There is a place near the Immigration Area wherein a passenger may access the Internet free for 30 minutes.

It has been a productive meeting for us here in Taipei on the occassion of the EUAsiaGrid Project Kick-off Meeting and the International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008).

To our hosts, Dr. Simon Lin of Academia Sinica Grid Computing Center (ASGC) and his staff -- THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

To the European Commission -- thank you for the funding assistance.

To all colleagues (old and new) that I met in Taipei, Taiwan over this past week, thank you for the exchange of ideas and the interaction.

Cheers,

Raffy
4/14/08
in Taipei, Taiwan

"Chai Found Music" At The ISGC 2008 Banquet, Taipei, Taiwan

"In 1991 a group of musicians got together with the aim of reviving Chinese musical tradition and finding new creative possibilities building upon that tradition, while still protecting the essence of the sizhu music (Chinese chamber music). The Chai Found Music Workshop was formed.

The instruments of Chai Found are the six most representative instruments of Chinese musical tradition: the erhu, the di, the pipa, the guzheng, the yangqin, and the ruanxian. With these six instruments it is possible to put on a truly traditional sizhu music performance, but they also give the artist room to develop modern, creative pieces."

Notes:

We had a taste of the Chai Found Music during the banquet of the International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008) at The Sherwood Hotel - Taipei on April 11, 2008.

I wanted to take video clips and more photos of their performance but I ran out of charged batteries.

Listening to the Chai Found musical performance is a unique and wonderful experience: it is like modernizing classical music.

Below are the contact details of the 'Chai Found Music Workshop':

1 FL., No 13, Lane 295, Lungjian Rd., Taipei 104 R.O.C.

Tel: 886-2-25024960

Fax: 886-2-2515-8533

http://www.cfmw.com.tw/

Email: music@cfmw.com.tw

Cheers,

Raffy

in Taipei, Taiwan

4/14/08

Wine, Roses, Music, and Food -- ISGC 2008 Banquet At The Sherwood Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan

ISGC 2008

International Symposium on Grid Computing

Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

April 7 - 11, 2008

BANQUET AT THE SHERWOOD HOTEL (TAIPEI)

11 April 2008

Note: Click on the following link to view photos (choose slide show).

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/109/ISGC_2008_Banquet_at_The_Sherwood_Taipei_Taiwan

Cheers,

Raffy

in Taipei, Taiwan

13 April 2008

My Photos In The International Symposium On Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

Shown above are my photos during the Kick-off Meeting of the EUAsiaGrid Project in the International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan. Photos taken by Dr. Yannick Legre (President of HealthGrid) using his Nikon digital camera on April 8, 2008.

Thank you very much Yannick :)

Raffy

A Quiet Morning In Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan (April 13, 2008)

April 13, 2008

Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

Notes:

This morning (4/13/04) I woke up early, refreshed from a whole day post-conference tour in Turtle Island, Taiwan and the Taiwan Traditional Arts Center.

I moved in the Guest House of Academiaa Sinica yesterday from Howard Plaza Hotel, Taipei.

After answering some e-mails, I had breakfast at the T-Life Cafe' located at the ground floor of the Guest House.

I took some photos within and outside the guesthouse. Below is the link to the photos:

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/108

Later today, I will visit some electronic shops in downtown Taipei.

Cheers,

Raffy

in Taipei, Taiwan

4/13/08, 09:45

Closing Ceremony: International Symposium On Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

(a) Dr. Simon LIN


(b) Dr. Ludek MATYSKA



ISGC 2008
Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
11 April 2008

(17:30 - 18:15)

Closing Ceremony & Speech

Chair:

Simon C. LIN (Academia Sinica, Taiwan)

Closing Speech:

"European Grid Initiative -- Current Status"
Ludek MATYSKA (CESNET, Czhekoslovakia)

Grid Applications In Biomedicine And Life Sciences II : International Symposium On Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

(a)


(b)

(c)


(d)

Photo Captions:

(a) Peter RICE
(b) Kao-Cheng YIN
(c) Francois GREY
(d) Yannick LEGRE



Application – Biomedicine and Life Sciences II

Chair: Peter RICE (European Bioinformatics Institute, United Kingdom)

Speakers:

"A Grid-based Medical Decision Support System"
Kao-Cheng YIN (Feng Chia University, Taiwan)

"Tackling Humanitarian Challenges with Citizen Cyberscience"
Francois GREY (CERN, Switzerland)

"SHARE: A Roadmap for Wide Adoption and Deployment of Grid Technology for Health in Europe"
Yannick LEGRE (Healthgrid, France)

Grid Applications in Biomedicine And Life Sciences I : International Symposium On Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(Top to Bottom)

(a) Julius Pukacki
(b) Mason Hsiung
(c) Sigfried Benckner
(d) Anette Weisbecker


ISGC 2008
Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
11 April 2008

14:10 - 15:40

Application – Biomedicine and Life Sciences I


Chair: Yannick LEGRE (Healthgrid, France)

Speakers:

"Secure grid services for cooperative work in medicine and life science"
Anette WEISBECKER (Fraunhofer IAO, Germany)

"The @neurIST Biomedical Grid Infrastructure"
Siegfried BENKNER (University of Vienna, Austria)

"Virtual Screening Service Based on Grid Application Platform"
Mason HSIUNG (ASGC, Taiwan)

"Grid Technologies for Cancer Research in the ACGT Project"
Juliusz PUKACKI (Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center, Poland)

Grid Activities in Asia Pacific: International Symposium On Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

(a) Dr. Marco PAGANINI (Italy) - Chair




(b) LEE (Singapore)






(c) VANNARAT (Thailand)




(d) SUHARDAMIN (Thailand)

(e) BABILONIA (Philippines)

ISGC 2008
Academia Sinica,

Grid Activities in Asia Pacific III

Chair: Marco PAGANONI (INFN, Italy)

Speakers:

"Grid Services Provisioning"
Hing-Yen LEE, (NGO, Singapore) (remotely)

"Computing and Information Grid Development in Thailand"
Sornthep Sornthep VANNARAT (NECTEC, Thailand)

"GRID Initiatives in Indonesia"
Basuki SUHARDIMAN (ITB, Indonesia)

"Grid Activities in the Philippines through the Philippine e-Science Grid Program"
Rey Vincent P. BABILONIA (ASTI, Philippines)

Melvin Koh (Sun Microsystems, Singapore) On Grid and Cloud Computing: ISGC 2008, Taipei, Taiwan

Photo caption: Melvin Koh of Sunmicrosystems (Singapore) is shown giving a talk during the Industry Session of the International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), 11 April 2008, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. Photo taken by Raffy Saldaña(http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com)

ISGC 2008

Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

11 April 2008

Melvin Koh
Senior Techinal Specialist
Global Systems Practice
Sun Microsystems, Singapore

Topic:

"On-Demand Computing using Network.com
Network.com
Utility based infrastructure and Application Services"

Vision:

Reliable
Scalable
Multi-source
Multi-tenancy
Predictable pricing
Standard infrastructure

Dr. Moon Kim (IBM, USA) On Grid and Cloud Computing: ISGC 2008, Taipei, Taiwan

Photo caption: Dr. Moon Kim of IBM (USA) is shown giving a talk during the Industry Session of the International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), 11 April 2008, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. Photo taken by Raffy Saldaña (http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/)

ISGC 2008

Academia, Sinica, Taipie, Taiwan

11 April 2008

Industry Session

Moon J. Kim

IBM Senior Technical Staff Member

Chief Architect and Master Innovator

moonkim "at" us.ibm.com

Grid Motivations

Accelerate Business Processes
- Faster, more accurate decision making
Productivity and Collaboration
- Access to distributed data, information insight
IT Optimization
- Improve
Accelerate. Collaborate. Optimize
IBM: 45, 000 developers
Server Grid Infrastructure
Grid services
Grid management center
Grid resource controller
Virtual Storage
Data Grid
Content Delivery
Cloud Computing
A cloud is a pool
Vietnam Ministry Leverages Cloud to Run Innovation Program

CNGrid Team

Dr. Fabrizio Gagliardi (Microsoft, USA) On Grid and Cloud Computing (ISGC 2008)

Photo caption: Dr. Fabrizio Gagliardi is shown giving a talk during the Industry Session of the International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), 11 April 2008, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. Photo by Raffy Saldaña (http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com)

09:00 - 09:20

"Grid and Cloud Computing: Opportunities and Challenges for e-Science"

Fabrizio GAGLIARDI

Microsoft, USA

Outline:

• The Experience of the Grid



• Examples beyond e-Science



• Issues and new trends: Green Grid and Cloud Computing



• Cost considerations



• Conclusions

1.0 The Experience of the Grid

Grids for e-Science: a success story so far?

Grids beyond e-Science?

- Slower adoption: prefer differnt environments, tools and have different TCOs

> Intra grids, internal dedicated clusters, cloud computing

- e-Business applications

> Finance, ERP, SMEs

- Industrial applications

> Automotive, aerospace pharmaceutical, telecom

- e-Government applications

> earth observation, etc.

- Industry also demostrated interest in becoming an HPC insfrastructure provider:

> on-demand infrastructures:

a. cloud and elastic computing, pay as you go...

b. data centers: data getting more and more attention

> service hosting: outsourced integrated services

- "Pre-commercial procurement"

> reserch-industry collaboration in Europe to achieve new leading-edge products

a. example: PRACE building a PTeflop Supercomputer

e-Infrastructure in Europe

a. research network infrastructure

b. computing grid infrastructure

c. data and knowledge infrastructure

d. a series of other products

Emerging new trends: Green Grid and Pay per ... CPU/GB

The Green Grid, IBM Big Gree and other IT industry initiatives try to address current HPC limits

Cloud computing and storage in demand

Amazon EC2

Industry Session: International Symposium On Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

ISGC 2008
International Symposium on Grid Computing
Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
11 April 2008 (Friday)

09:00 - 10:20 Industry Session

MOderator: Craig LEE

Speakers:

"Grid and Cloud Computing: Opportunities and Challenges for e-Science"
Fabrizio GAGLIARDI (Microsoft, USA)

"Resource Virtualization and Optimization via Grid and Cloud Computing"
Moon KIM (IBM, USA)

"On-Demand Computing Using Network.com"
Melvin KOH (Sun Microsystems, Inc., Singapore)

Grid Activities In Asia Pacific II: International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

Grid Activities in Asia Pacific II
ISGC 2008, Taipei, Taiwan
10 April 2008 (Thursday)

Chair: Simon C. LIN (Academia Sinica, Taiwan)

Speakers:

"Australia's National Infrastructure for Research"
Markus BUCHORN (ANU, Australia) (Remotely)

"Grid Opeartion at Tokyo Tier-2 Center for Atlas"
Hiroyuki MATSUNAGA (University of Tokyo, Japan)

"In vitro Validation of Virtual Screening Method Using HEalth GRID for the Development of Neurominidase Inhibitor"
Young-Min KIM, Doman KIM (CNU, Korea)

"Water Resource Data GRID of Thailand"
Royol CHITRADON (HAII, Thailand)

The Academic Grid (A-Grid), A Learning Grid for Malaysia: Motivation and Future Plans"
Suhaimi NAPIS (Universiti Putra Malaysia)

"Grid Activities in China"
Gang CHEN (Chinese Academy of Science, China)

"Grid Computing for Health and Evironment: Experiences and Perspectives in the Philippines"
Rafael SALDAÑA (Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines)

"IOT-HCM System and Grid Activities in Vietnam"
Tan Van LANG (Institute of Information Technology, Vietnam)

Grid Activities In Asia Pacific I: International Symposium On Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

Grid Activities in Asia Pacific I
ISGC 2008
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Chair: Marco PAGANONI (INFN, Italy)

Speakers:

"High Energy Physics Related GRID Activity in India"
Atul GURTU (TIFR, India)

"e-Science Infrastructure and Applications in Taiwan"
Eric YEN (ASGC, Taiwan)

"K e-Sicence: Korea Science Gateay"
Beob Kyun KIM and Soonwook HWANG (KISTI, Korea)

"ThaiGrid: From Infrastructure to Services and Beyond"
Piyawut SRICHAIKUL (NECTEC) and Putchong UTHAYOPAS (ThaiGrid, Thailand)

"KnowledgeGRID Malaysia: The Next Journey of Malaysia's National Grid Computing Initiative"
Luke Jing YUAN (MIMOS, Malaysia)

"Grid Activities at KEK and Future Plans"
Takashi SASAKI (KEK, Japan)

Group Photo: International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008), Taipei, Taiwan

Photo Caption: Photo of the Group Photo taken on April 9, 2008 in Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan on the occassion of the International Symposium on Grid Computing (ISGC 2008).

EUAsia Grid Kick-off Meeting, Day 2, April 9, 2008 (Taipei, Taiwan)

EUAsiaGrid Kick-off Meeting
3F, Building for Humanities and Social Sciences
Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
Wednesday, 9 April 208

Day 2

PROGRAM

(Working Package presentation and feedback from partners)

13:30 - 14:30 Working Package 2 (Alexander Voss, NCeSS, Univ. of Manchester, UK)
14:30 - 15:50 Working Package 3 (Ludek Matyska, CESNET, Czech Republic)
15:50 - 16:10 Coffee Break
16:10 - 16:50 Working Package 4 (ASGC, Taiwan)
16:50 - 17:30 Working Package 5 (Marco Paganoni, INFN, Italy)
17:30 - 18:00 Wrap Up (Marco Paganoni, INFN, Italy)

EUAsiaGrid Kick-off Meeting: More Photos (From Yannick Legre)

Click on the following link:

http://gallery.healthgrid.org/main.php?g2_itemId=7297

to view the photos.

EUAsiaGrid Kick-off Meeting - Taipei - 8th-9th April 2008

All EUAsiaGrid members are allowed to use and reproduce these photos for the purpose of the EUAsiaGrid project according that individual recognizable on each photo give explicit publishing rights.

For non-EUAsiaGrid project's member you shall request explicit usage rights by sending an email to disseminate(at)healthgrid.orgPlease, when publishing photos always mention:courtesy of Yannick Legré - www.healthgrid.org (c) 2008or courtesy of www.healthgrid.org (c) 2008

Opening Session: International Symposium On Grid Computing, Taipei, Taiwan

International Conference Hall

Academia Sinica

Taipie, Taiwan

9 April 2008 (Wedensday)

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON GRID COMPUTING
OPENING SESSION

08:30
Registration

09:00~10:00

Opening Remarks:

Chao-Han LIU, Vice President, Academia Sinica, TW
Maw-Kuen WU, Director, Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, TW

Keynote Speech: Conflicts and Synergies Between Academia and Industry
Craig LEE, The Aerospace Corporation, US


10:00~10:30
Group Photo & Coffee Break

10:30~12:30

Grid Activities in Asia Pacific I

Chairs: Marco PAGANONI, INFN, IT

Speakers:

High Energy Physics Related GRID Activity in India
Atul GURTU, TIFR, ID

e-Science Infrastructure and Applications in Taiwan
Eric YEN, ASGC, TW

K e-Science: Korea Science Gateway
Beob Kyun KIM, Soonwook HWANG, KISTI, KR
Glenn MOLONEY, University of Melbourne, AU(Cancelled)

ThaiGrid: From Infrastructure to Services and Beyond
Piyawut SRICHAIKUL, NECTEC, TH
Putchong Uthayopas, ThaiGrid, TH

KnowledgeGRID Malaysia: The Next Journey of Malaysia’s National Grid Computing Initiative Luke Jing YUAN, MIMOS, MY

Grid Activities at KEK and Future Plans
Takashi SASAKI, KEK, JP

Background on the EUAsia Grid Project

The Grid and High Performance Computing Research Group, School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University is now part of a European Commission 7th Framework Programme -- Research Infrastructures-Capacities (FP7) approved project.

Below are the details:

Project Title: EUASIAGRID - Towards a common e-Science infrastructure for the European and Asian Grids

Over-all Project Leader: Prof. Marco Paganoni, Instituto Nazional di Fisica Nucleare, Milan, Italy

Project Leader for Ateneo de Manila University: Dr. Rafael Saldaña

Project Members:

1. Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (Italy)
2. CESNET, z.s.p.p. (Czhech Republic)
3. University of Manchester (United Kingdom)
4. HealthGrid (France)
5. Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines)
6. The Australian National University (Australia)
7. Academica Sinica (Taiwan)
8. Advanced Science and Technology Institute (Philippines)
9. Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute (Thailand)
10. Infocomm Development Authority (Singapore)
11. Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Information Technology (Vietnam)
12. Institute of Technology of Bandung (Indonesia)
13. National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (Thailand)
14. Universiti Putra Malaysia (Malaysia)
15. MIMOS Berhard (Malaysia)

Abstract:

The EUAsiaGrid project contributes to the aims of the EU Research Infrastructure FP7 Programme by "promoting international interoperation between similar infrastructures with the aim of reinforcing the global relevance and impact of European e-Infrastructure."

The project's main goal will be to pave the way towards an Asian e-Science Grid Infrastructure, in synergy with the other European Grid inititiatives in Asia, namely EGEE-III via its Asia Federation, and both the EUChina GRID and EU-IndiaGRID projects and their eventual follow on efforts. Taking advantage fo the existing global Grid technologies, with the specific emphasis on the European experience with the gLite middleware and applications running on top of it, the project plans to to encourage federating approaches across scientific disciplines and communities. EUAsiaGrid will act as a support action, aiming to define and implement a policy to promote the gLite middleware developed within the EU EGEE project across Asian copuntries. Its main actions will be to spread disemination, provide training, support scientifica applications and monitor the results.

Project Launch: We (the EUAsiaGrid Partners) will have a kick-off meeting in Academica Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan on April 7-11, 2008 during the International Symposium on Grid Computing 2008 (http://www2.twgrid.org/event/isgc2008/ ). I will participate in the Symposium as an invited speaker and give a presentation on our experiences on biomedical applications of Grid Computing.

Our cluster system administrator Allan Espinosa will join me in the project launch in Taiwan.

By:

Rafael Saldaña, Ph.D.
Coordinator
Grid and High Performance Computing Research Group
School of Science and Engineering
Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108
PHILIPPINES
Tel./Fax.: +63 2 4266125
E-mail: raffysaldana@gmail.com
BLOG: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/

Vicky Huang: EUAsia Grid Kick-off Meeting, 8 April 2008

Vicky Huang (ASGC, Taiwan)

Dr. Simon Lin: EUAsia Grid Kick-off Meeting, 8 April 2008

Simon Lin (ASGC, Taiwan)

Dr. Jingyuan Luke: EUAsia Grid Kick-off Meeting, 8 April 2008

Jingyuan Luke (MIMOS, Malaysia)