Marine scientist professor emeritus is PHL's newest national scientist

A marine science expert whose research on seaweeds has benefited residents in many coastal areas in the Philippines has been declared a national scientist.

President Benigno Aquino III signed Proclamation 737 conferring the rank and title of National Scientist on Gavino Cajulao Trono Jr.

"(T)he work of Gavino Cajulao Trono, Jr., Ph.D., in the field of Marine Science is reflective of this pre-eminence and of the national genius that contributes to science and technology and to the progress of the Philippines and the world," Aquino said in the proclamation dated March 13 but posted on the Official Gazette website on Thursday.

An article posted on the Department of Science and Technology's National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) cited Trono's extensive research and developmental studies covered Central Visayas to Western Mindanao, including Zamboanga, Sulu and Tawi-tawi.

NAST named Trono as elected Academician for 2008 for his "important research activities on the seaweed flora/resources (that) have benefited the local seaweed industry."

It said his work on the culture of Eucheuma and/or Kappaphycus seaweeds led to "the most important livelihood among the coastal population in the country."

"The culture of Eucheuma and/or Kappaphycus is now the most productive livelihood among the coastal populations," it noted.

NAST added Trono was also the first to report the occurrence of “ice-ice” disease, which causes the tremendous loss of biomass in seaweed farms.

Trono, who hails from Negros Occidental, obtained his BS in Botany from the University of the Philippines in 1954.

He pursued his MS in Agricultural Botany from the Araneta University in 1961, and earned his Ph.D. in Botany (Marine) from the University of Hawaii (UH) through an East West Center Study Grant in 1968.

Trono became a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Department of Botany under the advisorship of the late professor Maxwell S. Doty for the rest of his five-year stint at the University.

"His graduate training at the UH further enabled his interest in the seaweed resources of the Philippines," the NAST said. — LBG, GMA News