Science for the world
The coolest Science teacher you’ll meet is only a few years older than you
The coolest Science teacher you’ll meet is only a few years older than you
At 24 years old, John Frederick
Tapia is already a doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering through a scholarship grant from Department of Science and Technology-Engineering Research and Development for Technology. He is a Bachelor and Master of Science in Chemical Engineering graduate, a cum laude, a St. La Salle Scholar, and has placed fifth during the November 2014 Chemical Engineering Board examinations.
But despite his excellent academic records, he decided to take the road less traveled by becoming a teacher instead of going corporate. “I prefer teaching rather than working in the corporate world. Here, I handle my own schedule with my class and, most important, the result is very fulfilling when you know that you’re sharing what you know to young people. Once they graduate, you become part of their success,” says Tapia, a De La Salle University (DLSU) graduate.
As the youngest professor with a Ph. D. at DLSU, Tapia admits that the age gap between him and his students is just one year. “I was still able to build the respect between my students and me as their teacher. I easily relate to them and I don’t think they get shy around me when it comes to asking questions about the subject. I spark their interest through various class activities,” says Tapia. “I am currently teaching Environmental Engineering, Algebra, and I have a laboratory class for graduating students,” says Tapia.
Tapia has loved Math since he was young. When he studied high school at Caloocan Science High School, he saw his options when he was exposed to the different sciences like Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. “When I was choosing my college course, I realized that chemistry is a combination of math and other sciences. It is a balance of computation and analysis, which inspired me to take Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering,” he says.
According to him, a chemical engineer has a big role in the environment. “One major contribution of chemical engineers is to the environment because they are the people who design environmentallyfriendly technologies. For example, paper products. Production of paper consumes water. Chemical engineers should make sure that they design a process that would lessen the water consumption for producing paper by systematically planning a technology for that,” he says.
One research that Tapia did is the Carbon Capture Storage systems that reduce carbon dioxide emission to the environment and lessen its effect on climate change. “Although it helps the environment, there are still issues with this study, like the added cost of electricity, how feasible it can be, what you’ll do to the captured CO2, the storage options. There are those planning decisions and my research focused on that,” he says.
All of these research and teaching in the academe were inspired by Tapia’s family and his mentor Dr. Raymond
Tan, a chemical engineer at DLSU. “My family has been my number one motivation. We’re not that rich. I studied grade school in a public school, and then I moved on to a science high school through a scholarship, and all through college. My mom told me to do whatever I wanted and supported me all the way. Then I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Raymond Tan and I saw his growth,” he says. “I dream of surpassing his achievements. He was my inspiration to teach. He makes complicated things seem simple.”
Tapia also loves doing research and making time to learn new things.
When he’s not inside the classroom, you can sometimes find him playing table tennis and collecting board games (His current favorite board game is Sushi Go Party).
He wants to encourage students to also take up the chemistry field because it’s really interesting and it will provide you many options. “I want to remove the misconception that chemistry is an intense field to take and that you have to be good in Math to pass it. Anyone can study those things if they’re really determined. Once you reach third year and fourth year, it will become really interesting because it will teach you about different process plants and industries,” he shares.
In the long run, Tapia’s ultimate dream is to become a Nobel Prize winner and to become part of the National Academy of Science and Technology.
“Someday, I want to have scientific immortality,” he grins. “I want to contribute so much to science that even if I pass on, I still have that record that says I am an expert in this field.”
‘Someday, I want to have scientific immortality.’