Duterte appoints UP professor as new DOST-ASTI director
PRESIDENT Duterte appointed Dr. franz Asunta de Leon as new director of the Advanced Science and Technology institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ASTI).
An associate professor at University of the Philippines Electrical and Electronics Engineering institute (UPD-EEEI), de Leon will lead DOST-ASTI in implementing its research and development (R&D) programs and projects in the field of information and communications technology (ICT), microelectronics and space technology.
De Leon was sworn into office by Science Secretary fortunato T. de la Peña on April 15 as the ninth director of ASTI. President Duterte made his appointment on March 30.
Present during the event held at the DOSTASTI Building in Diliman, Quezon City, were DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, and other DOST-ASTI officials.
The new DOST-ASTI director is a graduate of BS Electronics and Communications Engineering and MS in Electrical Engineering in 2003 and 2005, respectively. He earned his PHD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom in 2014.
He also served as part of the UP faculty for engineering students.
With interests in Digital Signal Processing for Audio and Communications, he was involved in one of the collaborative projects of DOST-ASTI with UPD-EEEI as the project leader for the Development of a Philippine indigenous instrument Sounds Database, also known as Kalipunan ng Katutubong Tunog (Katunog).
“During these challenging times, there is a need for solutions and applications that will uplift our spirits and help us adjust to the new normal,” de Leon said on his appointment.
“As the new ASTI director, i want to make the filipinos enjoy the benefits of innovative solutions in the field of ICT, microelectronics and space technology. We will continue to work closely with our stakeholders to meet their expectations. We will also continue to invest not only in upgrading the facilities, but more importantly in our human resources to be agile and ready for the next generation technologies,”he added.
De la Peña congratulated de Leon on his appointment.
He added: “There is a big task ahead for the new director, and i am sure that his academic and research experience as an educator will help a lot. DOST-ASTI has a very good quality working team, but the challenge is how to increase their numbers. i am confident that something can be done about that.”
“The field that has been assigned to ASTI is something that will really transform the Philippines, and so we expect a lot of innovations and transformations that will come out of ASTI. i count on ASTI to contribute not only to new knowledge generation, to new technology generation, but toward the support for more commercial technologies that will boost our initiatives toward being competitive in the region,” de la Peña said.
Being the former Vice President for Planning and Development of the University of the Philippines, de la Peña said DOST-ASTI is the only research and development institute of DOST which he saw since it was established, “and i was very happy with its inception.”
DOST-ASTI was recently headed by Dr. Joel Joseph Sacro Marciano Jr., who is now the director general for Philippine Space Agency.
Established in 1987 by Executive Order 128, DOSTASTI undertakes scientific research and development and technology transfer in the advanced fields of ICT, computing, electronics, and their applications.