Dr. Undan to lecture at the 2nd AIT Prominent Alumni Lecture Series
Professor Dr. Rodolfo C. Undan, AIT alumni (WRE' 69) and President, Central Luzon State University, Philippines will be the next speaker at the AIT Prominent Alumni Lecture Series to be held on 20 May 2005 at AIT. Prof. Undan will lecture on the topic of 'Irrigation Water Management for Sustained Agricultural Productivity in Asia.'
The Introductory Remarks will be delivered by Prof. Dennes T. Bergado on behalf of Mr. Chainarong Na Lamphun, President, AITAA.
The launching of the AIT Prominent Alumni Lecture Series was introduced and jointly organized by the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and the AIT Alumni Association (AITAA) on 21 February 2005 marking the AIT Prominent Alumni Lecture Series debut at AIT. At that time, Dr. Subin Pinkayan, AIT alumni (WRE' 61) and Chairman, SEATEC Group of Companies lectured on the topic 'Some Experiences of Hydro Power Development in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.'
The lecture series is designed to provide recognition to an Asian Institute of Technology Alumnus/a who have distinguished themselves and their alma mater through lifetime achievement and professional accomplishments. It will also serve as a platform through which the Institute can partner the alumni in activities that would be of great interest and benefit to the members of the AIT community, particularly the student body. This initiative will provide the students excellent and inspiring role models for students to emulate in the future. The lecture series also serves as an opportune occasion to acknowledge and appreciate the past and present contributions of the AIT alumni, which comprise an important and much respected part of the AIT family, for their important role of upholding a strongly positive image of AIT in the region and beyond.
The lecture will be followed by a question and answer session and concluded with a reception. Interested persons who would like to attend are requested to please kindly confirm their participation through e-mail: argie@ait.ac.th or call tel. ext. 6316
About the Prominent Alumni Speaker
Professor Undan currently serves as President of the Central Luzon State University (Philippines) since January 1999. He has held high level positions in the Philippine Government serving as Assistant Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and concurrently Officer-in-Charge/Director of DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research. He also served as Administrator of DA's National Irrigation Administration. A graduate of Central Luzon State University (B.S. in Agricultural Engineering) in 1962, he obtained his M. Eng. (Hydraulic Engineering) in1969 from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and Ph.D. in Agricultural & Irrigation Engineering in 1978 from Utah State University, Logan Utah, U.S.A.
Professor Undan is a renowned academician as well as an accomplished educator who pursued a brilliant career at the Central Luzon State University. Professor Undan has rose in academic ranks, from a teacher to full professor; taught in the elementary, high school, college, and graduate school. In the Central Luzon State University (Philippines), Professor Undan has served in different capacities - as Head of the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Dean of the College of Engineering, Research Director, Vice-President for Research, Extension and Training, Consortium Director of Central Luzon Agricultural Resources Research and Development Consortium; and Presidential Assistant for External Development. He has been working in the government for almost 43 years now.
In recognition of Professor Undan's achievements he was conferred with an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Agricultural Engineering Award by Her Royal Highness Princess Professor Dr Chulabhorn Valailakh during the Royal Commencement Exercises of Maejo University in Chiang Mai, Thailand on February 19, 2003. He also garnered 25 awards/citations, among these were the Pantas Award as Most Outstanding Research Administrator by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) in 2001; ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award-2000 presented during the 7th Congress of ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organization held in Hanoi, Vietnam on November 24, 2000; Achievement Award in the field of Engineering by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) in 1997; Most Outstanding Agricultural Engineer 1991-1992 by the Philippine Society of Agricultural Engineering (PSAE); 1991 Most Outstanding Professional in the field of Agricultural Engineering awarded jointly by the Professional Regulation Commission, Philippine Federation of Professional Associations & the Philippine Association of Board Examiners (PRC-PFPA-PABE); Plaque of Highest Excellence by the Wag-Wag Club in 1996; Natatanging Novo Ecijano '95 sa Larangan ng Agrikultura by the Nueva Ecija Provincial Government in 1995; AITAA-Philippines Outstanding AIT Alumnus (Academe category) in 1995, and Achievement Award in the field of Agricultural and Irrigation Engineering by the CLSU Alumni Association Inc. in 1986.
Professor Undan is an avid researcher and has published extensively in the field of agricultural and irrigation engineering. He was PCARRD Team Leader for Water Resources Research Commodity Team for 13 years; considered father of the nationally-adopted Small Farm Reservoir (SFR) technology in the Philippines; and currently promoting drip/sprinkler irrigation systems for high-value commercial crops. He has extended services to farmers, technicians and other clientele nationwide and led the expert volunteers in Nueva Ecija and the development of the Munoz Science Community Master Plan 2000, as well as an active member of professional/civic organizations.
Professor Undan is a farmer, an educator, a researcher-scientist, an extension worker, an administrator, a consultant, a writer, and a civic leader.