UP's Pride and Glory
Prof. Eufemio T. Rasco Jr., PhD, a retired professor of the University of the Philippines Mindanao and an academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) of the DOST, has been conferred the title of Professor Emeritus by the UP Board of Regents during its 1352nd Meeting on 30 July 2020. Prior to joining UP Mindanao, Dr. Rasco served as a faculty member and an official of UP Los Baños and as a scientist in agricultural organizations. Prof. Rasco’s research and advocacies were plant breeding, genetically modified crops, underutilized bioresources, sustainable modern agriculture, and rural transformation through science-based support system for rice farmers, just to name a few. He is the author of The Unfolding Gene Revolution: Ideology, Science, and Regulation of Plant Biotechnology, which won the NAST Most Outstanding Book Award in 2008, and The Nypa Palm: Nature's Gift from the Age of the Dinosaurs, published in 2011. Some of the awards conferred to Dr. Rasco are the following: Outstanding Senior Staff from the UPLB Institute of Plant Breeding in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1990; UPLB Outstanding Alumnus for Vegetable Breeding in 1986; Achievement Award for Agriculture from the Camarines Norte Association in 1987; Bicol Exemplar Award from DOST in 1989; Outstanding Senior Faculty from the UP Mindanao Foundation Inc. in 2009; and the Outstanding Alumnus Award conferred by the UP Alumni Association in 2009. Dr. Rasco served for 18 years as a faculty member of the Department of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies from 1997 until his retirement in 2015. He served as dean of CSM for two terms from 27 August 1998 to 26 August 2004, and he was seconded to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) to become its executive director in July 2011. Dr. Rasco is the first professor emeritus from UP Mindanao.
