Alfredo Mahar Francisco Amante Lagmay (born October 4, 1966) is a Filipino geologist. He is executive director of

Project NOAH Project Noah is an online community dedicated to explore and document wildlife across the globe. "Noah" is an acronym for "networked organisms and habitats". This community formerly had an iPhone app in iTunes and an Android app in Google Play, ...

(Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) and a professor at the

National Institute of Geological Sciences The U.P. College of Science is one of the several colleges (''or degree-granting units'') of the University of the Philippines Diliman, the flagship campus of the University of the Philippines System. The college is composed of eight institute ...

of the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

Education and career

Lagmay earned his

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

in 1987 and M.Sc. in 1993 from the

.Lagmay, Alfredo Mahar
Curriculum Vitae
''University of the Philippines Diliman, National Institute of Geological Sciences'' He earned his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in geology from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 2001. He also became a visiting scientist at the Geophysics Department of

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

. He is currently a faculty member of the

of the

. Upon returning to the university as a professor, his research interest focused on volcanic behavior and implications for human activities. His expertise on disaster mitigation allowed him to lead DOST's

as executive director in 2012; Project NOAH has been described as the country's leading disaster prevention and mitigation program. Lagmay has published detailed analyses of major disasters in the Philippines such as the Guinsaugon landslide;

Mayon Mayon (; , ), also known as Mount Mayon and Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Albay in Bicol Region, Bicol, Philippines. A popular tourist spot, it is renowned for its "perfect cone" bec ...

eruptions; typhoons Ondoy, Sendong, Pablo, and Yolanda; and storm surges. He was part of the Philippine panel on the Philippine claim to

Benham Rise The Benham Rise, formally designated as Philippine Rise (Filipino: ''Talampas ng Pilipinas'') by the Philippine government, is an extinct volcanic ridge located in the Philippine Sea approximately east of the northern coastline of Dinapigue, I ...

in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Commission on the Law of the Sea. In 2013, Lagmay was awarded the Outstanding Filipino for Geology and Earth Science, and was awarded as "WikiPinoy of the Year" by WikiPilipinas in 2014 for “empowering the public with open information and insight into the significant issues affecting the country today.” Lagmay was awarded the Plinius Medal by the

European Geosciences Union The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is a non-profit international union in the fields of Earth, planetary, and space sciences whose vision is to "realise a sustainable and just future for humanity and for the planet". The organisation has headq ...

on 15 April 2015, in

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, for his "outstanding interdisciplinary natural-hazard research and natural-disaster engagement in the Philippines, particularly with respect to volcanic hazards, earthquakes, typhoons, landslides and floods." He is the first Asian to receive the award. Lagmay was also a radio personality. He co-hosted ''RED Alert'' on

DZMM DZMM (630 AM) Radyo Patrol is a radio station owned by Philippine Collective Media Corporation and operated conjointly with ABS-CBN Corporation under Media Serbisyo Production Corporation. The station's studios is located at the ABS-CBN Broad ...

with reporters Atom Araullo and Ted Esguerra. The radio program was recognized in the 9th Hildegarde Awards of St. Scholastica College in 2015, the Communication Management Award of Merit for the Multi-Audience Communication category by the Philippine Quill Awards for 2014 and the 2014 Catholic Mass Media Award (CMMA) for best educational radio program. Lagmay has been a consultant to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and a member of the Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering.

Personal life

Lagmay is the youngest son of Alfredo Lagmay, national scientist for experimental psychology and

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of Psychology at the

Awards and recognition

* Presidential Citation for Search and Rescue Work in Guinsaugon * Outstanding Research Award for advanced science and technology in the Philippines for innovative applications of space technology, 2008 *

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

Scientist awards, 2008 and 2011 * New Media Digital Heroes Award, 2012 * Cyberpress Best IT Product of the Year for development of the Project NOAH website and mobile tools, 2012 *

Professional Regulation Commission The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC; ) is a three-member commission attached to Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Its mandate is to regulate and supervise the practice of professionals (except lawyers, who are handled by the ...

Outstanding Professional of the Year in Geology, 2013 * The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award for Geology and Earth Science by the Junior Chamber International and the

Senate of the Philippines The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House of Representatives as the lower house. The ...

, 2013 * WikiPinoy of the Year by WikiPilipinas and Vibal Foundation, 2014 * Distinguished Alumni Award in Disaster Mitigation by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association, 2014 * Plinius Medal by the

, 2015 *

Gawad sa Kaunlaran The Gawad sa Kaunlaran () is awarded by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Area Command, and Major Service Commanders to Philippine citizens. It is the second highest distinction presented by the Armed Forces of the Philip ...

Asian Scientist 100 The Asian Scientist 100 is an annually published list of 100 prize-winning Asian researchers, academicians, innovators and business leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region and a range of scientific disciplines. Recipients "must have received ...

, ''

Asian Scientist ''Asian Scientist'' is an English language science and technology magazine published in Singapore. History and profile ''Asian Scientist'' was launched as a blog in March 2011 by Juliana Chan. The blog's popularity eventually led to a partnersh ...

'', 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagmay, Mahar 21st-century Filipino scientists Living people University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge 1966 births Filipino science communicators Filipino geologists