Arturo Pineda Alcaraz (March 21, 1916 – March 10, 2001Vasquez, N. C. (2001, April – June). In Memoriam: Arturo P. Alcaraz. ''

IGA Iga may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ambush at Iga Pass, a 1958 Japanese film * Iga no Kagemaru, Japanese manga series * Iga, a set of characters from the Japanese novel '' The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'' Biology * ''Iga'' (beetle), a gen ...

News'', pp. 6 -7.) was a Filipino

volcanologist A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...

known for his work on

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pres ...

. He received the 1982

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealis ...

for Government Service.

Early life and education

Arturo Pineda Alcaraz was born on March 21, 1916, to Conrado Alcaraz and Paz Pineda in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. Due to his father's occupation as a government auditor, the Alacaraz family moved often. He completed his elementary school education in

Lucena Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the province of Quezon where it is geographically situated but, in t ...

Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon ( tl, Lalawigan ng Quezon), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of th ...

and had his high school education in

Camarines Norte Camarines Norte ( bcl, Amihanan na Camarines; fil, Hilagang Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Norte, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Daet, Camarin ...

and

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

.Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. (1982)
Alcaraz, Arturo Pineda , Biography
. Manila: Author His father's cousin, Leopoldo Faustino, who was then Head of the Division of Mines of the Bureau of Science, inspired Alcaraz to pursue a career in mining. In 1933, he enrolled in the College of Engineering of the

University of the Philippines Manila The University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) is a state-funded medical and research university located in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It is known for being the country's center of excellence in the health sciences, including health professio ...

since no university in the country offered a mining-related degree at that time. However, a year later the Mapúa Institute of Technology offered a degree in

mining engineering Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

where Alcaraz transferred to and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1937. After graduating, he joined the Bureau of Mines. He then received his

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in Geology from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

in 1941 through a government scholarship. On his way back to the Philippines, Alcaraz boarded a Japanese ship in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. While the ship was crossing the Pacific Ocean, the United States government froze all Japanese assets. As a result, Alcaraz and the other returning Filipino scholars were stranded in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

after the ship failed to continue to the Philippines, which was a territory of the United States at that time. Assisted by the American Embassy, they were able to return to Manila by the end of August 1941. In 1948, Alcaraz received a grant from the United States Government under the postwar Rehabilitation Act to study microseismology at the Opa-locka Naval Air Station in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. In 1955, he was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

and received a Certificate in

Volcanology Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin word ''vulcan''. Vulcan was the anci ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. He was also awarded a

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

Fellowship and took a three-month training course on geothermal energy at

Kyushu University , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university located in Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu. It was the 4th Imperial University in Japan, ranked as 4th in 2020 Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings, one of the top 10 Design ...

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

, Japan.

Career

After graduating in 1937, Alcaraz joined the Bureau of Mines as an aide in the geology division. A year later, he went to the United States to study for his master's degree. Upon his return in 1941, the Bureau of Mines assigned him to

Busuanga Island Busuanga, is the largest island in the Calamian Group of islands in the province of Palawan in the Philippines. Busuanga Island is the second largest island in the province after Palawan island itself. The island is located halfway between the i ...

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

to study

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

deposits. After the Japanese victory at Corregidor in May 1942, Alcaraz returned to Manila to visit his family. He learned that the Japanese occupation government had reduced the Bureau of Mines into a

skeleton crew A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item such as a business, organization, or ship at its most simple operating requirements. Skeleton crews are often utilized during an emergency and are meant to ...

of which he was not a part of. In 1943, Maximo Lachica, the Director of the Philippine Weather Bureau, offered him the post of Chief Geophysicist. Alcaraz had met Lachica on the ship from San Francisco. After the Allied victory in the Battle of Manila, Alcaraz took leave from the Weather Bureau and did a few months of volunteer work as a civilian engineer for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and surveyed the Port Area for clearing and rebuilding. After the end of World War II, he remained as the Chief Geophysicist of the Weather Bureau. In 1947, Alcaraz studied the eruption of the

Mayon Volcano Mayon ( bcl, Bulkan Mayon; tl, Bulkang Mayon, ), also known as Mount Mayon and Mayon Volcano ( es, Monte Mayón, Volcán Mayón), is an active stratovolcano in the province of Albay in Bicol, Philippines. A popular tourist spot, it is renown ...

. Since he did not have a personal vehicle, he travelled around the base of the volcano on public buses. He also met with municipal officials and discussed contingency plans for the local population. In December 1951,

Mount Hibok-Hibok Mount Hibok-Hibok (also known as Catarman Volcano) is a stratovolcano on Camiguin Island in the Philippines. It is one of the active volcanoes in the country and part of the Pacific ring of fire. Description Volcanologists classify Hibok-Hibok ...

Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; tl, Lalawigan ng Camiguin; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Min ...

released a ''nuée ardente'' (burning cloud of hot ash and gas) which resulted in 600 deaths. As a result, the Commission on Volcanology (ComVol) was officially created under the National Research Council. Alcaraz was appointed Chief Volcanologist, a post which he held until 1974. During his tenure as Chief Volcanologist, the ComVol monitored the 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969 eruptions of the Taal Volcano, and the 1968 eruption of the

References

External links

The 1982 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service - Citation for Arturo Pineda Alcaraz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcaraz, Arturo 1916 births 2001 deaths People from Manila Filipino volcanologists Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Mapúa University alumni

Early life and education

Career

See also

Further reading

References

External links