MABUHAY AND WELCOME TO SAND!

The ICTP Asian Network School and Workshop on Complex Condensed Systems returns to the Philippines as the National Institute of Physics hosts it this year from 10 to 14 November 2025. It consists of a four-day school that provides pedagogical lectures in condensed matter physics, complex systems, and statistical physics, as well as a one-day workshop that showcases current trends and research results delivered in seminar-type talks.

SanD researchers presented 11 papers at the 43th Samahang Pisika ng Pilipinas Physics Conference at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City last 25 to 28 June 2025. Additionally, SPP celebrates the United Nations' observance of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, and chooses Entangled! as its theme with an addition of a new session topic Quantum Science and Technology for SPP2025. This international conference was one of the largest organized by SPP with 353 participants coming from eight countries.

SanD welcomes its newest faculty member Noel Lamsen. He joins us as an Associate Professor of the National Institute of Physics. He obtained his PhD in Statistical Physics at SISSA (International School for Advanced Studies) in Trieste, where he also obtained a research fellowship from November 2020 to February 2021. Dr. Lamsen's current work focuses on the theory of critical phenomena in low-dimensional systems by employing novel methods to obtain exact results.

The Asian Network School and Workshop on Complex Condensed Matter Systems 2023 was held on 6-10 November 2023 at the Institute of Physics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in Hanoi, Vietnam. This year, the Philippine node of the ICTP Asian Network was headed by SanD faculty Cristine Villagonzalo.

The Structure and Dynamics Research Program welcomes our new faculty member, Dr. Gennevieve Macam. She is currently an associate professor at the National Institute of Physics, University of the Philippines Diliman. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan where she also obtained her PhD in Physics. Dr. Macam works on computational materials physics research primarily using first-principles density functional theory for materials research and discovery.

Mary Chris Go (BS Applied Physics) participated in the 6-week 2019 MOST GASE Summer Program on Quantum Technology + AI organized by the Taiwanese Ministry of Science and Technology Center for Global Affairs and Science Engagement in Taipei this summer. She had her internship at the AIMIA (AI for Medical Image Analysis) Laboratory at the National Taiwan University (NTU). Her work focused on detecting polyps in medical images using YOLOv3 and she was recognized with an Outstanding Performance Award for Best Research.

The poster presentation of Daniel Marquez was recognized as the best technical poster at the recently concluded DOST-SEI ASTHRDP Graduate Scholars' Conference held last 18-19 June 2018. His presentation on the magnetic interaction in a two-dimensional electron gas is part of his MS thesis work supervised by Cristine Villagonzalo.

The ICTP Asian Network on Condensed Matter and Complex Systems links scientists of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste and several research groups in Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. The network node in the Philippines is coordinated by SanD faculty Cristine Villagonzalo and involves physicists from MSU-IIT, UP Diliman, and UP Los Baños.

Materials Science and Engineering masters student Meltion Chiong III was one of the poster presenters in the 9th Electronic Structure and Processes at Molecular-based Interfaces (ESPMI9) Conference held last 8-10 November 2017 at the National University of Singapore. His research employs density functional theory to describe the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide by the metalloorganic molecule cobalt-salen. The conference was jointly organized by the the Department of Chemistry and Department of Physics of the National University of Singapore.

SanD is collecting Math and Physics textbooks and scientific calculators via drop-off at the UPPA Tambayan. Received items will be packaged for the Mindanao State University–Main Campus Department of Physics by 08 December 2017.

Thank you!