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Meet the Filipino team joining NASA's research on Metro Manila air quality

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Josiah Antonio

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/Filipino-team-joining-NASA&#x27;s-research.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner"><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em>Photo from DENR&#x27;s Facebook page.</em></span><em> </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — A team of Filipino engineers and air quality experts will be joining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on research on air quality in Metro Manila and nearby areas, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Wednesday.</p><p>The scientific research flights from February 11 to 15 are meant to help them &quot;to study the atmosphere in Metro Manila and its surrounding regions from space to the surface of the earth.&quot; </p><p>The partnership, called Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA – AQ), brings together experts from NASA in the United States, the Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), South Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).</p><p>In the Philippines, this collaboration also involves the Philippine Space Agency, Manila Observatory, Ateneo de Manila University, and University of the Philippines. </p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/19/23/denr-to-sign-agreement-with-nasa-for-air-quality-endeavors">DENR to sign agreement with NASA for air quality endeavors</a></div><p>“The EMB (Environmental Management Bureau) team of young and dedicated engineers and air quality specialists will join the flights to learn and observe so we can build technical capacity and expertise,” DENR chief Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga added. </p><div><strong>WHO ARE THEY?</strong></div><p>Engineer Chadbert Nikko Aquino, a 29-year-old ambient air quality monitoring specialist, will be leading the EMB team.</p><p>Joining Aquino are Paul Vallar, 29, who has a background in chemical engineering and expertise in stationary source and ambient air quality monitoring along with Brix Faustino, 30, who has a degree in applied physics with a specialization in instrumentation. He is also an ambient air quality monitoring specialist.</p><p>Completing the Filipino experts joining NASA are Electronics and Communications Engineering graduates Billy William Franco, 39, and Zeus Aragones, 34, who works for DENR-EMB&#x27;s Region 3 and National Capital Region office, respectively.</p><p>All team members are licensed engineers.</p><p>DENR said the group will be joined by lead scientists from the United States, which will be led by Dr. Barry Lefer, NASA’s tropospheric composition program scientist; Dr. James Crawford, ASIA-AQ lead scientist at NASA Langley Research Center; and Dr. Louisa Emmons, ASIA-AQ forecasting team lead at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. </p><p>They will be collaborating with atmospheric scientists from the Manila Observatory’s Air Quality Dynamics Laboratory composed of Dr. James Bernard Simpas, Dr. Maria Obiminda Cambaliza, and Dr. Melliza Cruz, the agency added.</p><p>The team will go on four research flights aboard two aircraft employed by ASIA-AQ, the Gulfstream G-III and Douglas DC-8 that NASA will be operating out of Clark, Pampanga.</p><p>“This collaboration with NASA and other respected partners will lead to significant advances in our understanding of air pollution and our ability to tackle this pressing issue,” the DENR chief earlier said. </p><p>“The data gathered from the research flights will be used in our programs to mitigate air quality issues that affect public health and address climate change,” she added.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/07/23/denr-philsa-to-create-natural-resources-database">DENR, PhilSA to create database of natural resources</a></div><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES:</strong></div><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="2953505"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script><div><br/></div>

<p>Five engineers and air quality experts will be joining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for its air quality research efforts in Metro Manila this February, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Wednesday.</p>

Five engineers and air quality experts will be joining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for its air quality research efforts in Metro Manila this February, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Wednesday.