NIP REPORT January 2006- May 2007 - The UP College of Science ...

in terms of research outputs, students graduated and faculty development. While there has been a noted
increase in the ISI publication in the area of Photonics, it is highly desirable that we will also be able to
have increased research output, in terms of ISI publications and Ph.D graduates, in the other fields of
Physics. At the end of the workshop the faculty affirmed that our vision for the next three years remain
the same.
To achieve this end the NIP also reviewed the performance of its undergraduate and graduate
programs and how it will have an impact on our goal. We have succeeded in maintaining the number of
BS graduates within the 30-40/year range. This is considerably larger compared to what it was 6 years
ago. It is important that the infrastructures to keep or increase this number are strengthened. These include
close monitoring of the performance of the undergraduate students particularly in their 3 rd year and up,
and active recruitment of these students into the research laboratories.
The number of graduate students has increased considerably over the past years. This was due a)
the increased graduation rates of our undergraduate program and b) the NIP MS program becoming
attractive to students who got their BS Physics or related fields at other institutions. However, the number
of MS graduates over the past years has been hovering only at 11 /year. The NIP will institute measures
to increase the number of MS graduates since this will also mean a bigger pool of students for the Ph.D
program. Among these measures are a) the institution of bridge programs for graduate students whose
undergraduate preparation are not at par to NIP’s BS programs and b) close coordination with funding
agencies such as DOST/PCASTRD and DOST SEI to support the scholarships of students in the bridge
program . Proposals are also being prepared to increase the graduation rate in our Ph.D program. This
year we had a large pool of MS graduates who opted not to pursue our Ph.D program. Among the
measures that will be pursued include a) finding means to reduce the teaching load of our instructors so
that they are able to perform well also in their graduate studies and b) seeking for more scholarships from
CHED and other government Institutions to allow the students to do their doctoral studies on a full time
basis.
With the coming completion of the NIP building, issues of space for research laboratories will
no longer be a limiting problem for NIP. We will now focus our attention to our faculty profile. We will
try to increase the number of Ph.D faculty members working in subfields which we are weak while at the
same time support and maintain the areas where we have considerable strength. As we now increase in
numbers we will move towards having research profesors items and postdoctoral positions at NIP.
Arnel Salvador, Ph.D
Director
National Institute of Physics
October 2007
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