Reprinted from AAPPS Bulletin, Vol. 4, No. 3&4, December 1994, p. 39.

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The Research Center for Theoretical Physics
in the Philippines
Christopher C. Bernido and M. Victoria Carpio-Bernido

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One morning December 1992, we had a Japanese physicist and long-time friend over for breakfast. We told him about the Research Center for Theoretical Physics (RCTP) which we were establishing in the island of Bohol in the southern part of the Philippines. We had this idea of a tropical haven for theoretical physicists which would, by its very nature, contribute to the national effort toward science development through physics research and training.

As a private initiative, we were establishing the RCTP without prior commitment of financial support from government or funding agencies. All we apparently had was the two of us (although, with less than ten active theoretical physicists in the country, we form a significant portion), and whatever resources we could pull together.

Probably marveling at such audacity, yet realizing our determination, our friend remarked that such bold enterprises were encountered in Japan during the Meiji era. That made us out-of-synch by over a hundred years. On the other hand, there lay various examples of timely response to challenge and opportunity, and eventual success, in the Meiji and post-war periods. At least on the local scale, we believe the RCTP project has a nonnegligible probability of success in achieving its objectives.

A Tropical Haven for Theoretical Physicists

The idea of creating the RCTP first came to us in December 1989 while on vacation in Jagna, a town in the southern part of the island province of Bohol. We were then atop Ilihan Hill overlooking the town and Bohol Sea. In the far distance, we could see the volcanic island of Camiguin known for its sandy beaches and sweet lanzones fruit. Turning around, we could see the Sierra Bullones mountain range extending from behind the town in the north.

It was then that we thought of creating in Jagna, a tropical center for physicists through which we could return, though in modest measure, the generosity and warm hospitality experienced in physics centers abroad by Filipino scientists like us. We wanted to share with those interested, Bohol's picturesque terrain and natural treasures largely untouched, its history, and the traditional and simple ways still maintained by Boholanos. Furthermore, although our chosen site for the RCTP is non-urban, the province is strategically located, with an airport and seaports linking it to the international gateway cities of Cebu and Manila. Guests could thus easily go to many places of interest in the Philippines and the rest of the Asia-Pacific area.
 

We envisioned the RCTP to be a tropical venue for small meetings, discussions or simple private retreat to gain new perspectives and ideas. It could be a place where interfaces between various areas of physics could be explored in an informal and relaxed atmosphere provided by the provincial Filipino setting.

By the Bootstraps

To be able to achieve our idea on a fuller scale, it was natural for us to create the RCTP as something new, though initially modest and humble. Its independence from traditional state or private universities in the country would allow greater freedom and minimal bureaucracy. At the same time, from our neutral position, we could contribute more effectively in upgrading standards of advanced physics instruction in various educational institutions in the area through linkages, workshops, and sandwich research training programs.

The next crucial question would be whether we would be able to find enough resources to fund activities of the RCTP.
Since the RCTP will primarily be a venue for fundamental scientific inquiry, it cannot guarantee immediate technological applications - a luxury in a poor country like the Philippines. Thus, we cannot easily demand any prior large scale commitment from the state to support such a center. The private sector in the country is also unfamiliar with the concept and would, if ever, consider research in theoretical physics of very low potential as a lucrative enterprise.

We recalled, however, from visits to various research centers abroad, that the establishment of centers for basic theoretical work in physics requires minimal funding compared to advanced research laboratories in experimental and applied physics. The essential ingredients needed to start, and eventually to generate support for, such centers simply include: (i) a core of trained and dedicated physicists willing to run the center, (ii) a site conducive for theoretical research, and (iii) the center's ability to attract first-rate physicists from the local and international scientific community for its activities. With focus on such essentials, history has shown that the ratio of scientific gain to cost of funding can be significantly high.

Thus, in a bootstrap approach, we planned a scientific and financial program on a project-by-project basis for the first three to four years. As a research center, the RCTP would conduct research workshops and lecture series, with limited participation, but rigorous enough to foster active frontier research and scientific collaboration among local and foreign physicists. As a service function, the RCTP would also conduct training workshops for secondary and tertiary physics teachers. (In the Philippines, over 85% of physics teachers are not qualified to teach the course.) Financial support from government and private institutions could be solicited for such projects. Once a significant track record is established, linkages with and support from major institutions and sponsors will be explored to supplement RCTP resources, and thus allow a wider range of scientific activities.

Initial Activities

As established in December 1992, the formal objectives of the RCTP are (1) to be a haven for theoretical physicists; (2) to be a center for advanced training in theoretical physics; and (3) to develop and nurture a strong tradition of frontier research in theoretical physics in the country.

In line with these objectives, the RCTP conducts local and international workshops, conferences, seminars and symposia. Two modes for training in research will be followed: (1) through topical schools and colleges, and (2) through graduate level sandwich programs where masteral and doctoral students are sent to the RCTP for their thesis research. For these, linkages with various universities in the country are being worked out.

In the summer of 1993, the RCTP conducted the first of regular training workshops for secondary physics teachers. Significant financial support was given by the Science Education Institute (SEI) of the Department of Science & Technology (DOST), the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), and the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE) under the recommendation of the Department of Education, Culture & Sports (DECS). In 1995, the second training workshop will be a 6-week course on nuclear science cohosted with the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI).

On 4-7 January 1995, the RCTP is holding the "First Jagna International Workshop on Advances in Theoretical Physics" where lecturers include Profs. N. N. Bogolubov, Jr. (Moscow), Y. M. Cho (Seoul), H. Ezawa (Tokyo), H. Fukuyama (Tokyo), M. C. Gutzwiller (New York), L. S. Schulman (New York), L. Streit (Bielefeld), G. 't Hooft (Utrecht), F. Wiegel (Enschede), and F. Wilczek (Princeton).

In this inaugural workshop, there will be about 25 participants for an informal but top-level, intense exchange of ideas and perspectives on outstanding problems in cosmology and particle physics, condensed matter physics, and biophysics, among others. Ample opportunity will also be given to young physicists to mingle and discuss with leading experts in theoretical physics.

Major sponsors of the RCTP's first international workshop include the DOST, UNESCO (ROTSEA, Jakarta), Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (AvH, Germany), NRCP, the Physical Society of the Philippines (SPP), the Philippine Convention & Visitors Corporation of the Department of Tourism (DOT), among others.

On the research side, the senior researchers and their students have produced a modest number of publications involving applications of the path integral method to exactly solvable problems. Recent works include the exact determination of the S-matrix for the noncentral Smorodinsky-Winteritz potentials via path integrals (Proc. of the Intl. Conf. on Path Integrals in Physics, Bangkok, Thailand, 7-12 Jan. 1993), exact path integral treatment, of the gravitational anyon in a magnetic field (J. Phys. A26, 1993) and the exact evaluation of the path integral for ring shaped topological defects (J. Phys. A 1994).

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The X-Factor: Family and Friends

During the difficult initial stages of establishing the RCTP, we are fortunate to have assistance from family and friends. With donations from our families augmenting our own personal resources, we have been able to construct a modest guesthouse for workshop participants, as well as acquire basic communication facilities. We are also forming a foundation to formally support, among others, the scientific programme of activities of the RCTP.

Initial infrastructure and staff is being provided by the Central Visayan Institute (CVI), Inc. which runs a secondary school of the same name in Jagna. CVI was founded in 1929 by the late Governor Filomeno Casenas of Bohol (the first author's grandfather) with the primary objective of providing quality education outside the provincial capital. Though a small provincial school with modest facilities, it has been a pilot school for science in the province and has graduated distinguished alumni including a former president of the University of the Philippines and national engineering board topnotchers. CVI has given full support to the RCTP idea in the hope that the RCTP would contribute in upgrading physics education in the province.

For the RCTP scientific Advisory Committee, we are fortunate to have: Prof. H. Ezawa of the Physics Department, Gakushuin University, Tokyo, (formerly Dean of the Faculty of Science, Gakushuin Univ.; elected President, Japan Physical Society for 1995-1996); Prof. S. C. Lim of the Physics Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia (Editor of the Bulletin of the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies); Prof. F. W. Wiegel of the Center for Theoretical Physics, Twente University, Enschede, Netherlands (noted for his works on statistical physics, polymers and biophysics.); and Prof. D. M. Yanga of the National Institute of Physics, University of the Philippines (UP), Quezon City, Philippines (President, National Research Council of the Philippines and Dean, UP College of Science).

For adjunct senior researchers of the RCTP we have. Prof. A. D. Nazarea (Univ. of Chicago, '71; biophysics) and Dr. F. Buot (Univ. of Oregon; mesoscopic physics and nanoelectronics). Moreover, most of the invited speakers for the inaugural international workshop in January 1995 are friends who have kindly accepted our invitation to come to the RCTP and give lectures.

Outlook for the Future

At present, the RCTP, with its limited physical facilities, relies more on its human resources in a back-to-basics way.
However, with recent rapid advances in communication and information technology, we look forward to affordable, efficient, up-to-date, and globally linked facilities for the RCTP in the near future. Guest scientists could then be fully linked to major institutions abroad even as they enjoy the tropical Philippine setting of the RCTP.

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