Dr. Vivian Azucena-Topor of the Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), received the Outstanding Achievement Award in Chemistry Education - Tertiary Level from the Philippine Federation of Chemistry Societies (PFCS) on Oct. 1, 2022.
Topor received the award via Zoom during the 36th Philippine Chemistry Congress.
The PFCS recognizes outstanding contributions to Chemistry through the PFCS Outstanding Achievement Awards, according to its website.
The awards aim to inspire the youth to take up chemistry; recognize outstanding contributions of chemists to the development of discipline; and recognize outstanding and exemplary contributions to society through chemistry.
In her response, Topor said, “let us continually serve as willing vessels to satisfy the curiosity of young minds just like how those beakers and flasks sparked my interest in Chemistry and gave me a very fulfilling direction.”
“This is not only an honor, but most importantly, this is a responsibility that I accept with pride and humility,” she added.
The said award is among the growing number of recognitions she has gained through the years as she further contributes to science and the academe.
She recently received the Leave a Nest Award, awarded by Tech Planter for the Ready-to-Eat Granulated Cassava, and the 2021 Distinguished Award in Education by the Philippine Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PSBMB), respectively, in May and December last year.
She also received the One UP Professorial Chair Award in Teaching and Research from the UP System for the period Jan. 2019 – Dec. 2021.
Topor is currently an associate professor at the Department of Chemistry, CAS, UP Visayas.
She started her career in the academe as a secondary school teacher of the Special Science Class at the Iloilo National High School from 1990 to 1996.
She has since then been teaching Chemistry and Biochemistry at the tertiary level for more than two decades, starting as an instructor at UPV Division of Physical Sciences and Math in 1996.
In that span, she also became visiting professor and department head at the Department of Chemistry of A.M. Dogliotti College of Medicine/School of Pharmacy of the University of Liberia in Monrovia, Liberia from 2008 to 2012.
She shared that she is nine months away from her retirement in service at UPV.
She has authored or co-authored books such as Cassava in the Food Basket: Varieties, Processing Methods, and Cyanide Levels; Behind the Beautiful Blossoms, the colors, the pH and the wildflowers’ untapped potentials; CyAnSS of Cassava. Cyanide Analysis and Shelf-Life Studies of Selected Cassava Varieties at Different Maturity Stages; and ChemSearch & ChemPuzzle (Ionic Compounds Series).
Topor has a PhD and a master’s degree in Biochemistry from UP Los Baños. She is a Bachelor Of Science in Chemistry graduate from the University of San Agustin in Iloilo City. (With sources from PFCS)
