Arturo Pineda Alcaraz was a Filipino volcanologist known for his work on geothermal

energy. He received the 1982 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service.

Born: 21 March 1916, Manila

Died: 10 March 2001

Awards: Guggenheim Fellowship for Natural Sciences, Latin America & Caribbean

Education: University of Wisconsin-Madison (1941), Mapúa University (1937)

Fields: Volcanology, Seismology

Arturo Pineda Alcaraz is also known as the (Philippine) Father or Geothermal Energy
Development because of his contributions to Philippine volcanology. He graduated from
Mapua Institute of Technology with a degree in Marine Engineering in 1937. He then finished
his Master of Science in Geology at the University of Wisconsin in 1941. Later on, in his career
as a volcanologist, he went to the University of Berkeley to undergo intensive training and
education and received a Certificate in Volcanology with the help of the Philippine
Commonwealth government.

ALCARAZ AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Doctor Arturo Alcaraz pioneered in generating electricity by means of geothermal steam among
areas proximate to volcanoes. His main contribution was the study and establishment of
geothermal power plants in the Philippines and in the 1980s, the Philippines attained the
second-highest geothermal generating capacity in the world, in great part due to Alcaraz's
contributions. With a vast and extensive knowledge on volcanoes in the Philippines, Alcaraz
explored the possibility of harnessing geothermal steam to produce energy. He succeeded in
1967 when the country's first geothermal plant produced much-needed electricity, ushering the
era of geothermal-based energy to power up homes and industries. In 1967, Arturo Alcaraz and
team powered an electric light bulb using steam-powered electricity. Power came from a
volcano near the town of Tiwi. This was the first geothermal power generated in the
Philippines. Pioneered in generating electricity by means of geothermal steam among areas
proximate to volcanoes. The Commission on Volcanology was officially created by the National
Research Council in 1951, and Alcaraz was appointed Chief Volcanologist, a senior technical
position he held until 1974. Along with his colleagues, he was able to set up a working model in
Tiwi, Albay. It was in this position that he and his colleagues were able to prove that energy
could be generated by geothermal energy. A steam from a one-inch hole drilled 400 feet to the
ground powered a turbo-generator which lighted up a light bulb. It was a milestone in the
Philippines' quest for energy self-sufficiency. Thus, Alcaraz carved his name in the global field of
Geothermal Energy and Mining." Alcaraz was the 1982 Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient for
government service for his scientific insight and selfless perseverance in guiding Filipinos to
understand and use one of their greatest natural resources.

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources of
geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles
beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of
molten rock called magma.

Because of Alcaraz' discoveries the Philippines was able to be the second geothermal
generating country in the world in the 1980s.

Nowadays, geothermal power plants supply an important part of the nation's power. It gives
less pollution compared to the conventional fossil fuel plants.
Educational Background

ARTURO PINEDA ALCARAZ was born in Manila in 1916 and grew up in Baguio where his father
was city auditor during the gold mining boom. After studying a year at the University of the
Philippines, ALCARAZ transferred to Mapua Institute of Technology when it offered the first
degree in mining engineering. He earned a masters degree in geology at the University of
Wisconsin and returned home in 1941 to be assigned by the Bureau of Mines to the island of
Busuanga. Next posted to the Weather Bureau, its director, Maximo Lachica, introduced him to
the science of seismology.

What made him pursue a career in Science?

In 1952 the Philippine Congress responded to the destructive eruptions of Mount Hibok-Hibok
on Camiguin Island by creating the Commission on Volcanology. Assigned as Chief
Volcanologist, ALCARAZ began to pursue more fully the study of volcanos in order to improve
eruption warning and assess possibilities for use of stored heat beneath them.Dr. Alcaraz,
although faced with the fact that the money he is earning from what he does is not enough to
pay his children's college tuition, he did not seek for other jobs like his other schoolmates who
have better salary than him. Instead, he continued pursuing his passion.