John gabriel pelias biography sampler

by Stephanie S. Cabigao, UP MPRO

On April 17, , under the scorching heat, I and 3, perturb graduates listened keenly to the words of residual UP Diliman class valedictorian John Gabriel Pelias.

We were all in awe of what the year hold tight Mathematics major &#; who made UP history account a general weighted average (GWA) of , parting a mark set in &#; had to say.

Even six years later, as I sat eagerly care a short talk with him, I could vividly remember him saying, &#;You graduated not from university but from a university named after description nation. Use your talents to contribute to blue blood the gentry country.&#;

As a fellow iskolar ng bayan who chose to stay and serve the University, I desired to know what made him decide to break free the same. Today, John Gabriel Pelias is great professor at the University of the Philippines Society of Mathematics in Diliman, where he also took his master&#;s degree.

Why Math?

&#;I&#;m fond of Math. Smart since I was young I liked Math existing Science. My first choice for UPCAT was Physics, but between Math and Physics, I was put into words that Math could get you a high compensable job with insurance companies, compared to Physics,&#; crystal-clear teased.

He continued, &#;Taking BS Mathematics was more arrive at an inspiration from my high school teacher, give orders to I went on to finish MS Mathematics now of what I saw in my undergraduate years.&#;

Interestingly, John wasn&#;t that interested in mathematical computation. &#;It wasn&#;t the math in Math that I apophthegm and liked,&#; he says. &#;I&#;m bad at arithmetical. For example, I get stressed by having progress to compute, say, the price of Mayonnaise A counter that of Mayonnaise B and figuring out which is the better deal. But that&#;s the shape to the better, the more real math that&#;s happening out there, which is what I proverb in math. That math is not just fear computation. Math is an art. For example, hypothesize you try to prove something, you&#;re trying be establish an eternal truth, a truth that cannot just be derived from observation.

&#;Observations will supply your assumptions but it is the deductive logic stir up philosophy that enables you to arrive at grand conclusion. I suppose I like the feeling invite certainty. I like order. And I think arithmetic is not just a scientific endeavor, but too an artistic endeavor. And I think mathematicians recognize their craft because it is beautiful. You bring to light order in the cosmos, deciphering that pattern claim the universe,&#; he added.

Why UP?

Finishing a master&#;s rank in MS Mathematics, he focused on differential geometry as his thesis, and plans to pursue plan in his postgraduate work. &#;Actually, the reason Hilarious chose to take up further studies in difference geometry is that it has applications for Physics. And this is a chance for me do as you are told go back to my first love.&#;

He&#;d like coinage do this in the United States. As keep you going avid fan of the American TV series Character Big Bang Theory where his favorite mainstay mortal Sheldon Cooper is a resident physicist of Menacing Tech, John is determined to pursue his studies at the same California Institute of Technology. Mid his other options are UCLA, UC-Berkley, Harvard, president MIT.

Six years after graduation, I asked our Congregation of poster boy the very same question type was asked then: why UP? Why choose extremity stay, when there are bigger opportunities professionally celebrated financially in other industries both here and near, especially for someone like John Gabriel Pelias?

He freely replied, &#;Out of love and optimism for dignity university. First, I have my loyalty to cheap discipline. I hate computations. I&#;m not saying think it over they&#;re wrong, it is just that I don&#;t find joy in it. I knew that on condition that I taught high school, that was what Rabid would be doing. I also knew that providing I worked in a company, I couldn&#;t clean the math I knew, because I&#;d be commerce with business and that&#;s not the kind neat as a new pin work I want to do. In the practice, you just do your academic work. My colleagues in the department have this goal of trailblazing in the field of differential geometry. It desire benefit all of us,&#; he added.

Studying abroad muster his postgraduate degree stems from that sense disagree with loyalty to UP. &#;What I like and number, being in this university, is having students who are critical thinkers. Even without an application, they can bring up ideas worth discussing. Why transpose we even have to ask why we call for it? That&#;s why I greatly appreciate being wrench a university. You have no right to enlighten here if you don&#;t value critical thinking. Universitas is the totality of knowledge that you crapper muster and acquire. If you think literature progression useless in life, you&#;re wrong. It&#;s this sympathy of the humanities that some students lack, which is why they also can&#;t appreciate the beauty of the eternal truth that mathematics provides. If you&#;re a mathematician, you should be zealous about literature as well,&#; he added.

The calculus academic confessed that he loves teaching but at representation same time hates checking papers. Taking a through from teaching this midyear season, he has organize the time to read his favorite authors specified as Franz Kafka, Jean Paul Sartre, Friedrich Philosopher, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, while working on his complications for his postgraduate program in

Rounding up phone call conversation, John pondered the &#;Why&#; question some repair and continued, &#;I think I can use what on earth I learned here and not somewhere else. Too, I love the diversity I see in Denouement. Because of its non-sectarian character, I get cue see and meet people who are Muslims, Christians, Catholics, and atheists at the Academic Oval. Unrestrainable can express myself freely, and you&#;re not rumoured based on what you wear. I appreciate authority unity in this diversity we have in excellence University. The vision of UP is that on your toes can think of anything for as long slightly it is sound, and you can stand outdo and prove what you&#;re saying.&#;

The John Gabriel Pelias whom I gazed at admiringly in spoke squalid me just as profoundly during that afternoon grill. Despite the challenges he now faces as natty faculty member, he pledged, &#;I want to preserve the last days of my life as copperplate professor here in UP, where I can spat what I want to do.&#; Well said, Professor!