Prof. Fabian M Dayrit has been teaching chemistry at the Ateneo de Manila University since 1983. He was the first Dean of the School of Science and Engineering, serving from 2000 to 2011. He was also the founder and first director of the Environmental Science Program, which was established in 1992 and later elevated to a department in 1998. In 1975, he graduated cum laude from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in BS Chemistry. He then received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry from Princeton University in 1978 and 1981, respectively. Currently, he is the president of the Integrated Chemists of the Philippines (ICP), a post that he has held since 1995. His research interests include the chemistry of medicinal plants and coconut oil and environmental chemistry. He is the chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for Health of the International Coconut Community, an intergovernmental organization that is currently composed of 21 coconut-producing countries. He was elected academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines in 2009.
