The Filipino scientist Gregorio Zara was born on 8 March 1902 in Lipa City, Batangas and studied at the University of the Philippines. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States in 1926 and he went on to take a master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Michigan in 1927. Zara earned his doctorate degree from the Sorbonne University in Paris, graduating in 1930 with his PhD. He graduated with the school's highest honor of 'Tres Honorable', the first Filipino person to achieve this feat.
Zara made a huge number of breakthroughs and achievements in the field of electricity. According to About.com, Zara's most notable achievements include:
• Inventing the two-way television telephone (videophone) in 1955
• Discovering the physical law of electrical kinetic resistance (known as the Zara effect) in 1930
• Inventing an airplane engine that was fueled by pure alcohol in 1952
• Improving methods for producing solar energy, including designing a solar water heater, a sun stove and a solar battery during the 1960s
• Inventing a propeller cutting machine in 1952
• Helping with the design of the robot Marex X-10, which was capable of talking, walking, and obeying commands
In 1954, Zara's alcohol-fueled airplane was successfully tested and flown at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
Zara's scientific achievements saw him win accolades in his homeland including the Presidential Diploma of Merit in 1959. He also won the Cultural Heritage Award for Science and Aero Engineering in 1966.
Over his lifetime Zara invented and patented 30 different products. He also wrote a number of books on science and physics. In 1978 he was named as the Philippines' national scientist. He died later the same year.
Zara made a huge number of breakthroughs and achievements in the field of electricity. According to About.com, Zara's most notable achievements include:
• Inventing the two-way television telephone (videophone) in 1955
• Discovering the physical law of electrical kinetic resistance (known as the Zara effect) in 1930
• Inventing an airplane engine that was fueled by pure alcohol in 1952
• Improving methods for producing solar energy, including designing a solar water heater, a sun stove and a solar battery during the 1960s
• Inventing a propeller cutting machine in 1952
• Helping with the design of the robot Marex X-10, which was capable of talking, walking, and obeying commands
In 1954, Zara's alcohol-fueled airplane was successfully tested and flown at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
Zara's scientific achievements saw him win accolades in his homeland including the Presidential Diploma of Merit in 1959. He also won the Cultural Heritage Award for Science and Aero Engineering in 1966.
Over his lifetime Zara invented and patented 30 different products. He also wrote a number of books on science and physics. In 1978 he was named as the Philippines' national scientist. He died later the same year.