Dr. Rinlee Butch Cervera is an Assistant Professor and Lab Head of the Energy Storage and Conversion Materials Research laboratory at the Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman. Dr. Cervera received his BS degree in Materials Engineering at the University of the Philippines Diliman; MS degree in Materials Engineering at the University of Science Malaysia; and PhD degree in Materials Engineering at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He also did a post-doctoral study at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, Japan and at the University of Tokyo, in collaboration with NGK Insulators Inc., Japan.
Dr. Cervera is an accomplished young scientist based on his numerous publications and awards. After returning to the Philippines as a Balik-Scientist awardee of DOST in 2012, he trained and mentored several under graduate and graduate students. He likewise fostered a research laboratory on advanced materials for energy, equipped with basic and analytical equipment to enhance research capabilities in energy-related applications such as for Lithium-based batteries, solid oxide fuel cells and electrolysis cells applications. In 2013, Dr. Cervera also founded the Institute of Materials Engineers of the Philippines (IMEP), Inc., the first and only professional organization of materials engineers in the Philippines, which brought collaborative opportunities among local and international materials scientists and engineers.
Dr. Cervera has been awarded with several research grants which train scientists and engineers on electrochemical energy storage through workshops and seminars and provided jobs and opportunities to several research and postdoctoral fellows. As an academician and scientist, he also published and reviewed articles and books for scientific publications and continues to teach and mentor young generations of scientists and engineers on Materials Science and Engineering, especially in the areas of materials for energy storage and conversion devices which are important for green and sustainable energy in our country. Recently, Dr. Cervera was awarded as a 2018 Outstanding Young Scientist in the field of Materials Engineering by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).