Pinoy NASA engineer thanks Baguio teachers for molding him to love Math and Science

Photo Courtesy || Saint Louis University

Cordillera - A Filipino engineer who played a key role in ensuring Perseverance rover safe landing on Mars was educated in Baguio city during his high school life. 

Gregorio Villar said in an interview with Teleradyo on Friday that he was a high-schooler in Baguio who was very good at math and science.

"I was a high-schooler in Baguio City. I was very good at math and science. I was a big nerd. Still a nerd. That's not a bad thing 'cause nerds rule the world now," Villar said. 

The 33-year old NASA engineer said part of him to pursue his journey to work in NASA is because of his teachers at the Saint Louis University - Laboratory High School in Baguio. 

"I thank part of my education in the Philippines for that. I studied so much in the Philippines, my foundation in math and physics because of my teachers there in high school," he said. 

Villar said becoming an astronaut and going to space has always been his dream. 

"The dream is to go to space someday, maybe even Mars," Villar added.

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SLU-Laboratory High School grad among NASA's engineers who worked on Mars rover 'Perseverance'

Photo Courtesy || Earth Shaker & NASA

Cordillera - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s largest and most advance Mars rovers 'Perseverance' has landed on Mars surface on Thursday. 

One of the NASA's engineers who worked on the the successful mission of the "Perseverance is a Filipino-American - Gregory Villar III. 

Villar happens to be a graduate of  Saint Louis University - Laboratory High School in Baguio City where his parents came from. 

He took up bachelor's degree in Physics at California State Polytechnic University, and a doctoral degree in Astronomical Engineering at the University of Southern California. 

READ ALSO: Gwendolyn Pascua - First-ever Cordilleran mission controller for astronauts in Europe

Villar has been working at NASA for 12 years and worked as the operation system engineers who is responsible for the Entry, Descent and Landing of the Perseverance on the Martial soil. 

Watch the landing of Perseverance on Mars below:

The Mars Rover 'Perseverance' was designed to explore Jezero crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. 

It was launched on 30 July 2020, at 11:50 UTC and landed on Mars on 18 February 2021 at 20:55 UTC.

The rover carries seven new scientific instruments and has a total of 19 cameras and two microphones. 

The rover is carrying the mini-helicopter Ingenuity, an experimental aircraft that will attempt the first powered flight on another planet.

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