From the Sea to the Stars: The Forgotten Journeys of the Philippines’ Ancient Explorers

Timothy James Dimacali

TJ grew up in Manila, the Philippines, on a staple of vintage comics and classic sci-fi, which instilled in him a lifelong love for literature and science. After graduating with a creative writing degree from the University of the Philippines, TJ found himself pursuing a variety of odd jobs from financial news info editor to cultural commission speechwriter to advertising copywriter. He put this diverse experience to good use when he eventually landed a job as Science and Technology Editor at GMA Network, one of the country’s largest media companies. He managed to secure some accolades along the way, including the Philippine government’s Gawad Scriba Award for Science Communicators. He is also an alumnus of the Asia Journalism Fellowship, the Netherlands Fellowship Program, CERN School Philippines, the Silliman University National Writers Workshop, and the Iligan National Writers Workshop. His sci-fi short stories, which often blend Philippine history and mythology, have appeared in local and foreign anthologies. TJ attended MIT as a Fulbright scholar—like Dolph Lundgren, only a bit less buff.

Since 2020, TJ has been a communications consultant for the Probe Media Foundation, the Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). He is the chief editor of the NAST's Foresight 2050 project, an ambitious 30-year projection of science and technology trends in the Philippines. He also supports STEM education through his regular contributions to Batobalani Magazine and Asian Scientist Magazine.

Thesis: From the Sea to the Stars: The Forgotten Journeys of the Philippines’ Ancient Explorers