Dr. Rafaela Jane P. Delfino and Dr. Gerry Bagtasa of the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM), University of the Philippines Diliman, represented the institute and the country at the International Workshop on Typhoon Science and Technology Research Conference (IWTRC) 2025, held from 21 to 23 October 2025 at Hamagin Hall, Yokohama, Japan.
Originally established under the Institute of Advanced Sciences (IAS) in October 2014, the TRC was created in response to modern challenges of living with risk and the need for practical and innovative strategies to understand and manage typhoon impacts. In 2023, the center transitioned to YNU’s Institute of Multidisciplinary Sciences (IMS), expanding its capacity for collaboration while maintaining its core goals of reducing typhoon disaster risks and contributing to a carbon-free society through the potential harnessing of typhoon energy.
The Director of TRC, Professor Hironori Fudeyasu, also serves as Project Manager for one of the core research components of Japan’s Moonshot Research and Development Program under the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). His project, “Typhoon Control Research Aiming for a Safe and Prosperous Society,” forms part of Moonshot Goal 8, which envisions the realization of a society safe from extreme winds and rains by developing technologies to control and modify weather by 2050.
Dr. Gerry Bagtasa presented his research titled “Trends and Variability of Late Season (October–November) Successive Landfalling Tropical Cyclones in the Philippines.” On the other hand, Dr. Rafaela Jane P. Delfino presented a scientific poster titled “High-Resolution Modeling of Philippine Damaging Typhoons Under Past and Future Climates: Insights from the Storyline Approach.”
Dr. Delfino’s participation was supported by the Typhoon Research Center, Yokohama National University, and the UP Diliman Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development (OVCRD) through the PhD Incentive Grant 242407 PhDIA YEAR 1.
The IWTRC 2025 also featured a technical visit to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) Yokohama Local Meteorological Office, which provided insights into Japan’s forecasting operations, risk communication, and local disaster coordination systems.
ThThe final day included a public symposium led by Prof. Masaki Satoh of the University of Tokyo, featuring world-renowned tropical cyclone experts Prof. Suzana Camargo (Columbia University), Prof. Johnny Chan (City University of Hong Kong), and Prof. Robert Rogers (Asia-Pacific Typhoon Collaborative Research Center, AP-TCRC). The session highlighted Japan’s “TyphoonShot” initiative under Moonshot Goal 8, which explores the scientific, technological, and ethical dimensions of potential typhoon modification.
Participation in the IWTRC reinforced IESM’s engagement with international typhoon research networks and highlighted opportunities for collaboration with YNU’s Typhoon Research Center on tropical cyclone predictability, impact assessment, and resilience-building in the Philippines.
For more information on the International Workshop on Typhoon Science and Technology Research 2025, visit https://trc.ynu.ac.jp/iwtrc2025/.
Photo courtesy of RPD. Written by BBR with assistance from ChatGPT. The text has been reviewed and verified by the author, who takes full responsibility for its content.
