Dr. Renato U. Solidum, Jr. is the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines, with eighteen attached agencies including Research and Development institutes, Scientific and Technical Service institutes, Sectoral R&D coordination and funding councils, and collegial bodies on Science and Technology.

He has worked with DOST for the past thirty-nine years and rose from the ranks. He started his professional career at the DOST - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in 1984 where he served in various capacities and became its Director from 2003 to 2017. Prior to his appointment as Secretary, Dr. Solidum served as an Undersecretary at the Department for six years and assigned as concurrent Officer-In-Charge of PHIVOLCS. As the Undersecretary, he superved various offices in charge of science education and advocacy, disaster risk reduction and climate change, planning and evaluation and scientific and technological services. He was also designated as a Commissioner or UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, from 2017-2022.

In recognition of his contributions to disaster risk reduction and government service, Dr. Solidum has been awarded the Presidential Citation for Public Service, the Presidential Lingkod Bayan (Public Servant) Award by the Civil Service Commission, the Professional of the Year in the field of Geology by the Professional Regulation.

Commission, the Excellence Award for Government Service by the Philippine Federation of Professional Associations, the Presidential Career Executive Service Award by the Career Executive Service Board and the Certificate of Commendation as a Champion of Disaster Resilience by the Office of Civil Defense.

Dr. Solidum holds a PhD degree in Earth Sciences from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, a Masters of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of the Philippines Diliman.