Gregorio Y. Zara

On October 15, 1978, at the age of 76, Zara died of heart failure. He was survived by his wife, the former Miss Philippines and Queen of the 1933 Philippine Carnival, Engracia Laconico, and four children: Antonio, Pacita, Josefina, and Lourdes. The Philippine government accorded him a state funeral at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

In 1978 he was conferred the Order of National Scientist by President Ferdinand Marcos.

He retired from government service in 1946 and joined the Far Eastern Air Transport Incorporated (FEATI) and eventually became a member of its board of trustees. He was also a member of the board of directors of the National Shipyards and Steel Corporation and of the Civil Aeronautics Board.

Upon his return to the Philippines, Zara was appointed technical assistant on aviation matters in the office of the Secretary of Department of Public Works and Communications (DPWC). Subsequently, he became chief of the aeronautical division of the DPWC. In 1936, he was assistant director and chief aeronautical engineer in the Bureau of Aeronautics of the Department of National Defense. For 21 years, he was director of aeronautical board, a position he held and confirmed by the Congress of the Philippines up to 1952. Considered expert in the field, he was chosen to be the technical editor of Aviation Monthly and at various times, he worked as vice chairman and acting chairman of the National Science Development Board, where a number of science projects were impetus.

While busy in government positions, Zara also was an educator. He was an instructor of aeronautics at the Valeriano Aviation School, at the American Far Eastern School of Aviation (1933) and at the Far Eastern University (1937–41). At FEATI University, he was professor of aeronautics (1946), then head of the Aeronautical Engineering Department (1962) and later dean of Engineering and Technology and director of research. He was elected executive vice-president of the university from 1946 to 1962 and acting president in 1956.

Zara then enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, and graduated with a degree of BS in mechanical engineering in 1926. After that he obtained a Master of Science in engineering (Aeronautical Engineering) at the University of Michigan, where he graduated as summa cum laude. Zara then sailed to France to take up advanced studies in physics at the University of Paris. In 1930 he again graduated summa cum laude with a degree of Doctor of Science in physics, with "Tres Honorable," the highest honor conferred to graduate students.

A native of Lipa, Batangas, Zara finished primary schooling at Lipa Elementary School, where he graduated as valedictorian in 1918. In 1922, he again graduated valedictorian in Batangas High School, an accolade which warranted him a grant to study abroad. With full support from his parents he then enrolled at the University of the Philippines in Manila.

Gregorio Ynciong Zara (8 March 1902 – 15 October 1978) was a Filipino engineer and physicist.