The Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS)



Announcements

The Chair of the CAS Elections Committee has announced the new Executive of The Trinidad & Tobago Chapter for the period August 1, 2020 – 2022.

 

                        President                                 Professor Kit Fai Pun

                        Secretary                                 Dr. Diane Ignacio

Treasurer                                Dr, Jeffrey Smith

Public Relations Officer        Dr. Patricia Sealy

Floor Member                        Dr. Arlene Williams



CAS was shocked to hear of the unexpected death of Professor Emeritus Tara Prasad Dasgupta, former President of CAS and President of CAS, Jamaica due to COVID-19.
As one Fellow commented: "Tara was a great man, brilliant, selfless and humble, and a dear friend."

With respect to the Coronavirus COVID-19

The results of the recently completed by-election for the positions on the CAS Executive are:

Secretary Mrs. Petal Punalall Jetoo
Treasurer Professor Neela Badrie

The results of the recently completed elections of the Guyana Chapter of CAS are as follows:

President Ms. Elena Trim
Vice President Dr. Anna Perreira
Programme Officer Dr. Jacqueline Murray
Secretary Mr. Gavin Ramnarajn
Treasurer Ms. Heetasmin Singh
Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer Dr. Dawn Fox
We look forward to working with you in the future, especially with respect to the Biennial CAS conference scheduled for November 2020.

Contributions of Women in Science
Two articles have been received for circulation from the IANAS focal point, Professor Neela Badrie.
The first is about Dr Jo-Anne Sewlal, the Secretary of CAS, who passed away suddenly on 20 January 2020 and the second gives an introduction to Dr Joy Spence (the World's first female Master Blender in the spirit's industry).

A message from the IANAS Secretariat in relation to the release of "Water Quality in the Americas. Risks and Opportunities" on World Water day on 22nd March 2019:

Our recognition and gratitude go out to the Focal Points of the Water Program, to the 143 scientists and water authors who contributed and worked really hard for this publication, to the Water Co-Chairs for their indefatigable work, and to the Academies for their constant support addressing this so important subject for our region. 

We would like also to mention that Brazil, Canada, The Caribbean, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia and probably some other,  will be presenting this publication on March 22nd during the World Water Day. In addition to the work made by Dr. Forde, CAS made two outstanding contributions, the first one was the chapter "Water Quality and Alternative Energy Nexus in the Americas" edited and coordinated by Dr. Kwame Emmanuel and Prof. Anthony Clayton (FCAS), and the second one was the contribution made by Prof. Neela Badrie (FCAS) for the chapter "Gender, Women and the Quality of Water"

The book is available on the IANAS website.

The 27-30 November 2018 CAS Conference has now ended.
On behalf of CASJ let me say that we hope that you found the Conference discussions interesting and thought-provoking and that you had sufficient time for interacting with other delegates. For those visiting Jamaica for the first time we hope you enjoyed your visit and that your flights home went smoothly and safely.
The announcement of the award of two new Fellows was made at the Banquet: Professor Reynold Stone and Professor Michael Taylor.
Pictures to follow soon.

The 22nd CAS Biennial Conference and General Meeting venue proposed for 2020 is Guyana, more details to come later.

The 2018 Schedule is still available at the CASJ web site

Volume 1 Issue #4 of the CAS Newsletter now released, September 2018.

2018 TWAS Prizes to Young Scientists from the Caribbean Region.
1)- Nominees for the prize should be no older than forty years of age, hold at least a Master's degree, have a good record of research publications in internationally recognized journals, be nationals of a developing country, and have worked and lived in the Caribbean Region for a minimum of 2 years immediately prior to their nomination;
- A committee of eminent scientists in the country should be formed for selecting the prize winners, including if possible Members of TWAS. Names of committee members should be sent to TWAS for information;
- The awarding organizations should send a complete "profile" of the selected nominees to TWAS, providing details on their achievements, together with a curriculum vitae and the full list of publications;
- The prize should be presented to the awardee(s) by a high-ranking public figure (e.g. head of state/government, minister of science & technology) at the 21st CAS General Meeting and Conference to be held in Kingston, Jamaica in November 2018.
2) Please also note the following procedure:
A maximum amount of up to US$2,000 will be provided for these prizes. Kindly note that the prize cannot be split into more than 2 shared-awards, i.e. there will be maximum two winners sharing the prize.
3) Deadline for the duly completed "Profile of Prize candidate" for 2018 is now gone.

Professor Emeritus Wilfred Chan, a Foundation Fellow and Former President of CAS,  passed away on Wednesday 27th September 2017. Further details here.
A Celebration of Life was held at The Chapel, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus on the 12th January 2018 at 2PM to commemorate Prof Cedric Hassall, FRS and Prof Wilfred Chan, CD his PhD student (they both passed away in September 2017).

At the 20th Biennial General Meeting of The Caribbean Academy of Sciences held on Friday 24th November 2016 in Guadeloupe, the following members were elected to the Executive for the period 2016 - 2018:-

President: Professor Emeritus Winston Mellowes
Secretary: Dr. Jo-Anne Sewlal
Treasurer: Dr. Mark Wuddivira
PRO: Dr. Patricia Sealy
Foreign Secretary: Dr. Trevor Alleyne, who subsequently resigned leaving the Post vacant
Following an email ballot closing March 31st 2017, the Chairperson of the Election Committee advised that Professor Robert Lancashire would serve as CAS’ Foreign Secretary for the term ending 2018.

Scenes from the Opening and Closing sessions

The Programme for the CAS 2016 General Meeting

On Thursday, July 7, 2016 (9:00 am - 4:00 pm) at the Physics Lecture Theatre C, UWI Mona Campus, the Caribbean Academy of Sciences, Jamaica (CASJ), The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus and the Solar Radiation Management Governance Initiative (SRMGI), hosted a workshop on SRM geoengineering, a highly controversial proposal for addressing climate change The event was chaired by Professor Tara Dasgupta, (Chair, CASJ) and emphasised participatory activities and group discussions. Speakers included Professor Michael Taylor (The University of West Indies, Mona), Andy Parker (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Germany) and Mr. Dwight Lewis (Senior Advisor on Energy Matters to Dr. The Hon. Andrew Wheatley, Minister of Science, Energy and Technology). The event was streamed through UWI, Mona TV (9AM-12noon Jamaica time, http://tv.mona.uwi.edu/srm-meeting). Further details are available on the CASJ web site.

On January 25, 2016, the CAS Guadeloupe Chapter (DFA) elected a new Executive for 2016 and beyond:-

Dr. Thomas FORISSIER - President
Professor Olivier GROS - Secretary
Dr. Yves MAZABRAUD - Treasurer

Professor Emeritus Trevor Jackson, a Fellow of CAS,  passed away on Monday 18th January 2016. Further details can be found at the UWI Seismic Research Centre page

Applications were invited for the CAS-TWAS Young Scientist Award for years 2015 and 2016. The Award was worth US$2,000.00. The following conditions applied:-
1. The Award shall be given to the individual who has done the most to advance the programmes of Scientific Research as judged by the quality of his/her publications and/or patents in one of the following fields: Chemistry, Mathematics, Life Sciences, Physics and Engineering.
2. The age of the applicant must not exceed 40 years during the year of the Award and must be a resident of the Caribbean region, Most of the research must also have been done in the Caribbean region. As individual can only receive one such Award.
3. The recipients of the Award will be expected to make a Scientific Presentation at the 20th meeting of The Academy to be held in the beautiful island of Guadeloupe in November 2016.
4. It is to be understood that by accepting this Award, the recipient is agreeing to present an update of his/her research at the subsequent CAS Biennial conference.
5. Nominations for the years 2015 and 2016 Awards ( made on the required forms) should have reached the office of the CAS Secretariat by 15th August 2015 and 30th June 2016 respectively. (Note the extension for this year)

Of interest to CAS members is the document "Working with Big Ideas of Science Education" from IAP which discusses the implication for the selection of content, pedagogy, student assessment and teacher education of putting the principles and big ideas into practice. In relation to pedagogy there is a reciprocal relationship between inquiry and working towards big ideas. Inquiry facilitates deep understanding, but will only be of benefit to young people if the ideas they develop lead them to make sense of the world around and appreciate the nature of science and its impact on our lives. Released 1 Mar 2015

At the 2015 Trinidad Chapter Elections, the following were elected to the Executive:-

President - Dr. Yuri Clement
Secretary - Dr. Jo-Anne Sewlal
Treasurer - Dr. Reynold Stone
Public Relations Officer - Dr. Diane Ignacio
Floor Member - Dr. Gail Baccus-Taylor

At the 19th Biennial General Meeting held in Tobago in November 2014, Dr. Sally Radford was elected a CAS Fellow (seen here receiving certificate from Orville London, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly).

Dr Radford receiving Fellowship


At the 19th Biennial General Meeting of The Caribbean Academy of Sciences held on Friday 21st November 2014 at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort, the following members were elected to the Executive for the period 2014 - 2016:-

President - Dr. Trevor Alleyne
Secretary - Professor Winston Mellowes
Treasurer - Dr. Mark Wuddivira
Foreign Secretary - Eng. Hollis Charles
Public Relations Officer - Dr. Patricia Sealy

2014 new executiveOpening Ceremony 


Council comprises the above, together with:-

Dr. Jorge Moreno            President, Antigua Chapter
Prof. Jean Louis Mansot   President, Guadeloupe Chapter
Dr. Andrea Sealy             President, Barbados Chapter
Mr. Gary Mendonca         President, Guyana Chapter
Professor Tara Dasgupta  President, Jamaica Chapter
Dr. Yuri Clement             President, Trinidad & Tobago Chapter

More details about the Tobago meeting (final announcement) is still available.

At this meeting it was announced that the 20th Biennial General Meeting and Conference 2016, will be held in Guadeloupe.

Call for Nominations-Awards for Excellence in Science and Technology 2014

Trinidad and Tobago has nurtured many sons and daughters who have left their mark in science and technology to the benefit of peoples in the Caribbean and around the world. For many, their contributions have gone unrecognized and unrecorded. Thus in 2006, NIHERST created, with the support of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education (MSTTE), a special award scheme to recognize and reward nationals for outstanding achievements in science and technology. The life stories and achievements of awardees are documented in the series entitled Trinidad and Tobago Icons in Science, Technology & Innovation, which provides positive role models for our youth to emulate, while also recording our scientific heritage for posterity. In 2009, the Caribbean Academy of Science (CAS) joined NIHERST in presenting these awards.

We have re-branded the awards to honour some of our science icons. It is our pleasure to invite you to submit nominations for:

•         The Fenrick De Four Award for Engineering
•         The Emmanuel Ciprian Amoroso Award for Medical Sciences
•         The Rudranath Capildeo Award for Applied Science & Technology
•         The Julian Kenny Award for Natural Sciences
•         The Anthony Williams Award for Technological Innovation in Arts & Culture
•         The Frank Rampersad Award for Junior Scientist
•         The Ranjit Kumar Award for Junior Engineer.

Please visit http://www.niherst.gov.tt/awards/awards-st.html to download the nomination forms or e-mail awards@niherst.gov.tt, or secretariat@caswi.org for queries.

All nominations closed on Monday 30th June 2014
There is a call for papers for the X International Interdisciplinary Congress of Scientific Research, to be held in Santo Domingo, DR, in June 2015.

This years Gender Summit will bring together scientists, gender scholars, policy makers and other stakeholders in the science endeavour. It will focus on Horizon 2020 and on the strategic and crosscutting roles assigned to gender in H2020 work programme, where it is included in over 100 calls from societal issues to health, environment, transport, water, energy food security, and technology.  For the first time in the history of EU funding gender equality and gender dimension in research content have been included as a criterion of success. More information can be found at the Gender Summit web site.


On 23rd November 2013, NIHERST together with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Caribbean Academy of Science (CAS), presented a number of awards for Excellence in Science and Technology. 
  • The Fenrick De Four Award for Engineering:
    •     Prof. Richard Dawe (Gold)
          Prof. Stephan Gift (Silver)
          Dr. Myron Chin (Silver)
  • The Emmanuel Ciprian Amoroso Award for Medical Sciences
    •     Prof. Dave Chadee (Gold)
          Prof. Terrence Seemungal (Silver)
          Prof. Lexley Pinto Pereira (Silver)
          Dr. Ravi Birla (Silver)
  • The Rudranath Capildeo Award for Applied Science & Technology
    •     Dr. Roger Pulwarty (Gold)
          Prof. Haroun Shah (Gold)
          Dr. Shirin Haque (Silver)
          Dr. Rohanie Maharaj (Silver)
          Dr. Philip Phillips (Silver)
  • The Julian Kenny Award for Natural Sciences
  • The Anthony Williams Award for Technological Innovation in Arts & Culture
    •     Mr. Willi Chen (Gold)
          Mr. Jim Phillip (Gold)
  • The Frank Rampersad Award for Junior Scientist
    •     Mr. Jahson Alemu (Silver)
          Dr. Rajini Haraksingh (Silver)
          Dr. Yaisa Andrews-Zwilling (Silver)
  • The Ranjit Kumar Award for Junior Engineer.
    •     Engineer Savitree Singh (Silver)
The Gold and Silver Awardees with Dr. the Honorable Rupert Griffith. Minister of Science and Technology, T&T and
Prof Michael Clegg, Foreign Secretary of the US National Academy of Sciences (who gave the keynote address)
At right are the President and Foreign Secretary of CAS, Dr Trevor Alleyne and Eng. Hollis Charles

The awards were open to Nationals of Trinidad and Tobago (birth or citizenship) and CARICOM nationals and other persons who had been resident in T&T for 10 years and above.
The guidelines for nomination and nomination forms are attached with  further information from NIHERST relating to the awards.

Applications were invited for the CAS-TWAS Young Scientist Award for 2014.  The Award is worth US$2000.00.  Please find eligibility and criteria guidelines below.
The following conditions apply:-
  1. The Award shall be given to the individual who has done the most to advance the progress of scientific research as judged by the quality of his/her publications and/or patents in the fields of Chemistry, Mathematics, Life Sciences, Physics and Engineering.
  2. The age of the applicant must not exceed 40 years during the year of the Award.  He/She must be a resident of the Caribbean region and most of the work for the Award must also have been done in the Caribbean region,  An individual can only receive one such Award.
  3. The recipient of the Award will be expected to make a Scientific Presentation at the 19th Meeting of The Academy to be held in Tobago in November 2014.
  4. Nominations for the 2014 Award (on the required forms) should reach the office of the CAS Secretariat by July 30th 2014.
In observance of International Women's Day on  March 8th, 2013 see the report from Prof Neela Badrie.

For a copy of the IANAS book on Women Scientists in the Americas see http://www.ianas.org/books/WOMEN_SCIENTISTS_IN_THE_AMERICAS_low_res.pdf

The deadline for new submissions to the Schlumberger Foundation Call for Applications for the 2013-2014 Faculty for the Future Fellowships passed in Nov 2012. Bookmark the application web site for future reference:www.fftf.slb.com

Some of the participants at the CAS meeting in Barbados
The proceedings from the 18th General Assembly of The Caribbean Academy Sciences (CAS) (held in collaboration with The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill in Bridgetown, Barbados) over the period November 2 -4, 2012 is available.

The following executive was appointed:

President                          -  Dr. Trevor Alleyne
Secretary                          -  Professor Gossett Oliver
Treasurer:                         -  Dr. Gail Baccus-Taylor
Foreign Secretary             -  Eng. Hollis Charles
Public Relations Officer    -  Professor Ronald Young

Photos from the opening ceremony that featured Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott and Barbados’s top folk singer and cultural Ambassador, Dr Anthony Carter ("Gabby")

A report on the CAS sponsored three-day workshop for teachers aimed at amplifying the importance of science in the Caribbean society held at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) Guyana, in October 2012 is available.

IANAS Fellowship application form and guidelines are available on the CAS publicity page - Deadline now closed (15th August 2011)

A transmission electron microscopy meeting (mainly in French, partly in English) should have taken place in Guadeloupe between the 9th and 16th of May 2011. To be followed by
a Caribbean summer school in electron microscopy  (all lectures, practical teaching in English) in Guadeloupe between the 1st and 13th of July 2011.
Contact the Guadeloupe Chapter of CAS for more details (Prof. J.L. Mansot, Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, Campus de Fouillole, Guadeloupe, jlmansot(AT)univ-ag.fr).

A follow-up meeting of the InterAcademies Panel "Program on Digital Knowledge Resources and Infrastructure in Developing Countries" was held in Kingston, January 18th and 19th, 2011.
The agenda with associated links to PDF pages of the various Sessions is available.
From the 17th CAS General Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda.



The new Antigua and Barbuda Chapter was launched with over 12 new members and their new President Professor Jorge Moreno appointed.

Two new Fellows were appointed (Professor Winston Suite and Professor Robert Lancashire, shown above on either side of the new President, Eng. Hollis Charles)

The CAS/TWAS Young Scientist being awarded by the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda the Honourable Baldwin Spencer.
Members of the outgoing executive.

The Scientific Programme for the CAS General Meeting for November 2010 in Antigua is now available.

Authors/Presenters should submit their articles to the CAS e-Journal for publication.



The Steering Committee of the InterAcademies Panel Program on Digital Knowledge Resources and Infrastructure in Developing Countries met in Montego Bay, Jamaica during 12-15th May, 2010 and a statement on "Building the CyberInfrastructure for 21st Century e-Science in Central America and the Caribbean" was prepared. A copy of the meeting agenda and the statement is available for comment and further circulation.


The Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS) Jamaica Chapter, cordially invites you to attend its 21st General Meeting on Thursday, January 13, 2011 @ 2:30 pm, Chemistry Lecture Theatre-C5, the University of the West Indies, Mona.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Marvadeen Singh-Wilmot (Lecturer - Department of Chemistry, UWI, Mona) - will make a presentation on the Young Scientists Ambassador Program (YSAP) and the Young Scientists Volunteer Program (YSVP).

The Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS) Jamaica Chapter, staged its 20th General Meeting on Friday, January 15, 2010 @ 2:30 pm, Chemistry Lecture Theatre-C5, the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Keynote speaker Dr. Michael Taylor - CAS Young Scientist Awardee 2008 made a presentation on “Caribbean Climate - We know enough to at least start.”

CAS held a Teachers Workshop at the Office of the Ministry of Education in Georgetown, Guyana with Theme: "Learning Science and Mathematics as Inquiry through Design Activities" from the 7th October 2009. There were 35 course participants expected, as well as an additional 20 teachers from Guyana. The workshop was sponsored by OAS, IANAS and CDB.

A report on the IANAS Science Funding Landscape Workshop held in Guatemala City, Guatemala 26-28 July 2009 has been prepared by Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal, CAS Young Scientist Representative.

The Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS) Jamaica Chapter, staged its 19th General Meeting on Thursday, September 17, 2009 @ 2:30 pm, Chemistry Lecture Theatre-C5, the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Keynote speaker was Professor Ronald Young - Pro Vice Chancellor, Graduate Studies, the University of the West Indies, Mona and he made
a presentation on “Graduate Studies in the Caribbean: Where are we going?”

CAS organised a free Panel Discussion on "Swine Flu: The A/H1N1 virus" on Tuesday the 30th June at the Ampitheatre A, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Champs Fleur, Trinidad and Tobago.

More information on CAS involvement in the ICT Euro-AfriCa Project and the March Workshop is now available.

CAS organised a Caribbean Conference on Information and Communication Technology (CCICT) with the theme: Research, Applications and Policies. This was held at the UWI, Mona Campus on the 16th and 17th of March, 2009.  Further information and the schedule is available online. The Opening Ceremony was at 8:30 AM on Monday 16th March 2009.

                                                                                        

Shown at the Opening Ceremony are: The Minister of State, Michael Stern, The President of CAS, Prof Tara Dasgupta, The Principal of UWI, Mona, Prof Gordon Shirley and the Dean of the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences at UWI, Mona, Prof Ishenkumba Kahwa.

At right is a scene from the second day where over 100 were present to listen to a presentation on the impact of ICT on the environment.

The CAS 16th General Meeting was held in Grenada 11th-13th October 2008. It was hosted by the Government of Grenada and The Trinidad Chapter of the Academy 


On the 9th and 10th October 2008, just prior to the 16th General Meeting, CAS in association with TWAS hosted a workshop for Science Teachers. The programme details are now available.

Read the report on an IAP-IANAS meeting held in Brazil 4-9th August 2008.

IAP Bio-Security Questionnaire

The 16th General Meeting of the Jamaica Chapter was held on the April 17, 2008 at 2.30 p.m. in Chemistry Lecture Theatre, C5.
The keynote address titled: “Biodiversity and Extinction in the Brave New Ocean” was delivered by Professor Jeremy Jackson, William E. and Mary B. Ritter Professor of Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography La Jolla, California, U. S. A.

The 15th General Meeting of the Jamaica Chapter was held at 2:30 PM on the 18th December 2007 in Chemistry Lecture Theatre 5 at the Mona Campus of UWI.

Primary School Science Education Conference Ocho Rios, JAMAICA, November 27th-29th, 2007 with Cariscience, UNESCO and CARICOM.

The 14th General Meeting of the Jamaica Chapter was held at 2:30 PM on the 22nd November 2007 in Chemistry Lecture Theatre 5 at the Mona Campus of UWI.

A Panel discussion was hosted by CAS in collaboration with The University of the West Indies, Faculty of Medical Sciences and the National Oncology Centre on "What every woman or man needs to know about cancer in females" Tuesday 20th November, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex Mount Hope, Amphitheatre B.

Presentations from the IAP Conference and General Assembly in December 2006 are available on-line

Latest IAP bulletin


IUPAC elects new Officers for 2008-2009

Presentations at IUPAC GA (August 2007) in Torino


CAS launches its e-Journal in June 2007

Proceedings from the 15th CAS Meeting held in Guadeloupe in 2006

LINKS

The following links provide information relating to the Caribbean Academy of Sciences:

2007 Notice about CASWI.ORG
A Brief History of CAS
CAS e-journal

The Executive as of April 2020 comprises:

President: Professor Emeritus Winston Mellowes wamello@yahoo.com
Secretary Mrs. Petal Punalall Jetoo
 pjetoo@gmail.com
Foreign Secretary Professor Emeritus Robert Lancashire
 rjlanc@caswi.org
Treasurer: Professor Neela Badrie
 neela.badrie@sta.uwi.edu
P.R.O. Dr. Mark Wuddivira mark.wuddivira@sta.uwi.edu