Campus HIGHLIGHTS
Seven in the Top 2% for Citations Seven UWI, St Augustine researchers were among the top 2% of the authors in their respective research disciplines globally in a database published in PLOS Biology journal authored by academics from Stanford University. This list represents the names of the scientists within the top 2% of their main sub-field discipline across those who have published at least five papers. The scientists were Professor Terence Seemungal (Medical Sciences), Professor Hazi Azamathulla (Engineering), Dr Sephra Rampersad (Science & Technology), Professor Christopher Oura (Veterinary Science), Dr Mandreker Bahall and, Dr Rajiv Dahiya (Medical Sciences) and the late Professor Dave Chadee (Science & Technology). The list ranks more than 180,000 researchers within 22 scientific disciplines and 176 subfields, in an objective and transparent process.
Volcano Surveillance Award for Seismic Research Centre
The UWI Seismic Research Centre received the 2022 Award for Volcano Surveillance and Crisis Management by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI). The award was in recognition of its management, monitoring, and response to the 2020/2021 eruption of the La Soufrière volcano in St Vincent, and for the SRC’s more than 65 years of service to the Eastern Caribbean. In November 2021, the SRC declared the end of the eruptive phase at La Soufrière after eight months without an explosion at the volcano. The Soufrière Monitoring Unit (SMU) at the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) assumed responsibility for the operations of the Belmont Observatory with day-to-day monitoring supported by the UWI-SRC remotely from its base in Trinidad. However, despite their award-winning work, and the potentially life-saving role they play in the region, the SRC reports that years of inconsistent funding from contributing territories in the Eastern Caribbean has had the effect of five to twelve years of budget cuts ranging between 10 to 20 percent. Income received between 2010 and 2022 ranged between TT$5.5M and TT$11.6M annually, and has been sufficient only for routine monitoring and operation of a minimal seismic network. All other work, including most research, major developments in the network and outreach, has been undertaken mainly through external grant funding or from the SRC Departmental Consultancy Fund (DCF) which includes all proceeds earned through consultancies. Funding from the DCF now accounts for 20% of the SRC’s total annual expenditure leading to staff vacancies being frozen and reduced support for postgraduate research.
First Robotic Surgeries Performed in the English-speaking Caribbean
It was an historic moment locally when three keyhole surgeries were performed on 20 September 2021 by a six-member surgical team from the Faculty of Medical Sciences with the assistance of a surgical robot in an operating theatre at the Port- of-Spain General Hospital. Local medical equipment distributor, A. A. Laquis provided access to the Freehand Panorama CoBOT that was used for the surgery. UK-based medical technology firms Imperial Medical Solutions and Freehand, as well as the UK Department of International Trade, also partnered to facilitate the procedure. The initiative also included involvement from surgeons at the Mona Campus.
22
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease