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DEAN’S OVERVIEW
RESEARCH Research is a fundamental pillar of the Faculty’s activities. Nevertheless, the pro- ductivity of the Faculty’s research endeavours is being adversely affected by various challenges, including outdated equipment, inadequate laboratory infrastructure, reduced bench time for graduate students, and an overall unfavourable financial environment. Despite these challenges over fifty staff members were recipients of the Principal’s Research Awards held in June 2023. To boost the research morale of the departments, The Office of the Dean has introduced a research award to recog- nize the department with the highest number of publications per capita for a given academic year. The Department of Geography and Geology received this award, having produced over 30 publications during the reviewed period (2021–2022). The Department of Chemistry, in particular, suffered a significant setback with the malfunction of the 500 MHz NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectrom- eter, leaving the department without NMR capabilities, which are crucial for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Efforts are currently underway to secure funding for the replacement of this essential equipment. The University of the West Indies Mona Analytical Chemistry (UWIMAC) Labo- ratory, a commercial facility within the Department, successfully retained its ISO accreditation granted by the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC). The Department of Geography and Geology took significant steps to enhance its research capabilities. The Department re-established the Unit for Disaster Studies and the Marine Geology Unit, which will be coordinated by Dr. Arpita Mandal, Dr. Rose-Ann Smith, Dr. Taneisha Edwards, and Dr. Jason Tambie. A handover meeting for the Marine Geology Unit was held to symbolically pass the baton from Professor Emeritus Edward “Ted” Robinson, who initiated the unit over 20 years ago, to Dr. Taneisha Edwards and Dr. Jason Tambie. Another significant accom- plishment for the Department was getting the Late Cretaceous Rudist Bivalves of the Caribbean Province, Jamaica listed 38 th among The First100 International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Heritage Sites. The IUGS listing comprises geological sites from around the world that are iconic and recognized by the global geoscience community as a reference for their impact in understanding the Earth and its history. The Jamaican site is located in the Rio Minho watershed of Clar- endon and is the most diverse and thickest limestone succession with abundant rudist bivalves within the Caribbean Faunal Province. The Earthquake Unit recorded a total of 407 seismic events between August 2022 and July 2023. This included 164 local earthquakes, 91 near-region events, 80 regional events, 48 distant events, and 24 blasts.
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