UWI
The official magazine of the Faculty of Science and Technology, St. Augustine.
WIN A CE
L ES
TR
e
u
s
s
I
s
i
h
T
e
d
Insi
O
N
TE
PE
SCO
LE
e Th
Eureka!
February 2015
4
6
10
13
Creepy Crawly
Creatures
Citizen Science
Under the Sea
Light througth
Darkness
Team Eureka!
Dr. Shirin
Haque
Kereen
Olivier
Edward
Ramkissoon
Editor
Roving
Reporter
Layout &
Design
W
hat an amazing journey of
discovery
and
fulfillment
it has been for the Eureka!
team in our inaugral year as we proudly
produce our second issue of Eureka!
The official magazine of the Faculty of
Science and Technology. The responses
from our readers have been inspiring and
the participation in the challenge in the
last issue was overwhelming. There were
entries not just from Trinidad, but from
the Caribbean and as far out as the United
Kingdom. Thank you all, our readers,
our contributors and participants and
the most awesome Eureka! team - the
magazine exists for you and because of you.
Science continues to cross frontiers and
even as this second issue comes to fruition,
it is so heartening to know that India has
become only the 4th nation in the world
to have launched a mission to Mars and its
orbiter MOM has entered the atmosphere
of Mars. Our great grandchildren will be
the Martians we fictionalized. Another
giant leap for mankind has been the
landing of Philae on comet 67P, first time
in the history of humanity. I wanted to
share this interesting quote I came across
from one of my favourite science fiction
writers, the great Isaac Asimov who said....
The most exciting phrase to hear
in science, the one that heralds
new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’
but ‘That’s funny...’
Now, “That’s funny” for our magazine’s
name was just not going to cut it!
In This Issue
News Fuse
3
Brains & Brawn
3
Mathematics Olympiad 3
appointment - it all
adds up
Eureka! Feature Article
4
Creepy Crawly
Creatures
4
Students helping
students - The FST Peer
Advisors
5
Departments of the Faculty
of Science and Technology
Citizen Science
6
Two Views
7
FST Fun
8
Diving deep in the
Caribbean Sea
10
Tete-a-tete with
a Professor of
Mathematics
11
Noise Pollution - A
Health Hazard
12
FST Valedictorian
Inspires Science
Students
12
A Trek Up North
13
Astronomy for Peace
13
Seeing Light through
Darkness
14
Kudos to Eureka!
15
In Memoriam of
Verindar Ramkelawan
15
Did you know?
FRONT COVER: The spider Nephila clavipes
belonging to the family Nephilidae, is also
commonly called the “Golden Orb Weaver” due
to its production of silk that is gold in colour.
This species is also an extreme example of sexual
dimorphism, a feature common in spiders, where
the females are over 20 times larger than the males
which are often mistaken for her babies. Females
of this species can spin webs spanning over a
metre in width. Her web is a crowded one with
tiny kleptoparasitic spiders Argyrodes elevatus of
the family Theridiidae moving about cautiously
stealing bits of food while avoiding becoming a
meal themselves. Also, the silk produced by this
genus is extremely strong with tribes in the South
Pacific region using the silk of the species found
there as fishing lines.
Courtesy Dr. Joanne Sewlal
Department of Life Sciences
2
News Fuse
BRAINS & BRAWN
Mathematics Olympiad
appointment - it all adds
up!
Dr. Indra Haraksingh (third from right), together with the Trinidad &
Tobago Olympiad team.
Akeem Jackson
Photo Credit & Copyright: Absolutpics
M
r. Akeem Jackson, a Biology graduate
in 2014 from the Faculty of Science
and Technology, competed in the
Trinidad & Tobago Bodybuilding & Fitness
Federation (TTBBF) Junior Championship
on June 7, 2014 where he placed first both
in his height class and the overall physique
category, making him the current Men’s
Physique Junior Champ in Trinidad &
Tobago. He secured 3rd place in the Senior
Championship of TTBF and proceeded
to place in the top ten in the 2014 Central
American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and
Fitness Federation (CACBBFF). Akeem has
done us proud and shows how multi talented
our students can be beyond the ‘books’.
D
r. Indra Haraksingh was appointed as a Director and Treasurer of
the International Mathematics Olympiad Foundation (IMOF) in
September 2014. Dr. Haraksingh is Lecturer in the Department
of Physics and Chair of the Trinidad and Tobago Mathematics Olympiad
(TTMO). 2014 marks twenty years since she has held the responsibility of
Chair. Dr. Haraksingh has dedicated a lot of time and energy in building
the TTMO and maintaining its high standards, ensuring the integrity
of the competition. She has served as Leader of the Trinidad and Tobago
Mathematics Olympiad National teams to the International Mathematics
Olympiad on several occasions. She has the honour of leading the national
teams that captured the five Bronze medals and one Silver Medal in the
history of the TTMO. This year the youngest ever participant of the T&T
team won a Bronze Medal, having only one point below the cut-off for the
Silver category.
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is an annual mathematical
competition for high school students and is the oldest of the International
Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has
since been held annually, except in 1980. Over one hundred countries send
teams of up to six students plus one Team Leader, one Deputy Leader, and
Observers. Ever since its inception in 1959, the IMO has developed a rich
legacy and has established itself as the pinnacle of mathematical competition
among high school students. Trinidad and Tobago has been participating in
the IMO since 1991. It is the smallest country and the only English-speaking
country in the Caribbean participating in this most prestigious worldwide
Mathematics competition.
3
Feature Article
Creepy Crawly Creatures
T
he University of the West Indies Zoology Museum
(UWIZM) is home to the biggest variety of zoological
specimens in Trinidad & Tobago. The collection came
together from a variety of sources starting back in the 1920s
with the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture (ICTA). It was
mainly insect specimens that were collected at first, to aid in the
entomology teaching programme, but as the courses expanded
a wider variety of animal specimens were needed. When ICTA
became the University of the West Indies the collection grew
further as more researchers, students and staff accumulated
objects. In recent years collections from the Caribbean
Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and the Centre for Agriculture
and Bio-Sciences International (CABI) were added to the
UWIZM bringing the total number of specimens to over 50,000.
The collection is housed in two rooms located on the ground floor
of the Natural Sciences Building. The Zoology Room contains the
vertebrates and non-insect invertebrates both as dried specimens
and stored in alcohol. These include several hundred bird and
mammal skins, many skeletal remains, hundreds of jars of snakes,
lizards and frogs, hundreds of both freshwater and marine fish,
thousands of snail shells, hundreds of crustaceans in spirit and
many corals and echinoderms. There are also a few fossil and
mineral specimens as well as some archaeological objects. The
Land Arthropod Room contains over 60 metal cabinets housing
thousands of pinned insects as well as small collections of
arachnids, centipedes and millipedes in spirit. The majority of these
specimens are from Trinidad & Tobago but there are also species
from the wider Caribbean, South America and the rest of the world.
Highlights in the collection include the Banwari Burial, a 5,000 year
old Amerindian skeleton found in San Francique in the 1970s. This
skeleton is commonly known as Trinidad’s oldest resident and is
4
the oldest example of human remains from the West Indies. A more
recent addition is a 2.2 m long sperm whale jaw-bone collected from
a whale carcass washed ashore at Toco in 2013. Although there
are thousands of insects in the museum one collection stands out,
the Sir Norman Lamont Butterfly and Moth Collection. This was
assembled in the first half of the 20th century and consists of two
antique wood cabinets with thirty drawers of carefully pinned and
labelled specimens. There are also giant centipedes, deep sea isopods,
rare turtle shells, a whole pig skeleton (which many school kids
have mistaken for a dinosaur) and even a two-headed baby shark.
The museum is open to free tours and drop in visitors from
Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm. At times the curator and
technicians may be busy with other commitments, so it is a
good idea to contact the museum in advance if you want to visit.
For more information about the museum please contact the
curator Mike G. Rutherford by emailing mike.rutherford@
sta.uwi.edu or calling 662 2002 ext. 82237 or 82231.
You can find out more about the museum on-line at http://sta.
uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/zoology.asp where you will find access to
the museums database which currently has over 7000 specimens
with photographs. The museum also has an active Facebook page,
please “Like” us! https://www.facebook.com/uwizoologymuseum .
- Mike G. Rutherford
Students Helping Students
The FST Peer Advisors
Top Left Front Row (Left to Right): Zahra Gomes, Sabrina Ramirez, Onika Roberts, Sonia Singh, Danielle Gordon. Back Row (Left to Right): Carlos Rampersad,
Reshan Koon Koon, Videsh Jagroo. Middle (Top to Bottom): Salomi Seeram, Naila Singh, Dominic Mc Millan. Bottom Right Back Row (Left to Right): Clevon
Codrington, Vimal Deonarine, Adelia Sookhoo, Tashanna Aubin, Sinead Wears, Andrew Vieira, Lacey Chunilal, Haleem Hosein, Kevin Kowlessar, Akera Barry, Shelanna
Ajodha, Brandon Rajkumar (on leave), Bhanumattee Ramdhanie. Front Row (Left to Right): Deneil Estrada, Giselle Baptiste
T
he FST Peer Advisors programme is an initiative in the
Faculty of Science and Technology at the UWI, St. Augustine.
The pilot programme, undertaken during the 2013/2014
academic year, consisted of seven final-year undergraduate
students.
The group aimed to mitigate the academic and administrative
challenges faced by new and continuing undergraduate students
within FST by providing guidance to students in need. The Peer
Advisors also functioned as a liaising unit between the students
and the FST administration in order to enhance communications
and bring the problems faced by the student body to the attention
of the Dean’s Office.
In 2014/2015, the Peer Advisors consists of 26 students representing
each of the five departments within the faculty. The group intends
to enhance the programme and build on the success of the previous
year by extending outreach to the student body, particularly to
new students within the faculty. By providing academic and nonacademic support to students at all levels within FST, the Peer
Advisors hope to ease the transition of new students into university
life and enhance the overall FST experience. Having shared many
of the same experiences, the Advisors are equipped to share first
hand experiences in facing the many challenges of university
life in a way that is approachable and accessible to students. In
the aim of creating a cohesive community within the faculty, the
Peer Advisors also seek to assist with registration procedure and
problems, facilitating social events and activities and providing
students with the resources needed to cope with challenges and
situations they encounter.
Whether you require guidance on academic and administrative
matters or just someone to talk to about the challenges faced in
and out of FST, the Peer Advisors remain committed to making
a positive difference in the lives of the students and assisting with
problems large and small, to help you reach your full potential.
The Peer Advisors can be contacted via email at fstpeeradvisor@
gmail.com. The Peer Advisors also address problems, concerns and
questions highlighted by students on the Faculty of Science and
Technology Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/
UWI.FST/) and are available for one-on-one consultations at the
Office of the Dean in the C2 building in the Faculty of Science and
Technology.
- Shelanna Ajodha
5
“Citizen Science”
toward
innovation,
inclusiveness and
social
responsibility.
Replicable and easily accessible DIY air samplers may provide
a low-technology monitoring system to measure sulphur dioxide concentrations in air at the Sulphur Springs Park
and the town of Soufrière in Saint Lucia.
“Citiz en
Science” provides an opportunity
for substantial, thoughtful public outreach and allows in most cases for cost-efficient data collection over large scales.
It has become an increasingly popular
approach to undertaking environmental
monitoring activities made easier by technological advances in data collection tools
and internet communications. The level
of community engagement can vary from
manpower contributions to professional-led teams or more collaborative models
where community is involved in project design. Appropriate public engagement can
encourage long-term project sustainability.
Dr. Denise Beckles and Dr. Leonette
Cox of the Department of Chemistry are
working on a targeted community based
project through an initiative led by Dr.
Erouscilla Joseph at the UWI Seismic Research Centre. The objective is to establish a network to gather reliable air quality data as well as boost science education
6
The sleepy town of Soufrière Saint Lucia,
with a population of just less than 8400, is
most famous for the Gros Piton and the Petit Piton on the south-western coast. These
two peaks rising abruptly from the sea to
approximately 800 meters are the remnants
of a collapsed volcano within a volcanic
system of fumaroles and hot springs. Sulphur Springs Park, an active hydrothermal
area situated within the Soufrière Volcanic Centre, draws more than 200,000 visitors annually and provides livelihood for
many Saint Lucians. Volcanic gases, present even in a passive volcano, presents a
concern for environmental and human
health especially with long-term exposure.
The project provides a unique opportunity
to increase knowledge and community capacity in air quality matters that affect them
most closely. The air samplers are deployed
by Sulphur Springs Park tour guides and the
samples collected as air is bubbled through
the absorbing solution are sent to teachers and students at the Soufrière Comprehensive Secondary School for analysis by
titration.
In order to inform broader public
health issues, arsenic and
other heavy metals are measured intermittently in the Park’s
geothermal waters by the Department
of Chemistry. Science teachers and students, Saint Lucian disaster preparedness
officials, public health representatives, environmental health representatives and park
management officials were briefed on project objects and trained in methodologies
at a week-long training trip by members
of the UWI team to the island earlier this
year. An accompanying media campaign
in Saint Lucia sought to sensitize the wider community about volcanic gas hazards
and their potential impacts on the local
environment and hazards to human health.
The results for these DIY samplers will be
compared to conventional passive diffusion tubes and multi-gas measurements
taken by staff from the Montserrat Volcano
Observatory to assess data quality. Another site at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in Castries also hosts diffusion
tubes for comparison. By project end,
the sulphur dioxide in the air at Sulphur
Springs and Soufrière can be quantified
and the air samplers may eliminate the
need for Saint Lucians to ship diffusion
tubes abroad for analyses or hire external
agencies to conduct monitoring activities.
This eighteen month project includes
stakeholders from the Soufrière Regional Development Foundation, management of the Sulphur Springs Park, the
Saint Lucia National Emergency Management Organisation, the Montserrat
Volcano Observatory and is funded by
The UWI Trinidad and Tobago Research
and Development Impact Fund (RDI).
- Leonette Cox
The Two Views
Supervisor speaks
Student speaks
Laura took one of my classes
in wireless communications,
excelled in her coursework
and placed first in the final
examination. She was also the
top graduating student of her
MSc class and won the Trinidad and Tobago Network
Information Centre (TTNIC)
prize for this achievement.
After graduation Laura worked for a while before deciding to pursue her PhD under my supervision. Even before she was formally
registered for the degree she started working with me and read the
appropriate literature in her areas of interest. Besides being intelligent, she can work independently and seeks out guidance only
when needed.
Laura’s research is on Smart Grids. She is working closely with
T&TEC to address several problems and provide novel solutions.
These include enhancing the network that is used for collecting
data from their smart meters, mining received data to detect fraudulent activity and investigating how dynamic pricing can be used
to reduce costs for both consumers and T&TEC. This work will require expertise in a wide range of areas but she has happily accepted the challenge. Besides being of theoretical significance I believe
that her research will have an impact on society by providing more
efficient power grids.
Choosing a topic can be a
daunting task because lots
of research is being done all
around the world in developed countries. I wanted to
choose a topic where Trinidad and Tobago could possibly directly benefit from it.
So choosing that type of topic
was a bit challenging, but generally there are lots of problems to solve, you just
have to find one that really peaks your interest.
My research is really about coming up with a novel way to fuse data
from various sources, which will then be used to support decision
making, automate or optimize processes.
I am very excited to learn all the relevant topics surrounding it,
which is a lot of mathematics, artificial intelligence, and statistics.
It’s really a new and exciting area for me.
I think the contribution will be one step towards a smarter grid and
improve energy efficiency. Having a good supply of oil and gas is no
reason to waste and encourage inefficiencies.
You really have to take some time and think about what is your
overall career plan. PhD is not for everyone, if you like research,
learning and sharing your knowledge and want to continue down
that path, then go for it. One thing I believe in, is never do anything
for money, do it because your heart is in it.
- Prof. Patrick Hosein
- Laura Bigram
Steps to green living
When buying calculators, buy solar powered ones over battery operated ones. They cost about the same!
7
Dr
.N
oe
l Ka
licha
ra
n
o
er
inn
,w
wai
Kevin A
fE
ur
ek
a!
Cha
llen
ge receives
ze
pri
e
l
d
Kin
fr o
m
g Competi
tion
Makin
k
s
Ma
ba D
Zum
o
G
PHOTOJOURNALISM
CHALLENGE
Last issue we challenged you with a brain teaser. This time we tease you differently - pull out the camera and your scientific eye to take part in our new
challenge of “Science photojournalism”.
Submit a photo you have taken which showcases the scientific aspect of ....
anything and write a descriptive note in 100 words or less on the science
associated with your photo. Submit your photo along with the description
to [email protected] by deadline date of Albert Einstein’s birthday
(2015 of course).
ivas!
t
fessor Val
r
nte
E
!
Ph
ou r
on
F
otojournalism Chall
eng
e
n
u
ye
Bra
d
estr
on
Te
les
co
ole public lectu
re
Jahiem
kH
Win a Cel
a
lac
pe
t on
en
tB
w
ha
h P ro
wit
his
e
ei
Dean keeps
se
FST
you
s
When
th
e
ll
ba
ays!
alw
Diving deep in the Caribbean Sea
Dr. Judith Gobin is a Marine Scientist in
the Department of Life Sciences and she was
selected to join a Caribbean research mission
on-board the exploration vessel (E/V Nautilus)
during the period -10th to 15th November 2013
http://www.nautiluslive.org/. The Nautilus is a
64-meter research vessel operated by Dr Robert
Ballard and his Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) team.
Dr Ballard is internationally known for finding the wreck
of the Titanic. The Nautilus carried out ROV (Remote
Operated Vehicles) exploration and mapping of the Kick’em
Jenny volcano (off of Grenada), known as the most active and
dangerous submarine volcano in the Caribbean Sea.
On this exciting mission, the Nautilus team discovered what appears to be cold seeps with typical chemosynthetic
biological communities at a depth of around 2000 m! Chemosynthesis is the breakdown of chemicals (possibly
methane here) to provide energy and food whereas photosynthesis uses sunlight. The biological community
included giant mussels, tube worms, scale worms and other marine worms, gastropods, and many other organisms.
The mussels are on display in the Zoology Museum, Department of Life Sciences. (See article on page 4)
Cold seeps are areas where fluids rich in methane and hydrogen
sulphide seep from the seafloor. The seeps were located in the
“debris avalanche deposit” to the west of Kick’em Jenny volcano
in the Grenada Basin. Dr. Gobin has described her experience
as “amazing” and a “one in a life-time opportunity” and was
very pleased to be flying the UWI and Faculty’s flags!
Dr. Gobin returned to the mission in October 2014
and this time made the exciting discovery of four
new seeps that are about 130 Km off the East
coast of Trinidad. The sea was alive at the depth
of 1200 m with hundreds of thousands of of
eight-inch-long deep-sea mussels, metrelong tubeworms, pink shrimp, snails and
fish.
10
Tete-a-Tete with a Professor
of Mathematics
Professor Balswaroop Bhatt is from India and specializes in fluid dynamics
and researches in biomathematics in the Department of Mathematics.
He shared some insights into the often misunderstood magical world of
Mathematics with Eureka!
Eureka!: When did you
first get interested in
Mathematics?
Professor Bhatt: It was in high school
I realized I liked mathematics very much,
and from 8th grade I discovered I was good
at Mathematics. I was solving problems
in geometry that teachers could not. That
is how it all started. However, when I
was 3-5 years old in a village in India, a
pundit used to teach me. There was no
exam or anything. He gave us very good
training of mathematics. I was exposed to
mathematics as early as that and then at age
six we moved to the city and that is when I
started formal schooling.
Eureka!: Do you think
that FST is making
interventions to break
the cycle?
Professor Bhatt: Most of them become
Professor Bhatt: Yes, I tried and teachers, and some become actuaries in
started some myself. We offered courses
for teachers due to a request from the
Ministry of Education and the teachers
earned credits for them so they could be
promoted in their jobs. So when I was head
of the Department, the ministry wanted to
know what teachers who have Engineering
should do so that they may be promoted.
We designed five courses and offered them
regularly. However, nothing is happening
at other campuses and I am worried about
what is happening in the other islands.
Eureka! : So, is it true that
Eureka!: So would you
Mathematics is really
encourage persons to do
difficult?
Mathematics?
Professor Bhatt: The main problem
I am seeing here is that mathematics is
not the first choice for students. There are
very few persons who take mathematics
as a first choice. Those who do well, they
go onto higher studies. Those who just
pass, they become teachers. It is a vicious
cycle we are having in Trinidad and the
whole world. Therefore all institutions that
offer mathematical sciences have to put a
support system in place.
Eureka!: Is the job market
difficult for Mathematics
majors?
Professor Bhatt: Actually Mathematics,
whether you do it or don’t do it, knowingly
or unknowingly you do Mathematics from
birth till death. Ahhh, so everyone has to
do some Mathematics! Nowadays Mathematics can help tell you whether a disease
will become epidemic or not. Similarly in
human relations – you can tell statistically
how one party will behave in certain ways.
Mathematicians create models to try and
understand the dynamics of almost anything, like crime, politics, industrial problem solving, and administration problems.
insurance companies. Very good students
who have proceeded to pursue PhD abroad
often do not return. There is no attraction
to come back. We should have a research
institute somewhere where we can train
teachers also – and have visitor programmes
for short term and long term so at least if
they do not want to come back here, they
can still contribute to the region as a visiting
researcher for a year or two . Such an
institute can cater for not just Mathematics
but other science subjects too. Therefore,
there is a strong need that somewhere
we should have one research institute to
strengthen and support research capacities
where we can encourage young people to
develop themselves by exposure to high
level researchers for short term and expose
them to cutting edge research.
11
Noise Pollution - A Health Hazard
Research and Development Impact (RDI) funded project “Noise
induced hearing loss in various occupations / environments in
Trinidad and Tobago” was launched in the department of Physics.
The project aim is to investigate the relationship between noise
spectrum and intensity, and hearing loss at different frequencies.
This project will check and evaluate standards in the country. It
was established that for high noise levels the auditory mechanism
can be damaged depending on exposure time. Additionally, there
are safety rules regulating the maximum allowable exposure as a
mean to avoid damage.
In most of scientific publications, the loss of hearing is related to
the sensory–neural part, which is the death of sensitive cells in
the inner ear. Pilot studies, conducted in the Physics Department
with local steel pan players, have indicated significant hearing loss
in people in these environments. This loss was due to damages to
the middle ear. There is thus a need to conduct detailed studies on
noise levels and it’s relation to hearing loss in the different noisy
environments in Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr. Nikolay Zuzikov
We believe that “hearing loss” is a major public health hazard impacting not only our ability to communicate with one another but
also to engage individuals in the educational processes and enjoy
our quality of life.
FST Valedictorian Inspires Science Students
Wyke said there were thousands of students who were good in
science that are pressured into medicine, engineering and even law
because there appears to be no appreciation for pure science in the
Caribbean.
“I stand here today as an advocate for science, not just scientific
theories but for the culture of scientific thinking...and for the West
Indies to generally be part of the future that the world is gearing
towards and of which we are good enough to partake,” he said.
He believes there was no reason for the Caribbean not to lead the
world in scientific and technological advances.
Valedictorian for the Faculty of Science and Technology in the
University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, Ethan Wyke
encouraged his fellow graduates to persevere with their ideas even
if they face opposition, at UWI’s graduation ceremony at the Sport
and Physical Education Centre (SPEC), St Augustine.
“To all of the students that wish to pursue a career in the scientific
fields, in research or in an innovative new sector to which you seek
to pioneer in the West Indies, at times you may feel you are pushing
against the wall, I ask that you be persistent if your innovative
proposals go unnoticed. I ask that you be perseverant when your
ideas are only appreciated by the academic field of which you
belong,” he said.
12
“There is no reason the Caribbean cannot lead the world one
day in vertical farming, there is no reason that in a region that is
essentially a volcanic archipelago which receives a healthy amount
of sun and wind we cannot be the ones pioneering alternative
forms of energy. There is no reason theoretically that all of this
cannot happen one day,” Wyke said. He told the graduates that
they need to work on convincing those in power that there was a
reason to invest in science for the purposes of research, discovery
and experimentation.
around the St. Augustine campus finalizing
details with different departments and
booking my flight. It was stressful to
complete everything in such little time but
when I boarded my flight I remember being
extremely glad that I didn’t back down from
the challenge.
A Trek Up North
It wasn’t easy getting to Canada. The time
between when I got the offer letter in my
hand and when I boarded a flight out of
Trinidad was less than one week. By this
time the semester had already started and
I was faced with the decision of accepting
the scholarship and doing everything to
make it a reality or deferring it to another
semester. This meant finding temporary
accommodation while I sought more
permanent housing in Canada, running
I studied Computer Science in Montreal
at Concordia University and it is by far the
most beautiful city I’ve ever been to. You
don’t hear much about it, maybe they’re
keeping it a secret but the city is alive and
it breathes arts and architecture. Most of
the buildings downtown are surrounded
by light fixtures that project moving images
onto them and there was always some open
air exposition or street festival going. Each
corner of the city had its own story to tell
and I made it my business to learn those
stories. It was exhilarating to explore the
city without a guidebook, just wandering
about until I found interesting things. I met
people from all over the world who soon
became my friends and learning about their
culture was definitely the highlight of my
experience.
apartment with my head down in a book.
From music concerts and ice skating, to
sampling the different varieties of local craft
beer and participating in a city wide zombie
walk for Halloween, I lived, and Montreal
definitely earned a place in my heart, I’ll be
back there one day. After such a rewarding
experience my advice to anyone thinking
about pursuing an exchange is to seize the
opportunity. Don’t worry about how it will
all fit together just know that it will. Seize
opportunities now, worry and fix things
later.
- Jherez Taylor
Although the workload was moderately
heavy, I made it my goal not to stay in my
Astronomy For Peace
Not so long ago, in the course PHYS 1001 - Introduction to
Astronomy, students of UWI, FST were given the option “You can
do a traditional research paper for your project or you can work
as a class on the Astronomy theme peace park”. It was unanimous
decision to design and enhance the park on the corner of University
Drive to promote peace through Astronomy. The park perimeter
is enclosed within a peace sign and it houses models all made by
students of arhaeoastronomy themes of the pyramids of Giza and
placed at the centre is the only peace pole in Trinidad. The students
selected the languages in which “May peace prevail on Earth” is
written on the 4 sided pole - English, Spanish, Hindi and French.
Students added a wishing well to the peace park hand painted with
the constellations of Aquarius and Pisces. They had the satisfaction,
this was one class project that was not going to be just lying on
a shelf gathering dust but was an inspiring physical structure on
campus to be enjoyed by all. It is wonderful to see that this park
being used as a site for photography by professionals and a source
of amusement by children as they wonder on the strange markings
on it and learn about the universe along the way!
Students of the PHYS 1001 summer course proudly show off their creation
13
SEEING LIGHT THROUGH DARKNESS
Up close and personal with Anil Waithe
On teaching a Windows 8 course
to the blind....
I think I was the first to do that in the
Caribbean. No organisation did that,
not blind welfare, PAVI, nobody. And I
had people from all over the Caribbean,
Barbados, St. Lucia, so I would consider it as
socialisation as well because you are getting
to meet new cultures, hear about how the
disabled in the other Caribbean islands
make out and believe it or not everybody
has the same problems.
Eureka! spent an afternoon with visually
impaired student Anil Waithe who is
pursuing his MSc in Computer Science in
the faculty. We share some of his thoughts
on life, challenges and education.
“Challenges are a good thing,
you have to be able to convert the
negative to a positive.”
In his spare time...
I actually play video games and I actually
win too. I think I am the first blind person
that can play video games on a sighted level.
I play by sound, and the way that I play, they
usually say that I am not blind because of
how much I win. Even in high school I beat
one of my teachers and when he got “licks”
so he just walk out easy. He didn’t want
them know is he I played. But speaking of
socialization, I have actually developed a
Facebook application that would allow the
blind to chat on Facebook so I do my cyber
socializing those times too.
The future?
I am looking to go for PhD after
graduating. So once I am done I will have
“Permanent Head Damage”. I might more
look at business and computing, like
developing accessible software, because
they have a market for that. Once I have
the infrastructure set up on my system I
could teach from all over the world and in
that way I don’t have to worry about the
job market because at the end of the day
once you are disabled you are limited to the
number of jobs that you can get. And if I do
pursue PhD it will actually limit me more
because what some of the employers will
say is that I am too qualified. But right now
I am working on an accessible windows 7
blind edition. It’s just to carry it through
testing and make sure that it is working.
So the blind people don’t have to get any
sighted help.
Ultimate dreams...
I was thinking of making a virtual reality
simulator because I think that can actually
help blind people to see. Even though you
can’t see, once you have a virtual reality
system you can actually be able to apply
concepts. So if you have those sensors and
stuff, and you having problems explaining
to a blind person for instance what is a
circle or what it feels like, you can stimulate
the sense with these sensors and software
and you can actually simulate the concept
which is an interesting thing to work on
thinking about it.
Message to others with disabilities....
At the university, the advice is that you have
to have a positive mind-set. Because as I
said before blindness is the worst when it
comes to studying in the Caribbean. So if
I can reach so far, you should not have any
problem reaching so far. And to the parents
to, we need to spend more time with our
disabled children. We can’t just say well my
child is disabled and the best thing is for
him or her to stay home and I will just take
care of them. No, we need to show them a
bit of independence and help them to go
out there and achieve their destiny.
Editor’s note: As Anil Waithe got up to
leave, he thanked Eureka!’s roving reporter
Ms. Kereen Olivier and Editor Dr. S. Haque
and mischeviously said “Kereen, you are
taller than Dr. Haque”, leaving us totally
befuddled at how he figured that one out!
Steps to green living
1. Use non-disposable water bottles rather than bottled water.
Plastic water bottles are major environmental hazards.
2. Recycle paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and aluminium.
3. Buy an experience - rather than something and eliminate the
raw material used in its production and packaging.
14
4. Use buckets to wash your car rather than a hose - a hose uses
over 30 buckets of water to wash a car while it can be done in
about 5 buckets manually.
5. Cover your pan when boiling water. It boils about 6 % faster
saving time and gas.
Kudos to Eureka!
Dr. William P. Schonberg, P.E.
Missouri University of Science and Technology, U.S.A
“Thank you for sending me the inaugural issue of Eureka! Not only is it informative, but it is also very well put together. Please thank and congratulate your
staff on a job well done! I am looking forward to receiving upcoming issues
describing all the exciting activities at UWI”
Vindra Khanai
Engineer
“Thanks to the issue I now know that the newgrange-like mound is near C1 is
really known as the “Chemistry Solvent Stall”. Ten year old mystery solved!
Dr. Azad W. Harripaul
United Kingdom
“An impressive and professional looking first publication and a nice way
to keep in touch with what’s going on in the Sciences at UWI. Keep up
the good work and look forward to seeing more of Eureka”
Tyrone Ali, Deputy Dean
Faculty of Humanities and Education
“Many congratulations are in order for the FST’s Eureka!
Wonderful and innovative indeed.”
Great work on the magazine! Looking forward to many issues of it.”
Hollis Sankar, Curriculum Coordinator
Science, Ministry of Education
“Love the colour and variety of areas covered. Well done to editorial team.”
Errol Simm, Dean
Faculty of Social Sciences
“Please accept my congratulation. I particularly like the
name.”
In Memoriam of Verindar Ramkelawan
Verindar joined the Faculty of Science and Technology in 2009 (then Faculty of Science and Agriculture) for a BSc
programme in Physics. Not too long after, however, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. He therefore had to take leave
from his studies to attend to medical matters. Verindar returned to register for semester 1, 2014/2015 this August,
2014 having been told by doctors, he had five days to live. The heroic passion for academia and learning of this student
is unsurpassed. He refused to give up and continued to attend classes and do exams and labs for his programme in
Biomedical Technology in FST in and out of hospital - until he passed away in November, 2014. May he rest in peace.
Eureka! together with FST salutes Verindar Ramkelawan for his heroism in his battle against cancer and unrelenting
optimism in the face of all adversity. He will always be remembered and continue to inspire all who strive to achieve a
higher realm and greater learning in life.
15
What got you interested in Science?
Daniel Bissessar (BSc. Information Technology): The first
time I was put to use a computer in primary school, was the first
time I learned about Science. From then all I wanted to do was
learn more and more about how they worked and know I could
one day invent something that could benefit others or benefited
myself.
Melissa Seupersad (BSc. Mathematics): I would have to say that
I first got interested in science in secondary school. I was mainly
attracted to Mathematics though. At this time Mathematics started
making sense to me. My form 6 Mathematics teacher was my inspiration for pursuing my Mathematics degree. She made Mathematics an enjoyable subject for me.
Joshua Laborde (BSc. Chemistry/Biology): To be honest my
first interest in science was spawned from watching science
fiction series as a child. However, as I matured and I learned
more of what is made possible through science my interest was
renewed.
Dreavon Edward (BSc. Chemistry): During my childhood days I
was always interested with different inorganic and organic chemistry. I further got interested in the world of medicine which involves
a lot more chemistry. However, I did my first degree in Chemistry.
Then, one day I’ll be in the medical field.
Anika Achee (BSc. Computer Science): When the Niherst Science Caravan visited my primary school, we were introduced to
the concept of robots. Nothing fancy, I think it was just a robotic
vacuum, but it definitely sparked my curiosity. How did this robot know where to move when it hit into a wall or found itself
in a corner? This curiosity definitely sparked my initial interest
in Computer Science.
Tymicar Pope (BSc. Physics): Because science and religion are related, I think everything can be explained and discovered with science. Science is the building block of everything.
Zumba Diva and much
more…
Nisha Hazelwood is the Secretary at the
Department of Mathematics & Statistics. A very
energeic staff member, she runs marathons and
is a volunteer to the special Olympics for over
10 years. Her mantra is to love laugh, pray, play
and live life to the fullest!
Contact Information
Address: Eureka!, Office of the Dean, Faculty of
Science and Technology, The University of the West
Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago,
West Indies.
Phone: +1 (868) 662-2002 Ext. 84478
Email: [email protected]
Website: sta.uwi.edu/fst/
Programmes offered at the Faculty of Science and Technology:
Pre- Science Programmes:
Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.
Undergraduate Programmes in:
Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Information Technology, Biomedical Technology, Environmental Science and Sustainable
Technology, Mathematics / Actuarial Sciences / Statistics and Economics, Physics, Electronics.
s Issu
e
Postgraduate Programmes such as:
Diplomas, Masters of Science, Masters of Philosophy, and PhD in related programmes above.
New M.Sc.: Renewable Technology, Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health, Biotechnology,
Computer Science (with specialization in cloud and / or mobile computing). Coming soon M.Sc. in Medical Physics.