The Faculty of Science and Technology, The UWI Mona

🎉 Celebrating our 2026 FST Staff Award Recipients!

At our annual Brunch & Lyme in July, we proudly recognised members of the FST staff community whose dedication, leadership, and contributions continue to make a meaningful impact. 🏆✨

Swipe through to meet this year’s outstanding staff award recipients:

👉 Slides 1 & 2: Professor Venkateswara Rao Penugonda — Staff of the Year Award 2026

👉 Slides 3 & 4: Dr. Chinthapalli Bhaskar Rao — Staff of the Year Runner-up Award 2026

👉 Slides 5 & 6: Ms. Karen Bogle — Staff Spirit Award 2026

👉 Slides 7 & 8: Mr. Daudi Williams — Staff Spirit Runner-up Award 2026

👉 Slide 9: Dr. Donna Minott Kates — FST Brunch Spirit Award 2026

These exceptional members of our FST family embody the spirit of excellence, dedication, and community. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and the impact they continue to make! 💙👏🏽

🎉 Congratulations to our Sandals Day Pass Prize Winners! 🏝️✨

As part of our annual FST Brunch & Lyme, we were delighted to celebrate Doran and Kiana Beckford, recipients of The UWI Faculty of Science and Technology Sandals Day Pass Prize! 🎁🌴

A well-deserved opportunity to relax, unwind, and enjoy a day of fun in the sun! ☀️🥂

Congratulations to the Beckford family! We hope you enjoy your Sandals experience! 💙💛

Welcoming Our New FST Leaders!

The Faculty of Science and Technology warmly congratulates and welcomes four valued colleagues as they assume new leadership roles, effective August 1, 2026:

🔹 Dr. Dwight Robinson — Associate Dean, Graduate Studies and Research
🔹 Dr. Paul Gaynor — Associate Dean, Undergraduate Matters
🔹 Dr. Nadale Downer-Riley — Head, Department of Chemistry
🔹 Dr. Chinthapalli Bhaskar Rao — Head, Department of Life Sciences

We look forward to the expertise, vision and leadership they will bring to their respective portfolios as the Faculty continues advancing excellence in teaching, research, innovation and service.

Please join us in wishing them every success in their new capacities!

🎉 FST Welcomes New Dean, Professor Gunjan Mansingh! 👩

The Faculty of Science and Technology proudly welcomes Professor Gunjan Mansingh as its new Dean, effective August 1, 2026.

Professor Mansingh’s appointment is historic, as she becomes the first woman to serve as Dean of the Faculty. A distinguished academic, researcher and leader in Computing and Data Science, she brings extensive experience, innovation and a strong commitment to academic excellence.

We look forward to her leadership as the Faculty continues to advance STEM education, research and innovation while contributing to the development of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Mansingh and wishing her every success in this historic new chapter.

A Legacy of Service and Leadership 💙💛

The Faculty of Science and Technology extends heartfelt appreciation to members of the FST Management Team who have completed their tenure after years of dedicated and exemplary service.

Through their leadership, commitment and vision, they have made significant contributions to advancing STEM education, research, innovation and the overall development of the Faculty. Their impact has helped to strengthen the FST community and will continue to be felt for years to come.

While their presence on the Management Team will certainly be missed, we celebrate their contributions and wish them every success as they embark on new chapters.

Well done, Professor Michael Taylor, Professor Mona Webber, Dr. Donna Minott-Kates and Dr. Curtis Busby-Earle.

You have served with distinction, and we sincerely thank you for your invaluable contribution to the Faculty of Science and Technology. You have indeed served well! 👏🏽💙💛

You chose The UWI Mona. Now, it is time to begin the journey.

Life rarely gives us a map showing exactly where every road will lead. We choose a direction, take the first step, and trust that the journey will reveal what is possible. By choosing The UWI Mona, you have chosen a route travelled by generations of thinkers, leaders, creators and changemakers.

Orientation 2026 is where your route begins.

From August 18 to 28, Orientation Week will welcome new members of our community through a series of experiences designed to help you find your bearings, meet your people and prepare for the road ahead.

Orientation Week 2026

August 18 | Regional & International Students
August 19 | Parents & Families
August 20 & 21 | New Undergraduate Students
August 23 | Parents & Families, Western Jamaica Campus
August 24 | General Orientation, Western Jamaica Campus
August 24 to 28 | Faculty Orientation, New Undergraduate Students
August 27 | New Graduate Students
August 28 | Faculty Orientation, New Graduate Students

There will be turns you did not expect, challenges you could not have planned for, and opportunities you cannot yet imagine. But every remarkable journey begins with choosing a direction.

You chose a route that can take you anywhere.

You made your choice. You found your route. Now, make it remarkable.

Welcome home, Pelican. Welcome to The UWI Mona.

Celebrating Our 2026 UWI-BYSEP Emerging Professionals 👩🏽‍⚕️👷‍♀️👩‍💼👨🏿‍💼👷🏽‍♂️👨‍🏭

A heartfelt thank you to our 2026 UWI–Bethel Youth Summer Employment Programme (BYSEP) participants, who generously shared their time, energy and talents from July 5–31. They provided valuable support to activities across the Faculty of Science and Technology and the wider Mona Campus, including the OSSD and the UWI Health Centre.

We proudly recognise Julissa Reid, Danielle Chambers, Ashantie Brooks, Rodane Bogle, Abigail Lewis, Tevin Brown, Amaris Wishart, Zaina Rhoden, Fantasia Fordon and Amelia Taylor.

Partnerships such as UWI-BYSEP programme provide young people with meaningful workplace exposure, helping them to develop confidence, professionalism and practical skills. They also strengthen the connection between the University and the communities we serve.

As these emerging professionals continue their journeys, we wish them every success in their future endeavours. The future is bright! 🌟

Commenced in 2022, the UWI-BYSEP programme is a partnership between the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Bethel Baptist Church. 🤝

🏆 FST Chemistry Student Wins Best Poster Prize at International Green Chemistry Conference 🌱🧪

Congratulations to Areka Rattery, MPhil Chemistry student in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, The UWI Mona, who received the Sustainability & Circularity NOW Poster Prize for Best Poster Presentation at the 30th Annual American Chemical Society Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference, held June 15–18, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas.

Areka’s award-winning research, “Unpacking Green Claims: A Scientific Assessment of Paper-Based Food Packaging After Styrofoam and Plastic Bans in Jamaica,” examines whether paper-based food packaging introduced as more environmentally friendly alternatives truly delivers on its sustainability claims.

Building on her MSc research in Food & Agro-Processing Technology, she is assessing these materials through the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry, with attention to recyclability, circularity, life-cycle impacts and potential greenwashing. 🌎♻️

Her research has benefited from support from the ACS Green Chemistry Institute, the Department of Chemistry, The UWI Mona, the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS), the MSc Food & Agro-Processing Technology programme, and her MSc supervisors Dr. Vaughn Robin Rattray and Ms. Leslie Hoo Fung.

👏 Congratulations, Areka, on taking locally relevant Jamaican research to the international stage!

Free Training Opportunity - Eyes in the Sky 👁👁☁️🛰

Register today for the UWI–StarApple AI face-to-face 3-hour certificate short course, “Eyes in the Sky ”on August 12, 2026 , Faculty of Science and Tecchnology, The UWI Mona.

This course is offered at no cost, but spaces are limited so secure your spot now!

Register at https://adriandunkley.net/courses/eyes-in-the-sky-high-school.html