The Faculty of Science and Technology highlights and rewards the academic excellence of students across all programmes in the Faculty. Students are eligible for consideration of the awards within their respective departments as well as at the Faculty level.
Click on an image below to go directly to a Department of choice.
DEPARTMENTAL AWARDS
The Leonard J. Haynes Award
The Leonard J. Haynes Award Professor Leonard J. Haynes joined the staff of the Chemistry Department, University College of the West Indies, in 1956. A Natural Products Chemist by training, he was instrumental in launching the Mona Symposium in 1966 and it remains the longest running conference of its kind within the Caribbean. He served the Department as Professor, carrying out research and lecturing in Organic Chemistry, and was the second Head of Department, leaving in 1968.
The award named in his honour is presented annually to the student with the best academic performance in the Introductory Level Chemistry courses CHEM1901/1902 and who is proceeding to Level 2 courses. Seed funding for the award came from a donation made by his widow, Mrs. Mary Haynes, in January 1994, and the award was first handed out in 1998.
ELIGIBILITY
The Chemistry Department Prize
The Chemistry Department Prize is awarded to a student who has the second best academic performance in the Introductory Level Courses CHEM1901/1902 in Chemistry and who is proceeding to Level 2 courses. The awardee should not be in receipt of any other Chemistry Department prize in the year of consideration.
ELIGIBILITY
The Pavelich/Honkan Prize
The Pavelich/Honkan Prize was named in honour of Prof. Michael Pavelich and Dr. Vidya Honkan. Professor Michael Pavelich was a Professor of Chemistry at the Colorado School of Mines, U.S.A., spent a year as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Chemistry as a sabbatical replacement for the Late Professor Tara Dasgupta during 1984-85. At the end of his stay he donated funds towards a prize to recognize chemistry. Dr Honkan completed her PhD in 1980 under the supervision of Professor Wilfred Chan and Dr. Basil Burke. After her sudden passing, a donation was made to the Department in honor of her love for chemistry.
ELIGIBILITY
The Wilfred Chan Award
The Wilfred Chan Award
The Late Wilfred Chan completed the requirements for the BSc degree in 1952 and then went on to pursue research under the direction of Prof. Cedric Hassall. He completed his research in 1956 and was the first West Indian to receive the PhD degree at Mona. In 1959 he was appointed Lecturer and began a vigorous research programme and rose through the ranks to become the first West Indian to be promoted to a personal chair (1971). In 1966 the Chemistry Department hosted the first Mona Symposium (on Natural Products Chemistry) with him as its Organizing Secretary. Prof. Chan later served as Head of the Chemistry Department at Mona from 1972 to 1975. In 1979, he moved to the St. Augustine Campus to boost research efforts in its young Chemistry Department. He retired from St. Augustine in 1997, having served as Head and Dean during his tenure there. Prof. Chan‟s contributions over the years to natural products chemistry have been internationally recognized. The Wilfred Chan Award was first made in 2000.
ELIGIBILITY
The Bert Fraser Reid Award
The Late Bert Fraser-Reid was a synthetic organic chemist who was recognized worldwide for his work in carbohydrate chemistry and his effort to develop a carbohydrate-based malaria vaccine. He earned his BSc and MSc degrees at Queen's University in Canada and a PhD at the University of Alberta in 1964 before doing post-doctoral work with Nobel Laureate, Sir Derek Barton from 1964-1966. In 2007, the Institute of Jamaica awarded the Musgrave Gold Medal to Prof. Fraser-Reid for his outstanding work in Chemistry. Apart from his interests in science, he was an accomplished musician who gave piano and organ recitals at several notable venues.
ELIGIBILITY
The Cedric Hassall Scholarship
The Cedric Hassall Scholarship was named in honour of the Late Professor Cedric Hassall, the first Professor of Chemistry at the University and is intended to foster and encourage students to achieve standards of excellence which Professor Hassall insisted should be the hallmark of students pursuing courses in Chemistry. The Cedric Hassall Prize was awarded in the past to a student in Chemistry who, in the opinion of the Examiners, has shown the best performance in the Examinations associated with the first year of advanced Chemistry courses. The Cedric Hassall Prize was recently upgraded to a Scholarship to be awarded to a final year student who is currently majoring in Chemistry and satisfies the above criteria.
ELIGIBILITY
The Garfield Sadler Award
Garfield Sadler graduated from the Chemistry Department of the University of the West Indies, Mona, with a degree in Special Chemistry in 1980. He then pursued doctoral studies in Inorganic Chemistry under the supervision of the Late Professor Tara Dasgupta and graduated three years later with a PhD degree, having specialized in the study of Reaction Mechanisms. In 1983, Dr. Sadler joined the staff of the Department as a Lecturer of Inorganic Chemistry. This marked the start of a vibrant career in teaching and research. His contribution, however, to the development of Chemistry was short-lived as he died tragically in 1991. The Garfield Sadler Award is a tribute to the life and work of Dr Garfield Sadler.
ELIGIBILITY
The Willard Pinnock Prize
The Willard Pinnock Prize is a tribute to the life and work of the Late Dr Willard Pinnock who served the Department of Chemistry for more than 29 years before he retired as a Senior Lecturer in Physical Chemistry in 2011. He was known for his outstanding contribution to teaching and to student guidance and welfare and was recognized several times by the Faculty for his high scores on the student assessment surveys. He was the first recipient of the Guardian Life Premium Teaching Award at Mona in the academic year 2003/04 and later that year he also received the Vice Chancellors Award for Excellence in Teaching. A UWI alumnus, he earned both BSc (Chemistry and Physics) and MSc (Atmospheric Physics) degrees from the University of the West Indies and obtained a PhD degree in Medical Bio-Physics from the University of Dundee.
ELIGIBILITY
The Karl Robinson Award in Computer Science
The Karl Robinson Award is a tribute to the life and work of the late Karl Robinson who distinguished himself as an invaluable member of the then Department of Mathematics & Computer Science. This award is presented to a final year student with the best academic performance in Computer Science.
ELIGIBILITY
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY
The Geological Society of Jamaica Scholarship
The Geological Society of Jamaica Scholarship was inaugurated in 1981 to identify outstanding students in the undergraduate Geology programme and to single out such talent for recognition and support. This award is made to a student who possesses outstanding scholastic abilities and has secured excellent grades at two successive University Examinations.
ELIGIBILITY
The Geological Society of Jamaica sponsors a number of other prizes in the Department of Geology and Geography. Geology students are eligible for the following awards:
The Level 1 Geology Prize
This prize is awarded to the Geology student with the best academic performance in Level 1 courses.
The Level II Geology Prize
This prize is awarded to the Geology student producing the best geology field map in GEOL2204 – Field Techniques for Geology.
The Level III Geology Prize
This prize is awarded to the Geology student producing the best final year research project.
The Don Skelding Prize
Professor Arthur Donald Skelding, D.Sc. was the second Professor of Botany at the University of the West Indies, Mona from 1955 to 1973. When he returned to Jamaica in June 1985 in his capacity as External Examiner for the B.Sc. in Botany, he made a donation to the Botany Department which the then Professor of Botany invested. The Don Skelding Prize was thus named as tribute to his life and work and his donation to the department.
ELIGIBILITY
The Sasikala Potluri Prize
Dr. Sasikala Potluri joined the then Department of Botany, now Life Sciences, in 1980. She had served as a Demonstrator, Teaching Assistant and finally a Lecturer, until her resignation in August 2004. Dr. Potluri has contributed significantly to the Department’s teaching programme at all levels with great success as well as providing a thrust in Horticulture and Tissue Culture. The award named in her honor is presented annually to the student with the best performance in her discipline.
ELIGIBILITY
The Lloyd B. Coke Award
The late Dr. L.B. Coke, former Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Botany, taught Plant Physiology for fifteen years. The Department of Botany has instituted the prize in his honor after his sudden death on 31 December, 1990. This prize is awarded every year to the student who obtains the highest mark in Plant Physiology.
ELIGIBILITY
The Charlotte Goodbody Prize
Charlotte Goodbody was employed as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Zoology with responsibility for the first year classes (Cell Biology and Animal Diversity). She conducted laboratory classes and occasionally gave lectures. Her fascination with experimental Biology and Zoology made her an invaluable resource to the first year students, demonstrators and lecturers for many years. She retired in 1989 and now lives in Aberdeen. The award named in honor of Mrs. Charlotte Goodbody, made for the first time in 2011, is a book grant to be given to the best student in the first year (first semester) courses.
ELIGIBILITY
The Avinash Potluri Prize
The prize has been established by Dr. Devi Prasad and Dr. Sasikala Potluri, former Senior Lecturer and Lecturer respectively in the Department of Life Sciences, in memory of their late son, who did Animal Diversity during his undergraduate years at the University and stated it to be a turning point in his life.
ELIGIBILITY
The Devi Prasad Prize
The Devi Prasad Prize Dr. Devi Prasad joined the then Department of Botany, now Life Sciences, in October 1979. He was a former Head of the Department of Botany. Dr. Devi Prasad had served the University for 23 years, when he resigned in August 2003 as Senior Lecturer. He has done extensive research in Algal Physiology, Marine Plants, Natural Products and Water Pollution. The award named in his honour was awarded for the first time in 2007.
ELIGIBILITY
The Vincent McKie Prize in Zoology
Vincent Hugh Wilson McKie, in addition to being a Zoologist, was President of the Guild of Undergraduates, Hall Chairman for Taylor Hall, President of the UWI Drama Club, and President of the UWI Camera Club and of the Tennis Club while attending the UWI. He achieved excellence as a science teacher and was awarded the Silver Musgrave Medal for his work in the Sciences, Education and the Fine Arts. This Award in his honour is not based on academic excellence alone, but also takes into account participation in extra-curricular activities.
ELIGIBILITY
The Department of Mathematics Prize
The Department of Mathematics was pioneered by the Department to encourage and reward students for outstanding performance.
ELIGIBILITY
The Merville Campbell Prize (Level I and II)
The Merville Campbell Prize was established by the Mathematics and Computer Science Department in 1995 in memory of Merville Campbell who had served the Department of Mathematics for several years.
ELIGIBILITY (Level I)
ELIGIBILITY (Level II)
The University Lodge/Leslie Robinson Prize The Euclid King/Lodge Prize
The University Lodge/Leslie Robinson Prize The Euclid King/Lodge Prize was established by the University Lodge of the West Indies, as a book grant to a Level I student in honor of their members, the late Euclid King who was a lecturer in the department as well as Professor Leslie Robinson. Each year the grant is awarded in memory of Messrs. King and Robinson alternately.
ELIGIBILITY
John Lodenquai Physics Bursary
The John Lodenquai Prize has been established by the family of the late Prof. John Lodenquai, a former Professor in Astro-Physics and a graduate of the University of the West Indies. It is to be presented to the student with the best performance in Level I.
ELIGIBILITY
Michael Tharmanahthan Memorial Bursary
Dr. Ponnambalam, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics, made a donation to the Department of Physics in memory of his late father, Michael Tharmanahthan, to provide bursaries for students reading Physics at the Mona Campus. The Bursary is intended to ensure that financial need does not stand in the way of academic achievement.
ELIGIBILITY
Level II Departmental Prize
The Department has been awarding prizes for many years to students who do well in the "200" level examinations. The purpose is to reward and encourage, and so only those students who go on to "300" level Physics qualify. It is possible, in any case, that no prize is awarded if no student gains a good enough grade, B+ and better. The two (2) students with the highest marks are awarded prizes.
ELIGIBILITY
Francis Bowen Memorial Bursary
The Francis Bowen Memorial Bursary was established in memory of the late Francis Bowen who was the first Head of the Department of Physics. The award is restricted to students in the Faculty of Science and Technology, Mona Campus, who are committed to the study of Physics on the basis of performance in the P200 Level examinations.
ELIGIBILITY
THE PHYSICS HONORS SOCIETY
This is a prestiguous community within the Department of Physics which you can join based on semester by semester performance in Physics courses. The Physics Honours Society was created as a way to encourage Physics students to aim higher and achieve more. The society's main goal is for its members to graduate with honours (first class or upper second).
ELIGIBILITY
BENEFITS OF BEING A MEMBER
Academic Commendation
The Academic Commendation recognizes undergraduate students for their outstanding academic performance in a given semester during an academic year; that is during either Semester 1 and Semester 2.
ELIGIBILITY
1. Student must have earned a GPA of 3.6 and above for the applicable semester with no course grade below B+. Performance during the Summer Semester (Semester 3) or Summer School is not considered.
2. Student must be enrolled either full-time or if part time must pursue no less than three (3) courses).
3. Student must not have any incomplete or failing course grades.
4. Student must have no disciplinary actions taken or pending against them.
Conditions apply as it relates to the courses that are pursued
Dean's List
Dean's Honour Roll recognizes undergraduate students for their outstanding academic performance for an academic year.
ELIGIBILITY
1. Student must have earned a GPA of 3.6 and above with no course grade below B+ in both Semester I & II of the applicable academic year. Performance during the Summer Semester (Semester 3) or Summer School is not considered.
2. Student must be enrolled either full-time or if part time must pursue no less than three (3) courses).
3. Student must not have any incomplete or failing course grades.
4. Student must have no disciplinary actions taken or pending against them.
Conditions apply as it relates to the courses that are pursued
Foundation Course Award
The Faculty awards the academic achievement of students who pursue the Foundation course hosted by the Faculty, FOUN1201: Science, Medicine and Technology in Society. Each year the student who attain the highest grade in Semester I and II are awarded at the Faculty’s Award ceremony.
ELIGIBILITY