The Department of Chemistry notes with sadness the death of postgraduate student and former colleague, Mr. Trevor Ramikie. Mr. Ramikie was as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health (OESH) Programme in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology for ten years, up to 2020. During this time, he participated in the delivery and evaluation of six undergraduate courses. The OESH students benefitted from the industrial and regulatory experience that he brought to the programme, which greatly enriched their learning. In addition, for several years, Mr. Ramikie was a Laboratory Demonstrator in the undergraduate Analytical Chemistry and Chemical Process Principles courses in the Department of Chemistry, where he shared his practical knowledge and experience.

Mr. Ramikie was a finalising doctoral student in the OESH Programme. His research topic, about which he was very passionate, was Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention in Jamaica. He dedicated himself to understanding and disseminating findings about the occurrence, prevention and control of this important environmental hazard. He gave two oral presentations of his work at the International Federation of Environmental Health/Jamaica Association of Public Health Inspectors (IFEH/JAPHI) “One Health One Environment” Conference in 2018. In June 2020, he also published a peer[1]reviewed article on his research in the International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis and was invited to join the journal as a member of the Editorial Board or as a reviewer. His PhD thesis was in an advanced stage of completion for examination at his untimely passing.

 The Department of Chemistry and the entire Faculty extends sincere condolences to Mr. Ramikie’s family, friends, students and colleagues.