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Remembering our colleague – Professor Emeritus Kenneth Magnus

Professor Emeritus Kenneth Eugene Magnus, C.D., (former Head of Department of Chemistry and former Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, now Faculty of Science and Technology) joined the staff of The University of the West Indies, Mona in 1954 as a Junior Research Fellow. He had the distinction of being among the first batch of students to graduate from the then University College of the West Indies having been awarded a First Class Honours BSc degree in 1952. Kenneth Magnus went on to complete an MSc (1955) and a PhD (1958) in Chemistry under the supervision of Professor Cedric Hassall (the first Head of the Department of Chemistry). Before he had completed his PhD however, Professor Hassall had accepted a position at the University College, Swansea, which necessitated him following him to complete the work and submit his Thesis. The Department maintained strong links to Swansea for decades following this.

Appointed Lecturer in 1962, Kenneth Magnus rose through the academic ranks until his distinction as an administrator and researcher gained him the first Chair of Applied Chemistry in 1987. Professor Magnus served three terms as the Head of Department of Chemistry (1977 to 1986), overlapping with his appointment in 1985 as Dean of the then Faculty of Natural Sciences. During his tenure as Head of Department, he was credited with recognising the importance of the thrust in Information Technology and fostered its development in the Department and the wider University. This continued when he was Dean, leading to the computerisation of the Faculty office and, under his guidance and support, to the development of the Campus student database system.

Professor Kenneth Magnus was an outstanding educator, always striving to ensure that science programmes were of relevance to the needs of the country and the region and diligently helping students to realise their potential. In 1968, he started the Applied Chemistry programme at UWI, which later became a separate major at the Mona Campus. Between 1969 and 1970, he helped develop the science curriculum for Jamaica's primary and secondary schools. Professor Magnus established a postgraduate Diploma in “Sugar Cane Processing”, in 1977, which attracted students from the region and from as far away as Africa. He was instrumental in establishing the Food Chemistry programme (1980/1981) in the Chemistry Department, which was in keeping with Jamaica’s national move at the time to have an increased emphasis on food processing. The laboratory that now houses the Applied Chemistry programme was named the Kenneth E. Magnus Unit Operations Laboratory in his honour, while the Kenneth E. Magnus Award for Applied Chemistry is awarded to a final year student pursuing an Applied Chemistry Major and who has the best academic performance in the courses comprising the major.

In recognition of his dedication, and his sterling service to science development nationally, Professor Magnus had received a number of awards, namely, the Pelican Award (Guild of Graduates, The University of the West Indies, 1966), Centenary Medal (Institute of Jamaica, 1979), Prime Minister’s Award (1983), Award for Science Education (Jamaica Society of Scientists and Technologists, 1985), the Silver Musgrave Medal (1994) and, was the recipient of the Order of Distinction Commander Class (1996).

Throughout his research career, Professor Magnus conducted research on essential oils, food flavouring, sweeteners, ackee, pimento, sorrel, papaya, sugar cane processing, food preservation, and local medicinal plants. He studied bauxite processing and the environmentally unsafe red mud residue from that process. Professor Magnus along with Professor Cedric Hassall isolated the antibiotic Monamycin, which was named after the Mona Campus, and was patented in Canada, Germany and the UK.

During his retirement, Professor Magnus remained committed to the development of the Chemistry Department. Along with his wife Isabel, who predeceased him, he continued to assist with the biennial Mona Symposium on Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry. The importance of capturing the history and contributions of the Department did not escape his attention and so he co-authored the monograph The Department of Chemistry, UWI, Mona: With Emphasis on the Early Years (2010) with Professor Robert Lancashire. All proceeds from sale of the book go towards supporting student prizes and awards in the Department.

Professor Magnus was very interested in Jamaica's Natural History, much of it learnt while he was at the Wolmer's Boys School and a Boy Scout, and Jamaica's history in general. He shared this knowledge freely with his colleagues and friends. His family was very welcoming to new staff and provided a home away from home for many staff who came from overseas. He and Isabel were very hospitable towards colleagues visiting from other countries and they made many friends through this. The family had kept in touch with friends made during Ken's time in Wales and those made through visits to Jamaica as well as when they made their regular trips to the UK.

The Department of Chemistry is especially grateful for the contributions of Professor Kenneth Magnus and his legacy that lives on in the chemists he has trained and the lives he has impacted.

On behalf of the Department of Chemistry, sincere condolences are extended to his daughter Andrea, as well as his friends and colleagues.

Published on 25 May, 2021

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