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Remembering our Colleague | Dr. Phylicia Ricketts

Dr. Phylicia Ricketts joined the Department of Physics as a Lecturer in 2018 after having excelled as both an undergraduate and postgraduate student. She was a student-centred lecturer who taught at all levels. Her students recall her smile and the joy she brought to the classroom. She was also a brilliant researcher whose work focused on human exposure to essential, toxic and radioactive elements from the environment. She became renowned for her work tackling the skin bleaching ‘pandemic’ in Jamaica which saw her contributing to the following media house articles:   Brown men’ wanted - Male 'bleachers outnumber females in Jamaica; Bleaching Warning and Bleaching cream alarm!.  Her research won her awards, including the Best Poster Award at the Women in Nuclear (WiN) 22nd Annual Global Conference held in Sydney, Australia, while still a graduate student, and a Canada-CARICOM Leadership Scholarship in 2015 which allowed her to spend time at McGill University pursuing collaborative research. She had a growing publication and citation record, with her last paper appearing in the highly ranked Environmental Science and Pollution Research journal in 2022, examining the health risks posed by inorganic elements in common consumer plastics.

Dr. Ricketts was an active member of staff who contributed to the overall strategic goals of the Department of Physics, particularly through the development of the BSc Biomedical Radiation Science and MSc Clinical Medical Physics programmes.

Dr. Rickett’s brilliance was recognised through several national awards including the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence in Innovation, Science and Technology in 2018 and the Science & Technology Xxtrordineers Award, 2022.

Outside of teaching and research, she played the clarinet in the UWI classical and Jazz wind ensemble.

Dr. Ricketts was an exemplary member of the Department of Physics and by extension, The FST. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and loved ones during this difficult time. May her soul rest in eternal peace.

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Published on 07 Mar, 2023

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