Charah Watson, a PhD. Candidate in the Department of Chemistry, The University of the West Indies, Mona, is the recipient of an International Year of Chemistry Award.  The Award was presented to her recently at a prestigious Natural Products, Medicinal, and Organic Synthesis Chemistry Symposium held in celebration of the International Year of Chemistry in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and at which four Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry were among the invited speakers.
 
The year 2011 has been designated by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry as the International Year of Chemistry.
 
As part of the celebrations, the organisers also invited one hundred promising young chemists from around the world to present their research at the Symposium themed ‘Integrated Solutions for Tomorrow’s World”. Miss Watson was one of only two young chemists from this region who were invited with full sponsorship (with all airfare, accommodation, and conference expenses paid.) In her application, she described her investigations into two invasive citrus pests that have been found on the citrus plants in the region, the Citrus and Chequered Swallowtail Butterflies the latter being a recent discovery. Her research has led to two recent patent applications for effective methods of control against both pest species, and which have the added benefit of also being environmentally friendly.  Her research supervisor is Dr. Trevor Yee of the UWI Mona’s Natural Products Institute.