Eight
for IOJ Musgrave Medals
The
Institute
of
Jamaica
’s Annual Musgrave Medal Awards Ceremony will be held at the
Institute of Jamaica
,
10-16 East Street, Kingston
on Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at
3 p.m. Concomitant with its mandate, “For the
Encouragement of literature, science and art in Jamaica”, eight awards-two gold,
four silver and two bronze will be presented to individuals who have achieved excellence
in their respective fields.
The 2007 Musgrave Gold medal will be awarded to distinguished scientific researcher
and Nobel prize-nominated Jamaican scientist, Professor Bertram Fraser-Reid, for
his work in Chemistry. Fraser- Reid is a leading research scientist, whose findings
on sugar chemistry have led to several ground-breaking discoveries.
A renowned “carbohydrate chemist”,
Bert Fraser-Reid’s research on oligosaccharides, has immensely contributed to the
search for cures for immune deficiency diseases such as AIDS. Oligosaccharide is
a short chain of sugar molecules, typically
containing from three to ten units of simple sugars.
Fraser-Reid is the first scientist to have synthesized
the suspected toxin that causes cerebral malaria.
He also discovered that the chemical industry
could rely on sugar cane and sugar beet derivatives, rather than petroleum, as a
raw material. His research presented alternatives in the manufacture of plastic
and pharmaceutical products.Bert Fraser-Reid is President
and Director of Natural Products and Glycotechnology Research Institute, Inc. (NPG),
a non-profit organization located at the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State
University.
Musgrave Awards 2007 also commemorates the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic
trade in Africans. In light of this, the
Institute of Jamaica
will present a special Musgrave gold medal to the
Mystic Revelation of Rastafari
for their role in the development of indigenous Jamaican music.
The 2007 silver awardees are Michael Anthony
Lorde for his work in Architecture and Theatre Art, Kingsley ‘Ibo” Cooper, OD, for
his work in Music and Arts Management, Phillip Supersad for his work in art ceramic
and Donna Scott-Mottley for contribution to the development of Culture, through
the use of legal skills.
Bronze awards will be presented to Winston “Sparrow” Martin and George Huggins for
their work in the Development and Culture of Youth and Music respectively.
Twenty-three year old pilot, Captain Barrington Irving Jr., who recently made history
as the youngest and first black pilot to fly solo around the world, is the 2007
Youth Musgrave Awardee. Captain Irving was presented the Youth Musgrave Medal for
distinguished eminence in the field of aviation on Friday, August 3, 2007 during
a civic reception staged in his honour by the government of
Jamaica
at
Emancipation Park
.
Inaugurated in 2001, The Youth Award is intended to recognize outstanding scholarship
and creativity to persons under age 30 in a variety of disciplines. Captain Barrington
Irving joins this category of accomplished achievers such as Dr. Parris Anthony
Lyew-Ayee, the 2005 awardee and Makonnen Blake
Hannah, the recipient of the first Youth Musgrave in 2001 for excellence in the
field of information technology.
The year 2007 also marks the 110th
anniversary of the Musgrave Medals. The
Medals were first awarded in 1897 as a lasting tribute to founder of the Institute
and then Governor of
Jamaica
, Sir Anthony Musgrave, who founded the
Institute of Jamaica
in 1879. Past Musgrave awardees include the Honourable Mrs. Louise Bennett- Coverly,
Professor the Honourable Rex Nettleford,
OM
, FIJ and the Honourable Edna Manley, O.M.
Contact:
Latoya Pennant, Public Relations Officer
Tel:
922-0620-6
Fax:
922-1147
Email:
pr.ioj@mail.infochan.com
To view list of past Musgrave Awardees Click
Here >>
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