The National Medal for Science, Technology and Innovation Ceremony | Jamaica News
foreign thank you my name is Fabian Brown and it certainly is my pleasure a distinct honor for me to guide your program this afternoon as your director of ceremonies I am sure you're well aware that this afternoon is a very special occasion the occasion of the national medal for Science and Technology and innovation may I now invite you to stand for the national anthem please guide us with my eyes again keep us free from the evil eyes our life Place hours foreign thank you very much please be seated and to bring the official welcome I would now like to invite The Honorable Daryl Vaz minister of science energy and Technology thank you very much Mr Master of Ceremonies prime minister Dr Arif Gene Burroughs executive director ncst Dr Shara Watson executive director scientific research Council board members management and staff of the NS ncst and SRC directors of the ministry of science energy and Technology heads of agencies The Honorable Robert Levy chairman of the national foundation for development of Science and Technology Professor Ronald Young chief judge National Innovation competition 2022 panel of Judges nominees members of the media ladies and gentlemen so all persons who speak after me can just say all Protocols are observed ladies and gentlemen it is my honor to welcome everyone as we recognize and celebrate excellence in the local scientific and technological community I'm thrilled to continue the government's Pro tradition of saluting scientific innovation and Excellence through the national Innovation Awards 17 years after its establishment in 2005 the national medal for science technology and Innovation is more important than ever serving as an inspiration for the future scientists who will drive Jamaica's growth and development in a science technology engineering and Mathematics stem field this competition originated from a necessity to inspire motivate and support local innovators promoting Innovation and an appreciation for Science and Technology and its applications to daily life is a core component of the ministry's work because we acknowledge how vital these matters are to National development these Innovations also serve the scientific community and the general population as they provide solutions to real challenges we face in our society the rule Science and Technology plays in today's world is crucial undoubtedly how a society incorporates Science and Technology into business and daily life will help determine how well we compete on the international stage it is also it will also impact our ability to improve education infrastructure medicine Communications and Industry all critical factors for development this year's nominees are incredibly imaginative and their dedication to their various speeds is admirable the quantity and quality of the application this year proves that although we have a long way to go in our stem Journey as a nation we are on the right track I'm delighted to note that we judged a wide selection of entries from eight distinct categories this year agriculture food and Agri processing educational popularization of science technology and innovation energy and energy efficiency engineering and Manufacturing entertainment products environmental sustainability and climate change health and safety and information and Communications technology these candidates through their revolutionary ideas and inventions represent the potential of our nation and signify the tremendous impact of investing in science and technology for our youth candidates regardless of whether you walk away with an award the effort and Ingenuity you put forward into your entry holds value and should not be taken lightly additionally your efforts to improve the quality of life for Jamaicans will never be forgotten Jamaica is filled with talent and hard-working people dedicated to change in the status quo as a government and the ministry makes tries to expand stem education among youth the nominees serve as an inspiration for what can be done by Jamaicans for Jamaicans let me congratulate all who have entered and as I said before your entry is well received thank you very much foreign thank you very much honorable minister we know that we are here at this time lunchtime and so I would imagine that most persons are waiting to enjoy what is prepared but just before we do that may I invite The Honorable Robert Levy to bring Grace thank you thank you very much sir I'm honored to do this but it's very difficult I think even the Prime Minister would have a problem asking to pray for the opposition Mr Hendrickson owns a hotel and owns the other chicken company and I'm going to pray for other chicken apart from the bestest chicken very difficult Mr Prime Minister very but I also wanted us also if I may have the privilege of praying for our scientists that God would continue to instill them with knowledge and invention that changes our life so Lord with us come before you this evening thank you for this occasion we lift up the scientific Community to you and ask you that you'd continue to instill them with knowledge foresight inventions that impact our lives and then Lord we just thank you for what has been provided we pray we're able to digest it easily and properly and we just thank you for all that you've done for us in Jesus name amen thank you very much to The Honorable Robert Levy you know I was going to introduce the menu but I think I will allow you to read it after hearing that so may I know invite you to well I'm sure you may have already read the menu but it's now going to be that we're going to feed you you're gonna enjoy the meal that is going to be provided but while you enjoy the meal I will invite you to affix your gaze onto the screen as there will be some amount of Engagement there while you engage at the table so ladies and gentlemen enjoy thank you this is equipment and tools that learning stress originality have the potential for commercialization as there are beneficial to industry or the General Public in order to recognize reward and celebrate innovatings in Jamaica the national Commission on Science and Technology announces the call for applications in the name of 2017. the competition aims to promote Innovation and an appreciation for the significance of Science and Technology and its applications daily life and the development of judicials it is not only geared towards the scientific Community but it also targets as a general population to present innovative solutions to challenging students in a number of areas the call for applications was open to individuals groups and companies applicants were advised to submit their Innovations for consideration honor the following age categories agricultural food and apple processing education and popularization of science technology and organization energy and energy efficiency engineering and Manufacturing entertainment products environmental sustainability for climate change health and safety information and communication Technologies the competition has several General criteria for injury in addition to specific criteria for the individual categories approximately fourth application sources needed as they were reviewed by a team judge and 21 for short decision shortlisted Innovations were interviewed by a capital judges with common sense in the individual categories and later the program's dating the task foreign the import manager is a device such as designer to include all the efficiences in homes and in commercial areas and since it came from basic view of the internet of the import Monitor and then its components that works together to efficiently increase the protocol and the protection of the actual overall oh um this has been also important news and the auto part that distributed this location inside our own and also in this around here electricity bill increased protection and overall efficiency on appliances and also increasing Appliance restaurant is innovative in many ways number one it is designed specifically to operate country to Earth feature is connected to it and it also have some metal outside there is to protect him from life and other surgeries along the night this time will be designed to cut your electricity in fact it is connected to a resolution you will see the whole 1900 per month okay and then you record on the timer for the time of the day and then you will pull from the time to come on I'd say six in the morning I had an offered about technology and with a certain all communication you can say this exactly many other devices like your writing your port foreign and it is protected and monitored the unit works by monitoring the actual water and ensure that information is really about to the user and to also the software um increasing sufficiencies after all of water systems is a kind of an email backup that connects customers to professionals All Over America is easy to sell and saying this at your case once setup you can search for any service professional you need ranging from octopus electrical mechanic lawyers doctors and more you can measure research but I remain categories we have over 100 categories so nobody will go oh you can manually search for any professional English your paymates are secured so once payment is made we hold the payment until you are satisfied with very professional foreign foreign foreign I hope once you click twizzle time as soon as the next class this is your location which reflects our third system is the next time he is our highest area so we also get the tips the general tips on Jamaica itself this is also applied anywhere else in the world without Contour specific tips so if you're not making any people to a different country we give you tips in the app you also have to see all the articles that are made up the schools in this or that specific location so you can see each of these articles or news articles on John's name and we read the articles uses using our algorithms and let's see if this Buller items using artificial intelligence perfect I looked for four feet to the most impact at the same time this is a miniature version of the non-invasive but from Forester here we have a notebook and he said we have at least two bedrooms uh shown in together by rods and this allows for the in rotation so of the of the red fruit over a source of fire in this case we are using a normal cooking gas here make the burners which we have normally but we have different types of burglary others so we have that unit over there is a better executive of what we are looking at for multiple roasting operations you can close 67 more than food at any one time and therefore for food safety this is helpful this is awesome economic power to continue chemical and export foreign but to the control the user can access information under control and they can input information on the controller as well okay so this is the actual science of the sensor the center is actually also is open now um these things are going to be attached to the carry of each Our Daily Career verse and release better information to the monitor that is our earlier the user can access information to know the awareness of experience and the system will make a decision from here can increase product efficiency so this is very popular so the work for this place in this compartment and important we have to pay to deliver food it's um Innovative design a great history with us not to be saved is a smart machine works very efficient so thank you so ladies and gentlemen this is where you really need to enjoy the company at your table in very short order we will proceed with the content of the event while because this is all a working launch so we're being very Innovative with our time thank you foreign foreign foreign foreign thank you foreign foreign foreign foreign foreign foreign thank you foreign foreign while you enjoy the launch that is provided may I engage you and ask that you do a little bit of multitasking larger with your eyes for some of you for some of you you're gonna have to move so at this point we're gonna start with one of many awards that's going to be given out today so we're gonna invite the judges to come forward and give the judges report and Then followed following that will be the actual award presentation we're starting with a young scientist and at this point I'm gonna invite Dr Charles Watson to come forward to give the judges report she will continue on to present the award I'm following my Minister's lead all protocols observed good afternoon ladies and gentlemen it gives me great pleasure to speak to such a distinguished audience this afternoon and to share the judge's report from the SRC young scientists technologist award from our seventh by annuals conference on Science and Technology held under the theme harnessing the power for certain Innovation to drive economic resilience the conference occurred over the past two and a half days here at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel and we are very happy with the Slate of nominees that we had this year and just to give you a quick overview of the young scientist Technologies award it is one of the initiatives of the scientific research Council which aims to fulfill its mandate to promote Science and Technology as drivers for development through the young scientists technologist award at SRC wishes to recognize young scientists and technologists for excellence of their work and potential contribution to jamaicas and indeed the world's development the award was started 32 years ago in 1990 and aims to provide an opportunity for early career scientists slash Technologies as we know that technological and scientific revolution underpin Improvement in every facet of our society especially in health education and infrastructure and this year the presentations were along those lines it is therefore important that we have programs such as the young scientists award as an encouragement and support to the next generation of change makers who would lead us into the future and drive economic resilience a quick overview of the process nominations were opened in September of this year we received eight great nominations and from which the internal team at the SRC had a very difficult task of shortlisting four finalists who were invited to the level presentations at our conference and this was done just yesterday afternoon to be eligible for the award you must be a Jamaican scientist or a non-national who have been doing research in Jamaica for at least the past 10 years you must be duly nominated by an academic or research institution you must hold an advance or terminal qualifications and must also or you could be awaiting um defense of such Advanced degree selection criteria the winner was selected based on the following originality creativity inventiveness innovativeness as well as the potential for social economic value of their work they must be able to contribute to Jamaica's development and have evidence of peer-reviewed publication and give an excellent oral presentation the four shortlisted nominees were Dr Ricardo Anderson a computer scientist who has developed a program to help better the academic outcome of both students and teachers Dr Roxanne stanette Brown a biochemist who created a program that can provide early warning to mosquito population boost and the likelihood of increased risk of this disease outbreak caused by said mosquitoes Dr Peter Nelson an organic chemist creating Diagnostic and analytical tools from systems and compounds that are created a boat that have application for both health and productive Industries and Dr Kimberly Foster a biochemist whose work on cancer and finding potential drugs from Jamaica's medicinal plants all presentations were great and it makes us immensely proud that the future of Science in Jamaica is indeed secure however we had to select just one person to be conferred with the title of the SRC young scientist technologist Award of 2022. the winner was selected unanimously I must say by our panel of four judges Mr carlington Burrell CEO of Caribbean Innovation Center Dr Twain Gardner principal director of Science in the minister of msat Miss Stephanie Reese from dbj and myself the winner today will walk away with a coveted trophy a tiny cash prize and will also join a powerful Global Network of influencers in science and technology the award we hope will open doors and create a springboard into the next stage of their career we would like to say came down to a difference of 0.06 percent and know that number does not represent the separation in scores but the actual percentage of GDP that we invest in research and development and I think you can agree that must be changed we can turn our young scientists demonstrated that we can turn our hands make fashion and at every nickel indeed make a moku our very little we can produce a lot and produce greatness in this instance we have they have produce a lot of Hope and practical Solutions using science technology to innovate and will certainly help to drive the economic change and help develop our nation Mr Prime Minister and Minister just before announced the name of the winner I must appeal to the audience here since I have the opportunity to do so that we are relying on not just your support but also your resources your network to for you to pledge all that you can to ensure that our young scientists will be able to commercialize their Innovation that is where the Gap exists ladies and gentlemen I have said enough just a little bit more and these are just some of the comments from the judges on the winner most advanced towards immediate application and commercialization innovation has a wide potential for impact excellent presentation good Innovation very practical and bankable idea excellent Innovation sorry the research is extensive and have significant potential to support the Improvement of patient care and Commercial scale as well as domestic use and last but not least excellent Innovation great presentation with room to revolutionize analytical Services ladies and gentlemen it brings me pleasure to announce the SRC young scientists Technologies of 2022 doctor they're all called doctors by the way Peter Nelson all right congratulations congratulations may I invite you another round of applause foreign and at this time may I now invade Professor Ronald Young to give the judges report for the Innovation competition professor good afternoon ladies and gentlemen um a lot of what I had to settled and said you know on May the 10th 2020-23 at the sectoral debate The Honorable minister of science energy and Technology there is announced the Revival of the national medal and Innovation Awards to recognize and celebrate scientific creativity and innovativeness in the form of products processes equipment tools and devices that demonstrate originality and are beneficial to Jamaica's industry and or Society the national Innovation competition as the minister said started back in 2005 but from 2006 has been offered bianially with the last occasion being in 2018 and it was suspended in 2020 as a result of the covid-19 pandemic the national Innovation Awards aim to encourage Innovation and Foster appreciation of the importance of science technology and innovation in a turning Vision 2030 targets of Jamaica with a prosperous economy an efficient and secure energy base and internationally competitive technology-enabled society and a healthy sustainable environment the ncsd following The Minister's declaration in collaboration with the minister with the ministry with jaipo and the SRC subsequently invited individuals and organizations not just from the scientific Community but from all sectors of society to submit their innovative solutions to National needs and issues for consideration under eight categories which a minister mention and so which I don't have to go through again okay these have been mentioned a couple of times already the applications were required to satisfy the criteria that one they should be already in use or have practically demonstrable functionality they should perform a function that makes life easier and or improves the quality of life they should display creativity and demonstrate the economic use of materials that are available locally or are indigenous to Jamaica they should be original there should be an original or a unique adaptation of existing gadgets equipment Concepts processes products or services with social or economic benefit they should have realized or at least have the potential for commercialization they should be safe for use and environmentally friendly they must not infringe on any intellectual property rights or legal statutes to ensure the latter Criterion all applications are initially screened by Jaipur the intellectual property or office a total of 37 submissions were obtained by the closing date so as you can see um science and Innovation are alive and relish we could do better we should do better we will do better you know no I wasn't straight from my script but a chief judge that wouldn't mean was appointed with responsibility for coordinating the evaluation of the submissions ranking the applications in order of perceived Merit and helping to appoint the lead judges for each of the various categories the eight categories that were mentioned and summarizing the final results the lead the judges in each category assisted in establishing a panel of at least three judges comprising distinguished experts and category related fields the panels of Judges were as follows in agriculture food and Agri processing Dr Elizabeth Johnson was the lead judge with petronia Khali and Ainsworth Riley for education and popularization of science technology and innovation Ricardo Allen was the lead judge with Jerry Wright Yvonne chin Irving and Carlisle Grant on the energy and Energy Efficiency Dr Gary Jackson was the lead judge with Dr Christopher Burgess and Mr Joseph Williams on the engineering and Manufacturing Mr Linda Nugent was the lead judge with Mr Owen gunning Dr Andrew Gordon and Mrs Diana Blake Bennett all engineers um for entertainment products Dr Ashley Hamilton Taylor was the lead judge with Miss Lorna Greene and Mr Chad name on the environmental sustainability stroke climate change Dr Elena Jones was the lead judge with Dr Ruth patapsing Dr Eleanor Terry long and Mr John carbury under health and safety professor John Lindo was the lead judge with Dr Camille and Thomas Rodriguez and Dr Simone badal under ICT information and communication technology Ingrid Riley was the lead judge with Janice Dickens Forbes and Trevor Forrest each panel was asked to select three of the strongest applicants in their category for interviews including functional demonstrations where possible and detailed numerical evaluation of their Innovations um were made using a standard evaluation form giving scores out of 100 percent in fact the numbers of submissions in each category and the numbers shortlisted were as follows under agriculture food and Agri processing we had five entries of which the judges shortlisted for interviews three under education and popularization of science technology and Innovation we had three entries of which the judge from which the judge shortlist judges shortlisted two under energy and Energy Efficiency there were six entries and three were shortlisted under engineering and Manufacturing there were also six centuries and three were selected for interviews on the entertainment products there were only three entries and two were selected for interviews um on the environmental sustainability and climate change there were all of eight entries and of these four were selected four interviews um you can see our judges were a little unruly um information on communication technology had four entries and two were shortlisted under health and safety there were just two entries and of those two the judges in this category health and safety decided to interview both applicants but deemed that neither submission satisfied the need for evidence to support the claims being made for the invention so they weren't considered based upon the qualitative evaluations and the quantitative scores worthy winners in all categories and a clear overall winner were identified but I'm told that naming of these is not is above my pay grade so I I I'm not to do that overall the judges felt that many more and better quality submissions could be obtained by earlier and more aggressive advertising and that the application forms should more explicitly require provision of evidence showing proof of concept to ensure that submissions were more than just good ideas but could show up front substantiated functionality I wish finally to thank all the judges for their conscientious service to commend all the applicants and to congratulate the winners and to thank the ncsd and Dr Olive Jean burres for allowing me the privilege of serving as chief chief judge for this most significant National effort which I hope will continue and grow stronger with each reiteration thank you very much ladies and gentlemen professor as you thank your judges may I take the opportunity to thank you for chief judging so at this point may I invite Dr Boris to come forward uh to make the presentation of certificates recognizing our innovators we call Mr Rupert Riley foreign okay thank you thank you thank you all right we call Mr Paul Jackson one more Company Limited education thank you your questions Fonseca Jack Stewart for energy may I invite Dr Gardner right okay may I invade Consolidated environment research laboratory for engineering and Manufacturing congratulations Jovan Miller for entertainment hi Carl Duncan information communication technology foreign Tech digital Innovation information communication technology thank you very much no we move in to the actual categories as you would have heard we're going now to recognize the sponsors for each of the categories and we're going to invite the sponsor representative to come forward to make these presentations so from the Development Bank of Jamaica may we invite Mr Giovanni Maddox technical officer of the biggie program to come forward oh presenting in the category of Agriculture food and Agro processing and the winner is Rupert Riley congratulations Mr Riley thank you may I invite the sponsor the representative for the sponsor BMR energy Ms Ava Tomlin Regional director to come forward for this presentation and BMR is presenting in the category of energy and energy efficiency and the winner is Fonseca Jack Stewart foreign Bank of Jamaica sponsoring in the category of engineering and Manufacturing may I invite Ms Natalie doyen technical coordinator in the biggie program to come forward please foreign and the winner is Consolidated environment research laboratory yes oh sorry all right we now call the sponsor petrogram limited represented by Mr telroy Morgan manager of strategic planning and business support and they're sponsoring in the category of environmental sustainability and climate change and and the winner is Paul Jackson and there's an yet another category that our sponsor is petrojam this time represented here by Mr Winston Watson general manager and this category is information and communication technology approaches Mr Watson will be presenting to the winner Carl Duncan a responsive sagicor group Limited may we invite Miss opal Donaldson cross assistant vice president data and analytics to come forward and Mrs Donaldson cross would be joined by The Honorable Minister honorable Minister Daryl Vaz as we recognize the overall innovator and I should let you know that there are actually there's actually yet another award sponsored by Digicel but the Digicel representative is not quite here as yet this is why this particular award which is the education and popularization of Science and Technology and innovation so which which is that okay so we want to do entertainment all right Minister can I just ask you to stand by because I'm understanding that dbj is to make another presentation just in front of the overall innovator so can I invite Miss Luciano chatter Singh technical coordinator for the biggie program to come forward entertainment products is the category and this category is won by Jovan Miller thank you foreign minister to join the podium Minister this is quite heavy so maybe so the overall innovator has been won by David Brian Campbell edu Hub Company Limited congratulations yes a very big round of applause for all our winners though we do have yet another one to come but at this point we are at a very important juncture in the event we do have the main address to be staged and presented by someone who needs no real introduction save and accept I will recognize this presenter the main address the person presenting the main address as the chairman of the national Commission in science and technology ladies and gentlemen all may I know invite the most honorable Andrew holness prime minister to make the address thank you thank you Master of Ceremonies science is efficient so I will adopt efficiently the protocols that were established earlier it is my distinct pleasure to be here this afternoon to join this distinguished audience to acknowledge and commend the nominees and winners in the National medal for Science and Technology award the young scientists award and the national Innovation competition this function which is held every two years was last held in 2018. but because of the pandemic which it amazes me how quickly we have forgotten about the pandemic because if it never happened such as the resilience of mankind and of course it goes without saying and I'm sure you'll all agree it was managed so well pandemic which which interrupted our normal routine is important competitions and awards were postponed however we are back together again in 2022 and I know we're all very pleased at the return of these competition and awards these Awards place the spotlight on the importance of science technology innovation for the present and future development of our island nation as you know the government has consistently focused on doing what is required to grow our economy and create jobs and the prosperity for our people it is through continuous development that we can provide a better life for our people science technology and innovation play a vital role in the process of wealth creation real economic growth and the transformation of our society science technology and Innovation is important for the development of Any Nation innovation means using new technology and using new ways of thinking to add value to an existing idea or product and to make substantial changes for the benefit of a society Abram Lincoln had said the best way to foresee the future is to create it now which I think is one of the best explanations of the importance of innovation the ability to resolve conflicts and solve problems through innovation is especially important for developing countries to embrace science and Technology is the future innovation is the use of Science and Technology to create that future so when we analyze the history of the development of Nations the development of economies the development of societies we can trace some very discrete periods of innovation the use of Science and Technology to create the future the first Industrial Revolution is a great marker and we could have looked before that at the Agricultural Revolution and how that shaped societies but let's start with the first Industrial Revolution and the use of coal to generate Steam and how that totally revolutionized the science was there somebody did The Innovation created the engine and that totally transformed the future of how mankind would live then the second was the use of death in the 1870s and that again totally transformed the future and how societies function the Third would be the development of nuclear power and electronics and that totally transformed the way in which societies operate it transformed the future and then we had the fourth Industrial Revolution notice I said had for some countries they have had it they've moved on to the fifth countries like Jamaica we're still in the fourth and that would be the information age the age of the internet and Renewable Power and that is we are living in a period of time where innovation is changing our society and the best way to look at it would be you know we are living in the age where the combustion engine might be phased out well eventually we'll be phased out and that lasted for hundreds of years so we are going to inhabit and our children a new future the challenge for countries like Jamaica would be what did we add what did we create what did all scientists discover develop and add to the value of mankind what problems did we solve or were we mere consumers of Technology I'm saying this because I wanted to point out the importance of this event it doesn't matter that we are a small country it doesn't matter that we're a developing country we take great inspiration and great hope that small countries developing countries poor countries are leapfrogging and are adding value creating the future that we will inhabit by innovating with science and technology we can look at Singapore we can look at Estonia but we could also look at South Korea a country 50 years ago that had a GDP less than Jamaica a country that Jamaica lent money to in the 60s but they understood the importance of investing and promoting science and technology and innovation I don't think I need to say anything more I think I've made all my points with that but in February of this year they national science technology and Innovation policy was approved it sets the framework of action for us to achieve by 2029.
it is designed to promote a sense of commitment in public and private sector institutions and individuals towards research and Innovation as bases for human capital development economic growth and job creation International competitiveness and the management and protection of the environment it anticipates and embrace new and emerging Technologies and Innovation including disruptive Technologies and it assesses their potential impacts positive or negative on National development it places strategic Focus on local knowledge creation Technologies and Innovation specifically those which Advance over traditional and unique sectors Commodities and services making them more internationally competitive I guess that would be the breadfruit non-intrusive roaster and pillar I I kind of like that I was actually hoping that I would see the end product of the the peel the breadfruit but technology it underscores the importance of incremental and adaptive Innovation placing strategic focus on identifying acquiring and adapting these Innovations it creates strategic alliances and linkages within the diaspora recognizing it as an untapped resource for science technology and Innovation development the policy seeks to enhance the country's knowledge human technology and the institutional Capital forms it facilitates access to capital for industry to use science and technology to Foster innovation strengthens the country's technology related infrastructure and support further the development of intellectual property strategy and importantly the policy seeks to ensure that the country uses Science and Technology to fast-track implementation of vision 2030 Jamaica to advance sustainable development this afternoon I'm asking all who are gathered and all in my hearing and particularly those in leadership position in the public and private sector who have responsibility for the implementation of the plan to do so with a sense of urgency urgency is absolutely important when we talk about science and technology and innovation it is oftentimes said that necessity is the mother of invention and because something is necessary built into that is some urgency but more and more what we are understanding particularly for innovation is that empathy is also a driving Factor and this empathy it's not as we would ordinarily understand it as feeling sorry for or pity but it comes from a deep understanding that there is human suffering or there is a threat to our planet and environment and therefore we need to act now that we could very well be the last generation of human beings that have the capacity to change the future for the better and that's at the high level for Jamaica it is likely that technology will pass Us by and we continue only to be consumers of it never being able to gain the True Value economic social value of Technology it is in the creation of Technology it is in the Innovative use of Technology that we will get our economic independence so there is urgency involved so I'm I'm very pleased to see the awardees being acknowledged publicly for the entire Spectrum of innovation using Science and Technology I I was told that I believe it's a young scientist of the year um developed a sensor that could detect in a small volume of water is it lead and another uncovered and that you have some patents in the process but that's what we want and I'm certain as I stand Here speaking about to close that there are many young Jamaicans out there who are naturally creative empathetic curious but they are not educated trained they're not brought into a formal system they are natural scientists but they're just not in the official system that we have here are structured and so part of the urgency is for us to bring them in so it's good to have the competition at this level but we need to have the competition at some lower levels as well to capture those emerging scientists so I'm throwing that out to the council so ladies and gentlemen again let me repeat it was my great pleasure to be with you to watch you have lunch and I congratulate all the nominees and winners once again and encourage each of you to use your god-given Talent to assist our country to grow and develop one of my many dreams would be to see scientists mathematicians oh well programmers and our data scientists and our engineers be praised in the same way as we praise our athletes and musician that we value them that we value them in the same way I'm going to take a leaf out of Professor Young's speech where he was about to say and then he said you know what let me stick to my script you could tell me afterwards and if you're interested then maybe I'll tell you afterwards but I've said it before I was I visited Singapore and I I was meeting with the prime minister of Singapore and um when we when I left he you know put out a tweet and the Tweet was just met with the prime minister of Jamaica lovely country you know they dance and sing very well and then several tweets afterwards you know top mathematics student in Singapore wins world competition that tells the story thank you ladies and gentlemen thank you very much prime minister the time is now so without any further ado and having some advice some encouragement some motivation from the Prime Minister the chairman of the national commission I am now going to invite Dr Paris Leo I.E to come forward he is going to be giving the judge's report for the national medal for Science and Technology thank you Fabian good afternoon everyone most honorable prime minister chairman of the national Commission of Science and Technology and Minister Vaz Minister for science energy and Technology all other protocols observed good afternoon everyone on behalf of the Review Committee comprising the executive committee of the national Commission on science and technology I am pleased to present the judge's report for the national medal for Science and Technology for 2022. the national medal for Science and Technology is a special honor bestowed on Jamaicans who have made outstanding contribution in the natural and applied sciences including engineering by the most honorable prime minister the recipient is an individual whose work has resulted in significant advances in the field of science and technology and or whose technological innovations have contributed significantly to the economic cultural and Social Development of Jamaica the award is intended to highlight the importance of cultivating applications of Science and Technology as a means of national development the call for nominations was issued in May 2022 and a total of six nominations were received the nomination the nominees were shortlisted and three finalists were evaluated by the executive advisory committee of the ncsd for appraisal and selection of the winner the Review Committee was comprised of myself Jimmy wall from Lasco Manufacturing The Honorable Robert Levy from Jamaica boilers sorry best dressed chicken Watson from SRC and Marlene Street Forest from the Jamaica Stock Exchange scientist leaders from across Academia as well as the public and private sectors we met at the beginning of November science month to make its final decision culminating in this event this afternoon nominees were evaluated on the basis of contributions to the knowledge pool contributions to the enhancement of science technology and innovation social and cultural and economic impact of their work to Jamaica lasting contribution of their work and innovation and overall impact on contribution to the nation it was noted that all nominees have made significant contributions in their fields and were worthy of their nominations it would be the totality of impact oh I'm sorry Professor McLaughlin was also part of the the evaluation Committee of sorry about that Professor McLaughlin it would be the totality of impact across all these five categories that the final selection would be made a minimum score would have to be exceeded something already done with the shortlisting exercise this being the fifth awardee awarding of the national medal we also had the advantage of looking at the LA the lasting legacies of previous meta laureates and would weigh the addition of the winner among these notable Jamaican scientists we were also satisfy that the process followed president set by past awardee selections including the provision and review of the necessary background material of the nominees and the awards scoring sheets and methodology were also similar to Past reviews we congratulate all the nominees finalists and of course the winner of this year's 2022 National medal for Science and Technology and we will be presenting certificate of recognition to Professor Abram Anthony chin omphd nominee for the national medal of science for Science and Technology November 17 2022 for his work and outstanding contribution to Scientific and technological research in the field of renewable energy and climate variability in Jamaica and the Caribbean enabling data-driven renewable energy installation in Jamaica advancing the Caribbean's understanding of climate change drivers and promoting climate mitigation outlooks for the region and this is the recognition being bestowed by the most honorable prime minister Professor Chen is not present so we will move to certificate of recognition recognition to Dr Andre Gordon PhD CFS nominee for the national medal for Science and Technology November 17 2022. for his work and outstanding contribution to Scientific and technological research in the field of Food Science and Technology the development of Market access initiatives in agri-food sector the promotion of food safety and Quality Systems training in Jamaica and the region for Innovation and the application of Science and Technology in the development of products and preserves Jamaica's cultural Legacy Dr Gordon may I invite you to collect your certificate foreign certificate of recognition also to Professor Michael Taylor PhD nominee for the national medal of for Science and Technology November 17 2022 for his work and outstanding contribution to the scientific and technological research in the field of climatology in Jamaica and the Caribbean the development of climate tools databases and other climate resources the promotion of a collaborative Caribbean approach in undertaking climate science and impacts research the advancement of climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts in Jamaica and the region Professor Michael Taylor ladies and gentlemen thank you very much and no one of these three gentlemen May well be walking back to the podium so the Prime Minister the most honorable Mike Andrew Michael holness is not the recipient for NPC MP is pleased to award the national medal for Science and Technology two Dr Andre Gordon for outstanding contribution to research and development in the field of Food Science and the technology on this 17th day of November 2022. all right and a heavy check congratulations and may I now invite Dr Gordon to make a response on behalf of the recipients honorable prime minister ministers other distinguished guest Minister Don glad to see you here ladies and gentlemen I am truly honored and humbled humbled by this award I was told that I had to prepare a speech those who know me know that um I would like to say I'm a man of few words but some of you might disagree Robert Robert um you know on behalf of all of the awardees and I know Professor Taylor met him we we sit on a board I didn't realize and Professor Chen have both done exceptional work so I am triply honored to have been selected in such distinguished company my journey in science started at titchfield high school and always with an exceptional teacher by the name of Mr fulston who was a chemistry teacher who inspired in me a love for chemistry and it continued at Arden high with the teachers there among whom was a biology teacher Verna Edwards who instilled a love of the biological sciences in me as well at the University of the West Indies which followed people like Professor Bob Lancashire who was here Earl Roberts um Professor Ken Magnus as well as other lecturers in the introduction to food science food chemistry it was called program such as my friend Mr James roll who is also sitting at the table with me and Professor Muhammad Ahmad inspired me to select food science microbiology biochemistry as my vocation after deciding in 1982 that I would no longer pursue medicine although I had gotten in I decided I wanted to make a contribution to Jamaica and carry and the Caribbean's food processing sector for both my acceptance to Cornell University into which I was accepted in 1984 I think and my car and the Commonwealth scholarship I had to clearly enunciate why I wanted to do a PhD in food science in 1983 I indicated and I quote to be able to assist the food industry in Jamaica and the Caribbean to be able to compete globally through the application of science to their production with a lot of help and by the grace of God I believe I have been able to accomplish this I'm a very passionate person about education science and National contribution of course the journey is not yet over there are many many more Mountains to climb and things to be achieved we do after all as the Prime Minister has alluded to and others need to get Jamaica exporting enough goods and services to afford current and future Generations a good quality of life here in Jamaica as we speak today TSL continues its Journey towards the mission of transforming lives in the Caribbean region through the application of appropriate Science and Technology to health and Enterprise having spent the better part of 25 years um in pursuing this this particular journey of transforming lives and economic opportunities across the Caribbean creating jobs and helping to transform Industries and sectors we at TSL no one to bring this closer home and start building the future or I should say continuing to build the future through our impact on the lives of the next generation of leaders who we hope will have a sound background and understanding of Science and its possibilities we are convinced and have always been that the Caribbean and Jamaican people have no limit in what they can achieve given the opportunity we therefore see it as our responsibility to facilitate the achievement of these personal National and indeed Regional development goals not only through what we as a company do every day through the application of science but also how we help Jamaicans and the region build its capacity to create a better future using the application of Science and Technology as part of this Mission last year we awarded four scholarships to high schools at the start of our approach as the start of our approach to making a tangible contribution while moving forward towards our long-term objective of having Tran a transformative impact on the way on the lives through applying Science and Technology by helping young upcoming scientists along the way to realizing their dreams the four scholarships were awarded to um Arden High School in Kingston Herbert Morrison in Montego Bay Manchester High in Mandeville all locations where we all where we have offices and titchfield High School in Portland covering the island and this just represents the start of our journey TSL my company intends over the coming years not only to continue to be path breaking in the application of science to improving lives through health and Enterprise but also to directly impact the next generation of scientists in Jamaica and the region and prime minister I heard you about taking it down to the next level we intend to partner with the scientific research Council in the coming year to make this a reality in closing I want to thank the scientific research Council and the persons who nominated me who recommended me um particularly Mrs Carol Rose Miller Dr Cliff Riley doctors Dr Beverly Morgan and Mr John mafood and others to my team at TSL who have brought my vision um and made it bought into my vision and made it a reality my gratitude knows no bones to the ncst for making this award and to you prime minister for having selected and delivered the award I am eternally in your debt thank you to the hundreds of of of companies and thousands of persons across many sectors that put their confidence in US and have made this journey fulfilling none of this would have been possible however without the love and guidance of my parents Mr Justice UD Gordon of blessed memory and Cynthia Gordon my mother who is still with us thankfully both of whom imbued in me the patriotism that underpins everything I do to my friends and colleagues who have worked with me over the years I say thank you and finally to my family who have sacrificed much to allow me to do what I have done over many many years particularly my wife Dr Diane Gordon who is here today and without whose love friendship tolerance and sacrifice this would not have been possible Diane thank you for being there for me regardless as they say for better or For Worse ladies and gentlemen this is a day I will never forget I thank you for making it possible thank you and on a well-deserved most honorable prime minister honorable ministers other distinguished ladies and gentlemen my name is Fabian Brown and it certainly was a sincere pleasure for me to have had the opportunity to hold the stage as your director of Ceremonies it is all left for me in the same vein to invite our executive director for ncsd Dr borrows to come forward with gratitude good afternoon everyone I have been warm warned that the prime minister is a busy person and I should not take long to do this okay but um most honorable prime minister uh honorable uh Minister Vaz who's left and um all the leaders of the in in the House of Representatives and leaders in the scientific Community distinguished ladies and gentlemen it is my great pleasure to move the vote of thanks this afternoon there is a lot to be thankful for and there is a lot of persons to thank I goes directly to my prime minister who seemed to be a scientist because you had so much knowledge of all the scientific um in Innovations Etc that has happened in the past and I am really very grateful that you've taken the time to be here this afternoon and uh be a perfect example that we are having the support for Science and Technology from the very top that brings that actually brings a lot of confidence that this will go forward and we will have your support um to our minister of us even though he's not in the room I really do have to say a special thanks to him he has been very supportive not just today but in all the um undertakings that we've been having with the scientific research Council uh the science division in emset and ncsd and we've been having several workshops for stem education at tertiary level and he's always been supportive so I just want to say in his absence that I thank him very much for that or chief judge um Prof young thank you so much for your diligence throughout the process and your advice towards what the ways that we can improve this for the next time around um Dr Paris the UAE one of my favorite persons thank you so much thank you so much for leading the the team uh in in choosing the Authority for the national medal I know it was very difficult because the three persons who were nominated were well deserving and it could have been any one of the three but it had to come down to one person thank you so much uh to all the judges the lead judges um their support judges uh to all who participated in that process I would like to extend my gratitude the media houses present here today I I thank you all for being here and I hope you will take our message out and um that from from the message that he will take from here it will generate more interest in science technology and innovation in the General Public uh of course this award function would not have been possible without the generosity of a special group of persons companies persons uh and or and I obviously you understand that I mean our sponsors so thank you so much to petrojam Jamaica Limited and shall we give them a round of applause the Development Bank of Jamaica specifically the biggie program BMR energy Digicel and of course sagicor we look forward to your sustained support of course to my partners in at the SRC and the science division M set thank you so much ladies in particular and your team for the support and the encouragement which I needed from time to time thank you so much that was very well appreciated to my staff just three of well three staff members and myself thank you for your tireless work in planning and executing today's event I know there are times when I pushed I know there were times when I became very anxious and when I get anxious I push harder and I push harder and I could sit on Faces Sometimes I okay take a break but um I thank you very much that um you have managed to to do this uh just on in on such a small team uh we also are very grateful to the Pegasus Hotel for your excellent service to our director of Ceremonies Mr Fabian Brown thank you very much and a really very special thanks to my planners Sparkles Productions uh it says Sparkles Sparkle light you are certainly a Guiding Light to us um as we prepared and plan and today execute this event so thank you so much Mrs Peralta and and your team and of course ladies and gentlemen uh friends supporters of Science and Technology I thank you very much for your presence here asking you to come out in the middle of the day uh to sit here and and for a couple of hours while you could be productive more productive elsewhere maybe and you've turned up and you have supported and applauded and so I thank you very much a message I would like to ask you to take from here is that to remember to spread the word that science technology and innovation is a driver for growth and economic resilience that we should be integrating our science in everything that we do and um all aspects of life should come to understand the significance of Science and Technology I leave that with you and I wish everyone a good rest of the afternoon thank you very much foreign
2022-11-22 02:10
