News Releases

Two Professors appointed at The UWI St. Augustine

For Release Upon Receipt - July 29, 2015

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. July 29, 2015 – The University of the West Indies (The UWI) St. Augustine added two new professors to its distinguished faculty. Dr. Dilip Dan was promoted to Professor in the Department of Clinical and Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences and Dr.  Bopanna Chowdary to Professor of Manufacturing Systems and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering. The two Professors were also joined by Dr. Abdullah Abdulkadri who was promoted Professor in the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences at the Mona Campus in Jamaica. The new Professors were promoted from the positions of Senior Lecturers, following a rigorous assessment of their individual academic accomplishments and their impacts to their respective fields. Their publication records and overall performance have been deemed consistent with The UWI’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research and service to the region. The appointments were confirmed at The University Finance and General Purpose Committee meeting, in May.

The UWI’s Office of Administration shared remarks taken from the newly appointed Professors external assessors’ reports:

On Professor Dilip Dan - “I believe that Dr Dan has greatly enhanced the reputation of The University as evidenced by his international relations with other surgeons and surgical societies and his ability to bring new technology to The University of the West Indies.”

On Professor Boppana Chowdary -“His professional achievements in my view are at par with any other comparable schools in the USA and other parts of the world.”

About the Professors

Dr. Dilip Dan, of The UWI St Augustine Campus’ Department of Clinical and Surgical Sciences began working at The University in 2003. He earned his bachelor’s degrees in medicine and surgery, MBBS, in 1993, at The UWI’s Mona and St. Augustine campuses, and conducted his residency in general surgery at the State University of New York, Buffalo, from 1996 to 2001.

Since his return to Trinidad in 2003, Dr. Dan has been instrumental in advancing laparoscopic and bariatric surgery in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, having introduced and pioneered the minimally invasive surgery throughout region. He is now considered one of the Caribbean’s experts in the field and his contributions have gained him local commendations from the Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association (T&TMA) and the South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA).

Dr. Dan is also a large proponent of laparoscopy education in in the Caribbean. As a Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer at The UWI, he introduced and developed the doctorate in medicine in surgery programme (DM) in Trinidad and Tobago and has played a major role in the teaching and examination of DM and MBBS students in the Caribbean. He has also run several training courses for surgeons in the Caribbean, including within the islands of Jamaica, Barbados, Santo Domingo, St. Lucia, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Dr. Dan’s research endeavours have made seminal contributions to world literature in medicine, and include articles in 64 peer-reviewed, international publications and two published book chapters. Of his published papers, 21 have been co-authored with Residents, demonstrating his commitment to education. 

Today, he continues his post as Chairman of the Caribbean Obesity Forum, is the Caribbean Coordinator for the Curacao Laparoscopic Annual Workshop and serves as the Education Officer of the recently launched Caribbean Association of Endoscopic Surgeons (CaSES).

Dr. Boppana Chowdary’s promotion to Professor of Manufacturing Systems and Engineering was preceded by 25 years’ experience teaching at The University level, including as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Head at six different tertiary level institutions in India, the Netherlands and at The UWI’s St. Augustine Campus.

He earned his bachelor of technology degree at India’s Nagarjuna University in 1986 and his master of technology and PhD at the Indian Institute of Technology in 1990 and 1998, respectively. He joined The UWI’s Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering in 2003, as Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2006.

At The UWI, Dr. Chowdary has been committed to his role as an educator at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and is dedicated to enhancing the Faculty’s teaching resources and offerings. During his time at The University, he upgraded the faculty’s Computer Aided Design and Manufacture (CAD/CAM) laboratory, having added new equipment and software. He also revitalised, restructured and developed courses for its BSc and MSc programmes, including fundamental courses such as engineering drawing, machine drawing, machine design I and machine design II, incorporating technology – such as online classroom resources – to support all of his courses. He was the driver behind the restructuring of the Faculty of Engineering’s master’s programme, from an MSc in manufacturing engineering, to an MSc in manufacturing engineering and management.

Dr. Chowdary’s research efforts have resulted in him establishing links with scholars in the US, UK and India. He has authored and co-authored 50 refereed international and regional journal publications, 4 book chapters and 32 refereed conference papers and abstracts. He also served as a reviewer for various international journals, including the International Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, the Journal of Educational Research, the Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, and the West Indian Journal of Engineering, as well as serving as the Associate Editor of the Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (JFSM) since 2013.

Dr. Chowdary is a member of the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) in New Delhi India, an associate member of the Institution of Industrial Engineers (IIE) in Atlanta, Georgia, and a senior member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) in Michigan. He is currently piloting the formation of the student chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Dr. Chowdary is also a core member of the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards’ (TTBS) National Technical Committee (NTC) on Metrology.

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About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

 

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