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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 9 OCTOBER, 2016
CAMPUS NEWS
The UWI/Guardian Premium Teaching Awards
The Government of Montserrat
has renewed its contract
withThe UWI to provide management and support for the
Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) which conducts
monitoring and research activities on the Soufriere Hills
Volcano.
The new monitoring contract runs for five years and
was signed by Professor DaleWebber, Pro-Vice Chancellor
for Graduate Studies and Research at The UWI and by Her
Excellency the Governor Elizabeth Carriere.
Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills Volcano has been
erupting since 1995, rendering more than half of the island
uninhabitable, including the capital city Plymouth. Since
the onset of the eruption, the volcano has been closely
monitored and heavily researched. Through careful
management and implementation of volcano risk reduction
strategies, Montserrat has managed to rebuild itself and
adapt to living with an erupting volcano.
The UWI is contracted to provide, through its Trinidad-
based Seismic Research Centre, six scientific staffmembers
(including the Director) to work at MVO. It will also provide
support services and updates to the MVO’s monitoring
equipment, including a complete replacement of the seismic
monitoring network.The UWI is also contracted to develop
training courses which will be based at MVO and will
continue to facilitate research at this live laboratory to better
understand how volcanic systems function in Montserrat
and by extension the wider Eastern Caribbean.
Professor Webber said “I am very pleased that the
Government of Montserrat has decided to renew this
contract. It shows that The University of the West Indies
can provide world-class scientists and world-class science to
deliver a service that is crucial in the ongoing development
of Montserrat”.
Her Excellency the Governor Elizabeth Carriere and UWI Pro-Vice Chancellor Dale Webber sign the new MVO management contract.
Photo: Jerely Brown/MVO
VolcanoMONITORING Renewed
Governor Carriere said “The Seismic Research
Centre has been managing and supporting Montserrat
Volcano Observatory since 2008. In that time, they and
the MVO have provided excellent information and advice
to successive Governors and to the government and the
people of Montserrat. This contract serves as recognition
of the outstanding quality of the work carried out by the
observatory and the staff there and of the need for that work
to continue in the future”.
During his trip toMontserrat, ProfessorWebber visited
the MVO and toured the former capital city of Plymouth.
Professor Webber is the highest ranking UWI official to
visit Montserrat since the University began management
of the MVO and his presence demonstrates the University’s
commitment to ensuring that its activities have meaningful
impact on the people it serves.
The Centre for Excellence
in Teaching
and Learning (CETL) and The UWI/
GuardianGroup presented the Premium
Teaching Awards which celebrates
the work of exempl ar y teachers
on the St. Augustine Campus. The
Awards Ceremony took place at Daaga
Auditorium.
The awardees this year were Dr Chris
Maharaj, Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon and
Dr Chandra Shekhar Bhatnagar.
The theme of this year’s award
c e r emony i s S t u d e n t / Te a c h e r
Partnerships: The Crux of Learning, and
featured a special presentation by Dan
Butin, Professor and Founding Dean,
School of Education and Social Policy,
Merrimack College. Dr Butin’s research
focuses on issues of educator preparation
& policy and community engagement.
Winners row: (l-r) Dr Chris Maharaj, Lecturer at the Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering; Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon, Lecturer at the Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and
Dr Chandra Shekhar Bhatnagar, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences
