The UWI St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago. Friday September 15, 2023- Our 2023 C.O.R.E interns, Christie Carr, Julie McVorran and Dahlia Jones successfully completed their internships and were awarded their certificates.

The C.O.R.E. (Creating Opportunities through Research and Experience) is an 8 week July-August vacation program for highly-motivated university students and recent graduates (2 years) interested in pursuing geoscience careers. Successful candidates gain valuable hands-on experience and a full understanding of how the SRC attains its objectives through collaborations within the department. Our interns worked under the supervision of senior scientists on individual research projects in the areas of Data Science, GIS and Disaster Risk Perception. To learn more about the research projects they worked on click here. Two of the interns, Dahlia and Christie were based in Trinidad at the SRC while Julie was based in Montserrat for three weeks, after which she completed her internship at the SRC.

A major aspect of the internship is providing interns with a complete understanding of the operations here at the SRC, as such one day each is week is dedicated to ‘Apprentice Sessions’ where they rotate to the various sections to learn new skills. These sessions gave them the opportunity to experience the work of our Technicians, Seismologists, Geophysicists, Volcanologists and Outreach Officers.

The interns completed the program by presenting the work they have done over the eight weeks to staff and were awarded their certificates, we congratulate our cycle of 2023 interns and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

The UWI St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago. Tuesday, August 8, 2023- Since its founding as the Volcanological Research Department in 1953 – and subsequent restructurings to Seismic Research Unit in the 1960s and The UWI Seismic Research Centre (SRC) in 2008 – SRC has been on a mission to provide services which protect Caribbean lives and livelihoods from the hazards associated with earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis.

As such, its long history of monitoring and studying the Caribbean’s geological activities have become intertwined with significant events like the 1995 eruption of Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills volcano, eruptions of Grenada’s Kick ‘em Jenny submarine volcano, and eruptions of St Vincent’s La Soufrière, including the most recent one in 2020/2021. As the SRC commemorates its 70th anniversary this year, UWI TODAY spoke with current Director Dr Erouscilla Joseph, and former Directors Professor Richard Robertson (2004-2008/2013-2019), Dr Joan Latchman (2011-2013), and Lloyd Lynch (1991-1994). To read the full article click here.

The UWI St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago. Friday, July 28, 2023- This year marks the 70th anniversary of the UWI Seismic Research Centre. As the agency that monitors monitoring earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis in the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean, the Centre has grown from a one person unit upon its inception to a full cadre of technical and scientific staff. An event, “Honouring Legacies and Fostering the Future” was held on July 21 at UWI St Augustine to commemorate the anniversary and to honor Dr The Honorable Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago as the first Caribbean born scientist to head the SRC (then Seismic Research Unit).

Chaired by the current Director, Dr Erouscilla Joseph, the programme featured remarks from the principal and the UWI Chancellor, with Dr Keith Rowley as the featured speaker. Dr Joseph affirmed the Centre’s dedication to its mission and calling for continued financial an in-kind support noting that, “Our commitment to scientific excellence, regional collaboration, and the well-being of our communities has brought us this far. But our journey does not end here. Authorities must continue to invest in the future, securing our region’s resilience and ensuring a safer, more prosperous Eastern Caribbean.”

Dr Rowley was introduced by former seismologist, Dr Joan Latchman who shared her memories of Dr Rowley and his support in her academic career. Dr Rowley highlighted the significance of scientific agencies like the UWI-SRC, shared memorable anecdotes of fieldwork in the various islands and the need for such services in the seismically active Caribbean region. Congratulating the UWI’s Seismic Research Centre on the milestone achieved, Dr Rowley said, “This is a legacy not only to be cherished by those directly involved but to be nourished by every student who enters and claims UWI as alma mater. It also should be a beacon and an imprimatur for every lecturer and researcher in every single Department, with a motto that says Oriens Occidente, that light shining in the west. We are all rays in that great beam. Let us all endeavour to keep shining.”

Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, The University of The West Indies (The UWI) St. Augustine Campus noted, “That the Centre is one our the flagship UWI institutions, the Seismic Research Centre has served the nation, the region and its people with distinction, passion, technical expertise over the years. It is one of these incredible institutions, like others in our UWI family, – and I dare say, like the UWI itself, – that punches way above its weight.”

Specially invited guests included the President of the Senate, Senator the Hon. Nigel de Freitas, Minister of Education, Dr. the Hon. Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Minister in the Ministry of Education, the Hon. Lisa Morris-Julian, Minister of National Security, the Hon. Fitzgerald Hinds, Minister of Social Development and Family Services, Senator the Hon. Donna Cox, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal for the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine and Chancellor, The University of the West Indies, Mr Robert Bermudez, diplomats and representatives from foreign missions, and previous SRC staff.

The event also hosted an exhibition of past equipment, photos and devices used over the last 70 years and attendees were invited to view the walk in exhibition at the end of the event.

The UWI St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago. Wednesday, May 10, 2023- The UWI-SRC visited the island of Nevis on April 25-27 2023, to conduct outreach sessions with several primary and secondary schools. This comes after a four-month, geo-hazard awareness campaign conducted by the Nevis Disaster Management Department (NDMD). To end their segment on geo-hazards they invited the UWI-SRC to participate in a number of school outreach activities that aimed to summarize the hazards students learnt between January to April 2023. These activities aimed to increase the awareness of these hazards and teach the best safety and preparedness practices in order to increase the resilience of the students and support the efforts of building a safety culture within the younger population.

 

The UWI-SRC visited Charlestown, St James, St Thomas and Joycelyn Liburd Primary schools as well as Charlestown and Gingerland Secondary Schools. The students were given information on earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes and how best to prepare for these disasters. 

Education and outreach activities are conducted throughout the islands that are monitored with the aim of raising awareness of these hazards.     

The UWI St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago. Friday, March 10, 2023 – Two members of The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre Education and Outreach (E&O) team are in Dominica from February 27^th – March 10^th to meet with disaster management stakeholders, conduct fieldwork and facilitate workshops as the UWI-SRC endeavours to build an evidence base for future volcano risk communication on the island.

This visit forms a part of the “Building resilience of at-risk communities to volcanic eruptions through evidence-based communications in Dominica.” project. As a seed project this project seeks to pave the way for future work that will develop a tailor-made risk communication strategy and communication products for Dominica. While on island, the E&O team will host a breakfast meeting with local disaster risk management stakeholders, conduct interviews with key functionaries and administer a survey on Dominica’s geohazard risk information needs and preferences.

During their visit the UWI-SRC’s E&O team will also host focus groups in selected communities as well as a creative workshop with local partners. The creative workshop will serve as the first step in co-producing an educational animated short film on Dominica’s volcanoes. It is intended that the information gathered other these two weeks would inform communication approaches uniquely suited to the Dominican context. The UWI-SRC recognises the critical role of communication in effective crisis response and through this project is seeking lay the groundwork for efficient volcano crisis communication in Dominica and the other the territories it serves.

The project is a joint undertaking between the University of Cambridge and The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre and is lead by Dr. Lara Mani and Ms Stacey Edwards. The Dominican public invited to participate in the project by completing the information needs survey found here: https://cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3k2LmomtX260fQ2?fbclid=IwAR1Y18x5TjRA4gi6xFvFRQr6xphUr9NEw93M26Cyq_pRy_X4eXvfqkcplXQ