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New Scientist - Dr. Marvin Kelly
5d

Dr. Marvin Kelly is an electrical engineer specialising in telecommunications. He is currently the Principal Radio Access Network (RAN) Architect at Boldyn Networks, New York, USA and has over 20 years proven experience in the telecommunications industry. He is also an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology, Jamaica. Dr. Kelly hails from Haddo, Westmoreland where he attended Haddo Primary School. He remembers playing as a child with cans and strings attempting to communicate over those lines and perhaps this was an expression of his early interest in telecommunications. Dr. Kelly went to Cornwall College in Montego Bay, St. James and following high school, he studied at the University of Technology where he earned his B.Sc. and M.Phil. in electrical engineering. His first job was with Digicel and he later migrated to the UK where he worked for several companies including Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei before earning his Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Loughborough University. Dr. Kelly’s Ph.D. research at Loughborough focused on signal communication and specifically a method to determine the most suitable number, power and physical location of antennas to meet their coverage requirements within an indoor environment. After completing his Ph.D. research, Dr. Kelly worked for several telecommunications companies in the UK over a period of almost 20 years, including Ericsson, Cellwize, O2, Dense Air/IONX and finally Boldyn Networks through a UK-based project. The latter project was aimed at creating the UK’s most advanced smart city in Sunderland. Dr. Kelly remains close to Jamaica through three years of voluntary work with the Jamaica Rugby Football Union. Since 2023 he has been an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at UTech, where he has formed the Next Generation Mobile Research Group. Currently, Dr. Kelly is building a 5G private network on the UTech Campus for teaching and research purposes.
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New Scientist - Dr. Ian Bennett
5d

Dr. Ian Bennett is a retired electrical engineer who specialises in telecommunications particularly, speech recognition and language processing and holds over 40 patents for his inventions. Dr. Bennett worked in academia at Stanford University as a researcher and lecturer, in the private sector e.g. Hewlett Packard and he was also a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. He provided technical advice in the 1990s to The University of the West Indies for distance learning and the Government of Jamaica for the development of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry. Dr. Bennett started school at Allman Hill Primary in rural St. Andrew where his father was the headmaster and his mother a teacher. He won a scholarship to study at Happy Grove High School, Portland however his GCE O’level subjects were not in mathematics or science but rather latin, spanish and religious knowledge. His move to Jamaica College for two years of Advanced Level studies led to his interest in mathematics and physics. This interest and a stint working at Reynolds Jamaica Mines after graduation created his desire to study engineering. Recognising his subject deficiencies, he attended night school at St. George’s College, Kingston and took correspondence courses from Wosley Hall, Oxford. Determined to study engineering, he migrated to Canada in the late 1960s to study at Sir George Williams College in Montreal where he rook remedial science courses needed to gain entry to the engineering school at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. On graduating with an electrical engineering degree (B.Sc. Hons) he worked with RCA Victor in Montreal. There he designed electronic components for microwave communications and equipment for Canada’s ISIS satellite for mapping the ionosphere layer of Earth’s atmosphere. Dr. Bennett then moved to California, USA to work in the semi-conductor field, manufacturing a variety of electronic devices. In California he studied at Stanford University where he earned his M.S. in electrical engineering and then his Ph.D. in 1976. His Ph.D. research at Stanford University and Stanford Research Institute focused on algorithms for speech compression. It resulted in the practical implementation of the world's first analog speech processor which allowed human speech to be played back at up to three-times (3X) the recorded rate and be understood. The development of this processor targeted applications and enabled people with vision disabilities to access material more eﬀiciently and timely. This research also had a significant impact for applications involving deep-sea communications between under-sea divers and the surface-based on-board personnel. He was a consultant to the Variable Speech Corporation in Japan, which implemented and licensed integrated versions of this speech processor to consumer manufacturers such as Sharp, JVC, Tandy, Rohm and General Electric. As an entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley, he developed several personal computer multi-function hardware peripherals incorporating high-resolution graphics and hard disk data compression. He co-founded Portacom Technologies, a manufacturer of one of the first Microsoft Windows personal computer accelerator graphics cards - the Eclipse II product, the recipient of the “1992 PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award” and ranked “Number 74” in “PC Computing Top 200 PC Products of 1992”. Dr. Bennett has authored numerous publications, including articles in professional journals. His work covers topics such as speech compression, computer graphics, and local area networks, contributing significantly to the fields of electrical engineering and computer science. As an entrepreneur, having founded Phoenix Solutions Inc. and Speaktomi, LLC, he researched speech recognition and natural language processing technologies resulting in numerous patents and a successful natural language query system, the precursor of many of the technologies commonly used today. As a member of the Technical Staff at Hewlett Packard Laboratories, he contributed to research in charge-coupled devices (CCDs), ultrasonic imaging and computer hardware. Between 2005 and 2010, as a Program Director, Software Services and Education, with the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program at the National Science Foundation’s Directorate of Engineering, he managed research grants totaling over US$45 million. He held teaching positions at several higher education institutions, including International Technological University and Notre Dame de Namur University, where he developed and taught graduate-level courses in computer science and software engineering. He also contributed to curricula development at Hewlett-Packard and other organizations, focusing on VLSI systems design and local area networks. His work in the area of natural language processing and distributed speech recognition supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), resulted in the development of the natural language query system (NLQS) architecture and its implementation in English and Japanese languages. Dr. Bennett holds 44 issued patents and has 16 pending applications, primarily in speech recognition and natural language processing technologies awarded by the U.S., Japanese and European Patent Offices in the areas of distributed speech recognition, natural language processing, semantic decoding, distributed search architectures, interactive training systems, solid state device physics and ultrasonic imaging include innovations in distributed real-time speech recognition systems and methods for processing speech data. In 1993 he participated in setting up the UWIDITE teleconferencing-based teaching network which at the time linked the three campuses of the University of the West Indies - Mona Jamaica, St. Augustine Trinidad and Cave Hill Barbados. As the lead consultant for the selection, scope of work and collaboration with the technical partner, Royal Dutch PTT of Holland, he led and directed the task of applying the Internet to the future higher educational needs of Jamaica and the Caribbean region. This work led to the development of the UWI-affiliated Open Campus, now evolved into The UWI Global Campus. Subsequently as an Information Technology (IT) Specialist Advisor for a Government of Jamaica/Inter-American Development Program project, he formulated the strategic plan for the IT sector of the National Industrial Policy, which incorporated foundations for Internet access and a National Data Network for Jamaica. Recommendations were formulated in the publication, National Industrial Policy, Information Technology Sector, June 1991 authored for the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Government of Jamaica and the United Nations Development Fund. He was later engaged by the Port Authority of Jamaica to formulate requirements and make recommendations for telecommunications, network requirements, call centers, physical infrastructure design and market demand for the Portmore Industrial Park, Jamaica. This study and its recommendations resulted in the development of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry which now employs over 60,000 Jamaicans in several locations such as Portmore, Montego Bay, Morant Bay and elsewhere. Dr. Bennett served as a member of the 2008-2011 Program Committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the IEEE Education Society Award Committee, and was a representative to the NSF Directorate of Engineering’s Working Group on Engineering Education, and the NSF SBIR/STTR Committee on Outreach and Diversity.
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New Scientist - Dr. Marcel Denny
Jan 22, 2026

Dr. Marcel Denny, an Assistant Lecturer in the Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies, Mona was awarded his Ph.D. in Chemistry from The UWI, Mona in 2025. Dr. Denny is a graduate of the Meadowbrook High School where he began developing his leadership and educator skills as Deputy Head Boy and coordinator of a tutoring programme for Grade 11 students led by Grade 12 and 13 students. Like many undergraduate students entering the Faculty of Science and Technology, he initially wanted to study medicine “to help people” however his chemistry lecturers inspired in him, a love and understanding of chemistry such that he realized he could best help people by assisting them to understand chemistry. Dr. Denny completed his B.Sc. in Food Chemistry with dual minors in General Chemistry and Management Studies at The UWI, Mona in 2016. He is known for his leadership qualities and skills and has represented the Department of Chemistry and graduate students in several fora – nationally and internationally. Dr. Denny’s Ph.D. research investigated a new, simple process for making numerous new chemical derivatives from an organic compound, Naphthoquinone. The 33 new chemicals change colour in contact with metal ions, so they show promise in acting as visual sensors for the presence of metals in water – that is, they may be used to reduce the cost of water quality analysis.
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New Scientist - Professor Eccleston Kean
Oct 8, 2025

Professor Eccleston Kean is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on hypoglycin A, the principal toxin in ackees. Historically there had been much debate over the cause of Jamaican Vomiting Sickness but while this had been attributed to hypoglycin in unripe fruit, this was conclusively proven by Kean and his co-workers. It was only in the early 1950s that Dr. Delphine Williams identified ackee poisoning as the cause of Jamaican Vomiting Sickness. The discussion led to Kean’s interest in the subject and his pursuit of a Ph.D. in biochemistry to better understand how hypoglycin A in unopened ackees affects the body’s metabolism, even causing death. His early research showed that a diet deficient in protein of good nutritional value and low in certain vitamins and minerals made the affected patient more susceptible to hypoglycin A poisoning. Professor Kean’s research into hypoglycin A continued for over 20 years and he was the first researcher in Jamaica to use radio-active tracer compounds in his experiments. His studies showed specifically how hypoglycin A inhibited energy production in the mitochondria of the cells resulting in hypoglycaemia or very low blood sugar levels. His later research was conducted both locally and internationally as he collaborated with other researchers and hospitals to study the chemical and its mode of action. His Ph.D. was awarded in 1957 from The University of London, which awarded degrees on behalf of the then, University College of the West Indies. At this time, Dr. Kean was a Senior Lecturer in biochemistry and he continued in this position until he was elevated to the rank of Professor in 1984 and Professor Emeritus in 1994. For his distinguished service in the field of biochemistry, Professor Eccleston Kean was awarded the Silver Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica in 2006. October, 2025
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New Scientist - Mr. Peter Espeut
Oct 8, 2025

Peter Espeut, a distinguished Jamaican sociologist, environmentalist and Roman Catholic deacon, has made a lasting impact on both science and society through his interdisciplinary work. A graduate of Campion College and St. George's College, he excelled in both the sciences and humanities, earning a BSc in Chemistry and a BA in Theology (First Class Honours) from The University of the West Indies. His passion for teaching and knowledge-sharing began at St. Mary’s College, where he taught multiple subjects and led several student clubs. Over time, his interest in social and environmental issues deepened, and his academic work (M.Phil. in sociology and rural development) and his award-winning studies on rural poverty and economic development, reflected a commitment to understanding the challenges facing Jamaica’s underserved communities. In 1996, he was ordained a Permanent Deacon and served parishes in Harbour View, Bull Bay, and Port Royal, while representing the Roman Catholic Church on the Jamaica Council of Churches. Espeut’s career took a pivotal turn when he began applying his scientific and sociological expertise to environmental conservation. He worked with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to study Jamaica’s marine and inland fisheries and became one of the first scientists locally to engage fishers in conservation practices. Perhaps, his most significant achievement was the conceptualization and management of the Portland Bight area—a rich coastal and forested ecosystem—which he oversaw through leadership roles at the South Coast Conservation Foundation (SCCF) and later the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAM). For this work, he was awarded the Pew Fellowship in Conservation and the Environment in 1996. He has also served in numerous national advisory capacities related to marine health, waste management, and coral reef preservation. Mr. Espeut is a vocal advocate for sustainable development, using his weekly column in The Gleaner to raise awareness on social, religious, and environmental issues. For his outstanding contribution to environmental science and national development, the Institute of Jamaica awarded him the Silver Musgrave Medal in 2008. The Reverend Deacon Peter Espeut is currently the Dean of Studies and Lecturer in Sociology at St. Michael’s College and Seminary. Updated October, 2025
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Individuals dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, discovery, and innovation, often with specialized training and expertise in specific scientific disciplines. They include researchers, educators, conservationists, and professionals who actively contribute to the advancement of science.

Publicize your work to a regional audience including government and industry members.

Individuals that are passionate about science but who may not hold formal scientific qualifications but possess an insatiable curiosity about the world around them. They are explorers, learners, and avid supporters of scientific endeavours.

Make contact with and learn about our local Scientists.

This account is for businesses to showcase their scientific services to a science community.

Free listing on the Fiwi Yellowpages.

This account is for educational institutions to display their work and workers in the scientific field.

Make unlimited posts to the Fiwi Events Calendar where your local events are exposed to a much wider regional audience.

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