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New Scientist - Mr. Robert Rashford
4d

Robert Rashford is an aerospace engineer with his own company, Genesis Engineering Solutions Incorporated, which he started in 1993 in Maryland, USA providing services to the Goddard Space Flight Centre amongst others. Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1957, Robert was said to have been a creative child – making a variety of toys for himself and later showing interest in science and mathematics at school. Rashford migrated to the USA and was awarded his B.Sc. in mechanical engineering from Temple University, Pennsylvania in 1982. He earned his M.Sc. in Engineering and Management from the University of Maryland. Rashford worked closely with a team of scientists to repair the first Hubble Space Telescope. Together with Charles Rivera, Rashford developed a 3D non-destructive evaluation system that can detect flaws in air/space-craft materials and which has been used to maintain critical equipment including the Hubble Space Telescope. Rashford has worked with several companies including General Electric and Bechtel Corporation designing and developing spacecraft and spacecraft support systems for both commercial and military applications. He and his team at Genesis have been working on the development of an Integrated Science Instrument Module that will fly on board the James Webb Space Telescope spacecraft which is a replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope. Genesis Solutions Inc. has numerous other projects including Single Person Spacecraft which provide a safer alternative to the spacesuit and is based on his earlier invention of protective enclosures for transporting orbital replacement units and astronauts. Robert Rashford has received several awards from the US-NationalAeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for his work on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and the Hubble Space Telescope and an award for Excellence in Science and Technology from the Institute of Caribbean Studies.
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New Scientist - Dr. Elaine Fisher
4d

Dr. Elaine Fisher is a marine biologist who led Jamaica’s biodiversity conservation policy and strategy through her work at the Institute of Jamaica and The University of the West Indies and on several national and international committees. Born in Montego Bay, she studied at both Hampton and Wolmers’ High Schools, later attending The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona. She graduated in 1965 with her Bachelors’ Degree in zoology and chemistry and became the Assistant Curator of the Science Museum, IOJ. Following a 3-year stint there, she returned to The University of the West Indies as a Research Assistant and moved up the ranks of Scientific Officer to Assistant Lecturer whilst studying a variety of marine invertebrates for her post-graduate degrees. Her M.Sc. focused on Corallimorpharia, sometimes known as Mushroom corals (they are related to stony corals but do not have stony exo-skeletons) and Actinara, commonly referred to as Sea Anemones. Her Ph.D. in Marine Zoology awarded in 1986 focused on the ecology and systematics of Jamaican Sabellids, popularly known as Feather-duster worms. Soon after being awarded her Ph.D. she returned to the IOJ as the Director of the Natural History Museum of Jamaica. She acted as Executive Director of the IOJ for several years but retired in 1999, a year after her formal appointment to the position. Dr. Fisher chaired the Committee which guided the development of Jamaica’s first Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (1998 – 2002). Her career focused on the conservation of Jamaica’s biodiversity and she served tirelessly on numerous national and international committees for this purpose. Dr. Fisher represented Jamaica at numerous conferences and meetings related to biodiversity and was the first Chairman of the National Conservation Trust Fund of Jamaica from its inception in 2014. Dr. Fisher was awarded the Silver Musgrave Medal for eminence in Science by the Institute of Jamaica in 2003.
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New Scientist - Dr. Joel Sadler
5d

Dr. Joel Sadler is an innovator, computer engineer and entrepreneur. He is perhaps best known as the co-inventor of the JaipurKnee, a budget-friendly prosthetic knee joint, which was listed at number 18 in Times Magazine's "50 Best Inventions of 2009". Dr. Sadler was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica and attended Wolmer's Preparatory School and Campion College, before studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA. In 2008, while doing postgraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Stanford in California, USA, Sadler, along with classmate Eric Thorsell, designed the device as part of a course project in Medical Device Design. The JaipurKnee is made of self-lubricating, oil-filled nylon and is both flexible and stable, even on irregular terrain. The device was further developed by Stanford University in collaboration with the Jaipur Foot Group, a charity that provides prostheses to Indian amputees. The JaipurKnee has the potential to benefit amputees in low-income communities worldwide. In 2010, Sadler was awarded a Bronze Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica for his achievement in science. He has garnered more than a decade of experience in product creation across mechanical, electrical hardware and software design for companies such as Apple, Johnson and Johnson and Audi. He earned his Ph.D. from Stanford with his thesis “The Anatomy of Creative Computing” which showed that even a 7-year old could be inspired to prototype their technology ideas without any prior knowledge. Since then, Mr. Sadler has established several start-ups in Silicon Valley including Piper – an education tech start-up with which he is still involved as an Advisor. Since 2023 he has been the Chief Technology Officer of a new division at George Lucas Educational Foundation. He continues to lecture part-time at Stanford University.
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New Scientist - Dr. Cynthia Thompson
5d

Dr. Cynthia Thompson (1928 – 2019) was a Jamaican paediatrician who worked in private practice until her retirement in 2000 following a career at the Bustamante Hospital for Children which started in 1966 when she returned home from medical school in Nashville. She is best known however for her first career, as an athlete - the first Jamaican woman to compete as a finalist in the Olympics (in the 100 metres). She was in fact, the only woman of colour in that race. Dr. Thompson attended St. Hugh’s High School in Kingston, where her athletic prowess and speed were discovered. After school, she continued as an athlete and won gold in the 100 metres in her first international appearance in the 5th Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia in 1946. Young Cynthia continued with this trajectory until she became one of the 4 women in Jamaica’s 13 competitor team to its first Olympics in 1948. Whilst this Olympics is best remembered for the winning performance of our men in the 800 and 400 metre races, Cynthia was a trailblazer for female Jamaican sprinters as she placed and ran in the 100 metre finals and 200 metre semi-finals, despite illness and loss of weight on the long journey to London by ship. After the Olympics she moved to Nashville to join the Tennessee State University athletics programme and continued to represent Jamaica at regional events. After studying science, she eventually retired from athletics and pursued a medical career, specializing in paediatrics at the Meharry Medical College in Nashville.
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New Scientist - Dr. Marvin Kelly
Feb 4, 2026

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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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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