Edgar Julian Duncan

Professor Edgar Julian Duncan entered the University College of the West Indies (UCWI) – then an external college of London University- in 1957, to read for a Bachelor’s degree in Science, majoring in Botany and Zoology with Chemistry as a minor; he graduated in June 1960. Based on the results of the final examination taken, he was awarded the first Sir James Irvine Memorial Scholarship, tenable at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, from which he graduated in 1963 with the degree of Doctor in Philosophy.

He took up appointment as a Lecturer in Botany at the then College of Arts and Sciences on the St. Augustine campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI) in October 1963 and was placed in the Department of Botany of the Faculty of Agriculture. He lectured for 35 years at the institution, broken only by a period in 1975 to take up a Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst Dienst (DAAD) Fellowship at Freie Universitat, Berlin, Germany, and an exchange lectureship at the University of Reading, England in 1976.

During his stint at The UWI, he lectured in a number of courses in botany and supervised the research of 22 students, 6 at the doctorate level. He was promoted to the level of Senior Lecturer in 1973 and Professor in 1990. In the inaugural year (1994) of the Vice-chancellor’s Award for Excellence he received an award for excellence in Teaching and Administration.

In 2000, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in Agriculture (for pioneering Contribution to Plant Tissue Culture Research and Development) by the National Institute of Higher Education (Research, Science and Technology) NIHERST and in 2005, named among Caribbean icons in Science, Technology and Innovation by the CCST/NIHERST and later, among Trinidad and Tobago Icons in Science and Technology (NIHERST). He has represented Trinidad and Tobago on the Board of Governors of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Italy/India).

On his retirement he was conferred the title of Professor Emeritus by The University of the West Indies. He continues to serve at the institution as a supervisor of research students and as Editor-inChief of the journal Tropical Agriculture.

Professor Duncan is no stranger to COSTAATT; he has served for years on the Advisory committee to the Department of Environmental Studies. He hopes to continue giving his best service to the institution in his capacity as a member of the Board of Trustees.