The Faculty began its existence in Barbados as the Division of Natural Sciences of the College of Arts & Sciences in 1963 at the Bridgetown Harbour site. Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics were taught as part of a four year general degree. The Division was led by chemist Robin Russell and included Sydney Martin (later Principal), Leslie Robinson, Melville Campbell and Eustace Taitt. The first group of Science students numbered just over twenty and there were just five scientists among the first graduands in 1966.
In 1972, Cave Hill became a full-fledged campus with Cave Hill scientists part of a cross-campus Faculty of Natural Sciences. Professor Bob Binks was the first Vice-Dean and also the Head of Chemistry, with Dr Gerry Doran heading the Physics Department and Dr. Charles Cadogan (now Emeritus Professor) leading the Mathematicians. In 1973, the Caribbean Meteorological Institute became affiliated with the Faculty, adding a Meteorology stream to the degree. In 1976, the Department of Biology was created, headed by Professor of Biology, Ted Mathison and that same year Computer Science was added to the curriculum within the Department of Mathematics. The first graduate research degree (in Chemistry) was awarded in 1976 which ushered in a vibrant programme of graduate research leading over the years to the award of over fifty MPhil and forty PhD degrees.
With the UWI restructuring process of 1984 came greater autonomy and Bertie Callender became the first Dean of the Faculty at Cave Hill that year. In 1986, the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) was established under the directorship of Dr Euna Moore which has produced over two hundred MSc graduates to-date. In 1988, to increase greater enrolment from the Eastern Caribbean and provide articulation with tertiary level institutions there, Level 1 courses began to be offered at the Antigua State College and the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College.
In 1996 a further restructuring took place with the renaming of the Faculty as the Faculty of Science & Technology and the fusion of four departments to create two – Biological & Chemical Sciences and Computer Science, Mathematics & Physics. In 2002, in a move towards consistency across the campuses, the Faculty was renamed the Faculty of Pure & Applied Sciences. |
