16
P
rofessor Emeritus Harold
Ramkissoon was born on
April 14th in the year 1942, he was
one out of ten siblings and grew
up in the areas of Tabaquite and
Marabella.
As a child, he almost excelled
in his school work, attending
the Tabaquite RC
Primary School and then
Presentation College.
Brilliant, outgoing,
compassionate and very
proactive are just some
of the qualities to best
describe him.
He received his
Bachelors with Honors in
Mathematics, as a Graduate
of the Mona Campus of
the University of the West
Indies in 1966, and his MSc
at the University of Toronto
in 1969. He continued his
studies at the University of
Calgary to attain his PhD in
1975 in the area of Applied
Mathematics.
His very distinguished
academic career saw
him moved from the rank
of Lecturer to Emeritus
Professor over a span of
thirty-three (33) years. He
was the first West Indian to
be given a Personal Chair
(a lifelong title bestowed on
Professor
Emeritus
Harold
Ramkissoon
someone who has excelled in his/
her field and brought honor to the
University) in Mathematics at the St.
Augustine Campus of the University
of the West Indies.
He was the recipient of prestigious
Fellowships from the Alexander von
Humboldt Foundation in Germany
in 1981, the Fulbright Foundation
of USA in 1988, and the Academy
of Sciences for the Developing
World in Italy in 1990.
Professor Ramkissoon is married
and has two sons and two
grandchildren. When he is not
lecturing or giving motivational
speeches, he reads, listens to music,
play bridge or travels.
Professor Ramkissoon has
been an Invited Scientist at a
number of Centres of
Excellence including
Cambridge University, the
Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT),
Princeton University,
Gottingen University,
the Indian Institute of
Science and the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, and
has published five books
and over ninety papers
in internationally peer-
reviewed journals. He has
made notable contributions
to the understanding
of micropolar and
microcontinuum fluids and
Marangoni instabilities in
the field of fluid dynamics.
His views on life are very
optimistic and tolerant,
and he totally believes in
academia as a way of life.
He encourages anyone to
find a love and passion and
to go for it.
Professor Ramkissoon
has been the recipient
