the prime minister`s counsel of science advisers

THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS Executive Summary
A critical ingredient in the economic advancement of developing nations is capacity in science and
technology. This was underscored by the research findings of the 2005 UN Millennium Task Force on
Science, Technology, and Innovation. An excellent example is Rwanda, whose science and technology
efforts have been systematically supported by the World Bank since 2006. In fact, President Paul Kagame
of Rwanda has emerged in sub-Saharan Africa as a touted role model and champion of economic growth
through science, technology, and innovation. In his 2006 address to the U.K. Royal Society, he noted:
“We in Africa must either begin to build our scientific and training capabilities or remain an
impoverished appendage to the global economy.”
Addressing the African Union Summit in 2007, he highlighted:
“It is about applying science and technology holistically—in all levels of education and training,
in commercializing ideas, in developing business and quickening the pace of wealth-creation and
employment-generation, in enabling government to provide better services, and indeed in
providing basic tools to society at large for self- and collective betterment.”
Developing nations like China and India have long discovered the power of science in creating wealth.
Through its strong technology sector, Costa Rica has been reaping the benefits from prior investments in
building technology capacity. As early as 1998, Costa Rica was able to attract the Intel Corporation,
which alone hires some 2,000 Costa Rican technology professionals. Other developing nations like
Jamaica, Ghana, and Uganda have recently recognized these opportunities and their governments have
appointed official science advisers to assist with leveraging such tools for economic growth.
Belize stands poised to benefit economically from opportunities in science, technology, and innovation.
The Belize Prime Minister’s Council of Science Advisers (PM-CSA) assists with:
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Framing science policies that convert into practical programs that promote day-to-day economic
growth.
Attracting science and technology investors and industries, particularly in green technologies.
Identifying strategic economic opportunities that cut across different ministries as well as creating
synergies and efficiencies among ministries using technological tools.
Developing the Belizean human capital in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) to advance national development.
Reviewing policy proposals for scientific soundness.
The PM-CSA also provides advice on how to build upon Belize’s track record in ecotourism and
environmental conservation to forge economic growth through green technologies. This includes
attracting international funding and private investments that systematically create jobs in renewable
energies, recycling, waste management, green construction, computer technology, and similarly
environmentally friendly industries.
The PM-CSA is appointed officially by the Prime Minister. To help maintain the council’s independence
and political neutrality, the PM-CSA is not a government secretariat and its members consist of renowned
individuals who have a vested interest in the betterment of all Belizeans and, consequently, do not
promote a political agenda. The PM-CSA is housed at the Petters Research Institute (PRI), which is a
politically neutral, nonprofit institute charged with assisting in advancing Belize’s national development
through building capacity in STEM education, coupled to entrepreneurship and business innovation.
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THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS Mission Statement
The Prime Minister’s Council of Science Advisers (PM-CSA) is charged with directly advising the Prime
Minister and his Cabinet on furthering the development of Belize through practical and environmentally
sustainable applications of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to create
economic growth, strengthen education, enhance health, and fortify Belize’s national security. The PMCSA will provide the Prime Minister and his office, and Cabinet with independent, politically-neutral
counsel on policies, proposals, and any issues that the Prime Minister and his office deem appropriate.
The activities of the PM-CSA will include assisting the Prime Minister with:
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Framing science policies that convert into practical programs that promote economic growth.
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Attracting science and technology investors and industries, particularly in green technologies.
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Identifying strategic economic opportunities that cut across different government ministries as
well as creating synergistic opportunities for ministries using technology.
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Developing the Belizean human capital in STEM fields with emphasis on applications that
advance national development.
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Reviewing policy proposals for scientific soundness.
An initial aim of the PM-CSA is to assist the Prime Minister with formulating a national green policy that
lays a path for Belize to grow economically by striving to become one of the world’s foremost developing
nations in green technology. Specifically, the PM-CSA will advise the Prime Minister on practical
measures for how to:
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Formulate a national development strategy that builds upon Belize’s track record in ecotourism
and environmental conservation to forge new economic growth through green technologies.
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Attract investors and innovators in renewable energy, recycling, waste management, and green
construction to create new jobs, achieve consumer energy savings, and promote synergies that
enhance ecotourism.
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Systematize, inventory, and manage the new economic value available to Belize through carbon
sequestration credits from existing forest reserves and their replenishing, and the carbon offset
credits realized from the introduction of renewable energy technologies.
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Advance purposefully computer technology, particularly software development and IT service, as
an additional source of economic growth.
To help promote Belize’s development, the PM-CSA members may choose to become or encourage
others to become participating stakeholders in Belize who help spawn sustainable and innovative
entrepreneurial activities within the country to promote economic growth—including introducing
renewable energy technologies, enhancing Belize’s IT cottage industry to create jobs for young people,
forging high-caliber educational partnerships to build Belize’s human capital, researching plant extracts
for cures of major diseases, etc.
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THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS MEMBERS
Arlie Petters, Ph.D., Chairman
Dr. Petters is a Belizean American scientist. He holds the
Benjamin Powell endowed Chair at Duke University, where
he is a Professor of Mathematics, Physics, and Business
Administration. Prior to Duke, he was on the faculty at MIT
and Princeton University. Dr. Petters was also a visiting
professor at Harvard University, Oxford University, and the
Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics (Germany), and served
on academic boards in the U.S.A. He authored several books,
including a monograph that placed the theory of gravitational
lensing on a rigorous mathematical foundation and a PSE
Mathematics book for Belizean elementary school students.
Dr. Petters is the founding president of the Petters Research
Institute in Dangriga, Belize, which is an interdisciplinary
center of excellence in STEM fields and their ramifications in
business. He received his Ph.D. from MIT and B.A./M.A. from Hunter College of the City University of New York. He
is renowned for his pioneering work in the mathematical
physics of gravitational lensing, which earned him numerous
prestigious awards and honors, such as an Alfred P. Sloan
Research Fellowship, the first Blackwell-Tapia Prize in the
Mathematical Sciences, and an honor from Queen Elizabeth II. His place of birth, Dangriga, Belize, also
honored him with a street in his name. Dr. Petters is experienced with operating in both the developed and
developing worlds and is deeply committed to advancing Belize economically, particulary through green
applications of STEM tools. Avery August, Ph.D.
Dr. August is a Belizean American scientist. He is currently
Professor of Immunology and Chair of the Department of
Microbiology & Immunology at College of Veterinary
Medicine at Cornell University in Ithaca NY. He was
previously Distinguished Professor of Immunology and Director
of the Center for Molecular Immunology and Infectious
Disease, in the Huck Institute for the Life Science at The
Pennsylvania State University. Dr. August is a graduate of Weil
Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell
University, and has worked at The Rockefeller University as
well as in industry at the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical
Research Institute. Dr. August has served on numerous review
panels for the US National Institute of Health, National Science
Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences, among
others. He is currently Chair of the Board of Scientific
Counselors of the National Institute on Aging, and serves on the
editorial boards of a number of scientific journals. He is an
Immunologist who is known for his work on understanding the
molecular basis of the T cell mediated immune responses, as
well as his work on the molecular basis for the development of
asthma and allergies. He is the author of greater than 75
scientific articles and has won a number of awards for research and teaching. 3
THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS Bernard Bulwer, M.D.
Dr. Bulwer is a Belizean physician. He is the Director of Medical
Services at Belize’s national tertiary care hospital—the Karl
Heusner Memorial Hospital. He is a medical graduate of the
University of the West Indies in Jamaica and Trinidad, and
specialized in nutrition, diabetes and metabolic medicine at the
Universities of London and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His most
recent specialist training was in cardiovascular disease and
echocardiography at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital—
Harvard Medical School in Boston, where he remains a Research
Associate. Dr. Bulwer has authored and edited seven medical
books, including his flagship work, Echocardiography Pocket
Guide—the Transthoracic Examination designed to introduce the
new era of the ultrasound stethoscope. He is the Principal
Investigator of a global project aimed at implementing the
ultrasound stethoscope in medical education and healthcare. This
project is designed to deliver the latest cardiac imaging tools and
expertise to small countries like Belize—akin to the “cell phone of
cardiac imaging.”
Andre Dreyfuss, M.B.A.
Mr. Dreyfuss is a Brazilian American businessman. Renowned for
his entrepreneurial brilliance, he founded L.A. Technologies in
1991 and serves as its President and Chairman. Mr. Dreyfuss was a
consultant with Booz Allen and Hamilton and worked at Phibro
Salomon as a commodities trader before returning to Brazil where
he started the first wireless and hard wire cable company in Brazil.
He took CNN, ESPN and RAI TV on an exclusive basis to Brazil in
1998 and developed the cable business in Sao Paulo, Rio and 12
other major cities in Brazil before selling it to Globo TV and
Editora Abril. He also started the first cellular company in Brazil in
1999 using two way radio technologies in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro
and expanding it to 12 major cities in Brazil. While developing the
Brazilian market he took the same technology to eight other Latin
American countries before selling the frequencies and business to
Nextel. In 2000 he started and developed the callback technology in
the US and over 37 countries. He also has developed several Real
Estate projects in Brazil and other Latin countries, including a
major beachfront project in Costa Rica. Mr. Dreyfuss holds a B.S.
in marketing and economics from Cornell University and an
M.B.A. form the University of California—Los Angeles.
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THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS Ellsworth Grant, M.D. Dr. Grant is a Belizean American Physician. He is board certified in
the specialties of hematology and medical oncology. He is an
associate professor of clinical medicine at the Los Angeles CountyUSC Medical Center. He is also a member of the American Society
of Hematology. Dr. Grant is a graduate of the University of
California at San Diego School of Medicine. He completed an
Internal Medicine residency at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the City of Hope
National Cancer Center. He maintains a private practice in Los
Angeles, California. Dr. Grant is a pioneer in cancer care within
Belize. He is the founder of the Belize Cancer Center Dangriga
(BCCD), which is the only cancer treatment facility in Belize. He is
also founder and president of the Belizean Women's Wellness
Foundation in Los Angeles, which supports BCCD. Dr. Grant is
compassionate and committed to improving and expanding cancer
care treatment in Belize. He travels monthly to Belize to consult
with and treat patients. With the establishment of a pediatric cancer
program at the BCCD, children in Belize no longer have to travel
abroad to receive chemotherapy. No one is turned away from the
BCCD regardless of their ability to pay. Dr. Grant’s vision is for BCCD to be a comprehensive cancer
center offering medical, surgical and radiation oncology.
A. Joy Grant, M.B.A.
Her Excellency A. Joy Grant is Ambassador, Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary, of Belize to the Kingdom of Belgium and the
European Union. She is non-resident Ambassador to the
Netherlands, France, Spain and Germany. Ambassador Grant also
serves as Belize’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade
Organization. Prior to her appointment as Ambassador, she was
the Director of the Atlantic Conservation Region at The Nature
Conservancy and a member of their Executive Leadership Team,
responsible for setting organizational priorities to meet global
conservation goals. Ambassador Grant served on the Natural
Capital Project team, a collaborative effort involving Stanford
University, World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy to
quantify ecosystem services. An expert in financing mechanisms,
she also led the debt for nature swap negotiations under the
US/Belize Forest Conservation Agreement. Ambassador Grant was
a founding member and Executive Director of the Programme for
Belize, a Belizean conservation organization that now owns and
manages 300,000 acres, or 4%, of Belize’s forest reserve. She
implemented one of the first carbon sequestration pilot projects
under the US Initiative for Joint Implementation. Ambassador Grant represented Belize at the Kyoto
and Copenhagen climate change negotiations. She has successfully raised millions in support of
sustainable development projects and is actively sought as a speaker on Climate Change, eco-tourism,
sustainability standards and certification programs, and economic sustainability. She is frequently
asked to provide advisory services on successfully developing and managing national and regional
development projects. Ambassador Grant received her M.B.A. from the University of Alberta.
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THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS Elma Kay, Ph.D.
Dr. Kay is a Belizean scientist. She is the Administrative
Director and Science Director, and a founder of the
Environmental Research Institute at the national university, the
University of Belize (UB). Dr. Kay, who is a field biologist, is
also a Professor in the Natural Resources Management Program
at UB. She holds a doctorate from Saint Louis University and
prior to working in Belize held a postdoctoral position at the
University of Missouri-St. Louis in the E. Desmond Lee and
Family Laboratory of Molecular Systematics. Dr. Kay’s research
has focused on the ecology, evolution and systematics of plants
and forest ecology and management. She is a Research Associate
at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Dr. Kay is the President of the
Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and
Conservation (MSBC) and a member of the regional MSBC
executive. She is the coordinator and focal point for various
collaborative research initiatives in Belize involving local
partners as well as partners from Central America and the Caribbean, South America, the United States
and the United Kingdom. Dr. Kay believes that Belize’s greatest contribution to the world is the
conservation of its natural resources through sustainable management. She is committed to advancing
science in Belize that contributes to sustainable development by building local capacity for research and
monitoring.
Kenrick Leslie, Ph.D.
Dr. Leslie is a Belizean scientist. He is the Executive Director of
the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre in Belmopan,
Belize, recognized as a regional centre of excellence. Prior to
heading the Climate Change Centre, Dr. Leslie was a Senior
Principal Scientist in the Applied Physics Laboratories of
AlliedSignal Corporation, now Honeywell Corporation, in
Morristown, New Jersey, in the U.S.A. During his twenty-two
year tenure at AlliedSignal Corporation, he was awarded ten
United States patents in the fields of laser and infrared
technologies. He is an authority on meteorology and climatology.
Dr. Leslie has contributed significantly to the development of
meteorology and climatology in Belize and the Caribbean, and
was honored by Queen Elizabeth II for his work. He also served
as a meteorologist in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and the
Bahamas. Dr. Leslie established the National Meteorological
Service of Belize and served as its first Director from 1972 to
1981. In addition, he served on the Board of Governors of the
Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology from 1972 until 1981. During this same period he
was also Rappoteur to the World Meteorological Organization, Regional Association IV comprising
North America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Dr. Leslie is commitment to introducing
green technologies in Belize, particularly in the area of renewable energies, and dedicated to developing
the Belizean human capital in STEM fields.
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THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS Aaron Lewis, Ph.D.
Dr. Lewis is a Belizean scientist. He is an Assistant Professor of
Physics, Mathematics and Business Mathematics in the Faculty of
Science and Technology at the University of Belize. Previously, he
was Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 2002 to 2003 and
then Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology (2003-2007). He
holds a doctorate in physics from the University of South Carolina
and baccalaureate degrees in physics and mathematics from South
Carolina State University, where he graduated summa cum laude. Dr.
Lewis graduate research was done at Syracuse University in the area
of Condensed Matter Physics. Currently, Dr. Lewis is a member of
the UNESCO National Committee and the National Women’s
Commission. He is also the Chair of both the Board of the Statistical
Institute of Belize and the Academic Advisory Committee of Galen
University. Dr. Lewis did pioneering work on multiple Large Highly
Spin-Polarized HD targets at Syracuse University, Brookhaven
National Laboratory and the Nuclear Physics Institute in France. He
has been at the University of Belize since 2000 and is fully
committed to the development of Belize.
Samuel Malone, Ph.D. Dr. Malone is an American economist. He is an Assistant Professor of
Finance at the University of the Andes School of Management in
Bogotá, Colombia. He holds a doctorate in economics from the
University of Oxford and undergraduate degrees in mathematics and
economics from Duke University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa
with summa cum laude Latin honors. Dr. Malone was a Rhodes
Scholar and four-time winner of the international Mathematical
Contest in Modeling, an intensive problem-solving competition in
which participants devise solutions to real-world problems chosen by
experts in government and industry. He is the author, with Dale Gray
of the IMF, of the book Macrofinancial Risk Analysis in the
prestigious Wiley Finance series, with foreword by Robert Merton, and
is the author of several journal articles in applied mathematics and
economics. He has teaching and consulting experience in a variety of
international institutions, including the University of Oxford, the
University of Navarra (Spain), the Central Bank of Venezuela, the
Central Bank of Perú, the IESA (Venezuela and Panamá), the InterAmerican Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
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THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS George McLendon, Ph.D.
Dr. McLendon is an American scientist. He will be the new Provost of
Rice University starting July 1, 2010 and is currently Dean of the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Dean of Trinity College at Duke
University. Dr. McLendon is also a professor in Duke’s departments of
chemistry and biochemistry (School of Medicine), business (Fuqua
School of Business), and the Cancer Center. Before joining Duke, he
was on the faculty at Princeton University. An authority in chemistry,
his current research has direct implications for the diagnosis and
treatment of cancer, stroke, and other diseases. Dr. McLendon has
received prestigious awards for his research, including an Alfred P.
Sloan Research Fellowship and an Eli Lilly Award in Biological
Chemistry. He founded several biotech companies, including Tetralogic
Pharmaceuticals, a company that works on cancer diagnostics and
therapeutics. Dr. McLendon is the CEO of PTP Inc., which is committed
to investing in wind energy in Belize and other developing nations. He
also recently raised US $150 million for Duke University’s Arts and
Sciences in his role as Dean.
Jeremiah Ostriker, Ph.D. Dr. Ostriker is an American scientist. He is a professor at Princeton
University, where he was Provost from 1995 to 2001 and headed the
Department of Astrophysical Sciences (1979-1995). Dr. Ostriker has
been the Director of the Princeton Institute for Computational
Science and Engineering since 2005. He held the Plumian Professor
of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at Cambridge University
from 2001 to 2004. Dr. Ostriker is a member of the U.S.A. National
Academy of Sciences and is currently on the Governing Board and is
Treasurer of that organization. He has received numerous awards and
honours, including the National Medal of Science from President
Clinton in 2000. Dr. Ostriker is a renowned astrophysicist whose
influential research is marked by pioneering utilizations of large-scale
computer simulations. Such computational expertise has applications
to data mining, which can be of tremendous value for developing
nations. Dr. Ostriker is also a highly regarded educator, who currently
chairs the much anticipated study by the National Academy of
Sciences on the state of Research Doctoral Programs in the U.S.A.
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THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS Filiberto Penados, Ph.D.
Dr. Penados is a Belizean social anthropologist. He is a
scholar, activist and practitioner whose work focuses on
critical development and education theory and practice,
spanning across development studies, indigenous studies and
critical education. He was a co-founder and director of Tumul
Kin Center of Learning, the first intercultural education
initiative in Belize which seeks to integrate “western” and
‘indigenous” development thought and practice. His
experience includes writing and presenting at several national
and international conferences on the notion of “development
with identity” and “intercultural education”; working with
UNICEF as Education Program Officer; chairing the Central
American Indigenous Council; and, consulting for various
national and regional bodies. He holds a doctorate degree from the University of Otago in New Zealand
and is currently Associate professor at Galen University where he coordinates a Master of Social Science
Degree Program.
Rochelle Schwartz-Bloom, Ph.D.
Dr. Schwartz-Bloom is an American scientist. She is a
Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, and Professor
of Biological Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center,
and she is the Director of the Duke Center for Science
Education. Dr. Schwartz-Bloom’s laboratory has completed
18 years of research investigating novel drug therapy to
prevent neuronal death due to cardiac arrest and stroke. Dr.
Schwartz-Bloom's research program continues now
exclusively in science education, providing novel, state-ofthe-art science education curricular materials to the K-12 and
college community. Testing of over 40,000 high school
students has revealed that student performance in biology and
chemistry improves with use of her curricula. Dr. SchwartzBloom serves on the U.S.A. National Institutes of Health
advisory panels in science education and has received
Outstanding Science Education awards from organizations
such as the Society for Neuroscience and the American
Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
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THE PRIME MINISTER’S COUNCIL OF SCIENCE ADVISERS Cardinal Warde, Ph.D.
Dr. Cardinal Warde is a Barbados-born, American scientist. He is
Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT where his research
focuses on the development of optoelectronic neural co-processors
for brain-like computing, multispectral-polarimetric imaging sensors,
and infrared projection displays. He is an inventor on twelve patents,
and has published three book chapters in addition to over onehundred-fifty technical papers on optical materials, devices and
systems. He founded Optron Systems, Inc. in 1982, and in 1999 cofounded Radiant Images, Inc. (acquired by Hoya Corp.). Dr. Warde
is also President of the Caribbean Diaspora for Science, Technology
and Innovation which is launching the Caribbean Science
Foundation to help stimulate economic development in the
Caribbean based on science and technology. He is a fellow of the
Optical Society of America, and the recipient of honorary doctorate
degrees in science from the University of the West Indies and
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Dr. Warde has served on the
Board of Trustees of Stevens Institute of Technology, and on the US
National Science Foundation Small Business Advisory Committee.
He also serves as a scientific adviser to the Government of Barbados.
Nancy Zeleniak
Ms. Zeleniak is an American businesswoman. She is an expert in
venture investments, corporate communications, branding, marketing,
strategic business planning, and crisis communications, with more
than 26 years of experience in these areas. Ms. Zeleniak has an
extensive track record in creating investor alliances to develop new
business models. She was global head of venture relations for
Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. (PPD), one of the world
leaders in pharmaceutical and biotechnology development. Ms.
Zeleniak also led PPD’s global marketing and corporate
communications functions for almost ten years. In addition to her
corporate experience, she was as an instructor at the Duke
University’s Fuqua School of Business and served as Associate Dean
of Communications at Duke’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.
Ms. Zeleniak is committed to advancing environmentally sustainable
technologies, especially wind energy technology, in emerging
markets. She is also a steadfast proponent of developing the talents
and fortifying the educational foundation of Belizean youths to
address poverty alleviation using environmentally sustainable
business models.
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