Bertram Fraser-Reid, a true Renaissance man

ITHE EDITOR, Madam: WOULD LIKE to honour Prof Bertram Oliver Fraser-Reid, who died at his home in North Carolina on May 25, at age 86. Fraser-Reid was born and grew up in North Manchester; his father was the principal of Bryce School, near Christiana.

He attended Clarendon College and taught there before proceeding to Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada - he earned a BSc in chemistry in 1959, and a MSc in 1961. He later attained a PhD in chemistry from the University of Alberta in 1964 and pursued postdoctoral studies at the Imperial College, University of London, under Nobel Laureate Sir Derek Barton.

At the University of Waterloo in Ontario, he did pioneering work on the synthesis of natural products into petroleum products; he was James B. Duke Professor of Chemistry from 1985 until his retirement in 1996 at Duke University in North Carolina.

On his retirement, Fraser-Reid founded the non-profit Natural Products and Glycotechnology Research Institute in Durham, North Carolina, where he led a team conducting research to develop carbohydrate-based vaccines to fight malaria and tuberculosis. During the course of his outstanding career, he received many awards and commendations. Professor Fraser-Reid was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1998.

The Institute of Jamaica honoured him in 2007 with the Gold Musgrave Medal for Distinguished Eminence in the field of Chemistry.

He is the author of more than 300 scientific papers and has supervised more than 130 graduate students, many of whom have gone on to achieve their own eminence in the field of chemistry.

Bertram Fraser-Reid was a true Renaissance man. In addition to his scientific work, he was an accomplished jazz and classical pianist. He has given recitals of classical music on the pipe organ at some of the world’s most renowned cathedrals, including a memorable recital of the works of Bach on the organ at the St George’s Anglican Church in Kingston.

NEVILLE JAMES