University of Connecticut Professor Cato T. Laurencin, CEO of the Connecticut Convergence Institute at UConn Health, met with the Prime Minister of St. Lucia during a January 18- 22 trip to the country.

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers recently endowed the Cato T. Laurencin Regenerative Engineering Founder’s Award and Laurencin had the honor of bestowing the first struck medal upon the Honorable Philip J. Pierre, Prime Minister of St. Lucia, in honorary recognition of his support of regenerative engineering in the country.

During the recent trip, he attended the 30^th annual Nobel Laureate Festival celebrating Sir Arthur Lewis and Sir Derek Walcott.  Laurencin was selected to lay the official wreath at the tomb of the St. Lucian poet and Nobel Laureate, Derek Walcott. In addition, he visited Sir Arthur Lewis’ tomb site with Sir Arthur Lewis’ nephew, Sir Vaughan Lewis.

Finally, he met with officials in St. Lucia on the highly successful UConn JUMP Saint Lucia Program aimed at encouraging and educating Saint Lucian communities on healthy eating and exercise.

“The initiative has now grown to be a grassroots program for St. Lucians by St. Lucians,” Laurencin noted.

The program serves as a centerpiece of a cooperative agreement between UConn and St. Lucia.