Dr. Marvadeen Singh-Wilmot is a lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry and Crystallographer at UWI, Mona. Her research group currently consists of two graduate students and an undergraduate researcher and aims to make new molecules from a group of metals called rare earths (or lanthanides). The rare earths are metals with exciting and unique light emitting and magnetic properties. They have applications in phosphors (substances which give off visible light when exposed to radiation, for example those substances that make your television glow with various colours), light-emitting diodes (responsible for the displays on various electronic devices and the light in traffic signals etc), sensors and MRI contrast enhancement agents (enchances a MRI image) , to name a few. While Singh-Wilmot has published on a variety of new lanthanide containing molecules and still continues work on rare earth nanoclusters (multiple lanthanides in a cluster whose dimensions are in the nanometer range), most of her attention is currently focused on using lanthanides to assemble Metal Organic Framework Materials (MOFs).
Singh-Wilmot has a passion for science and is committed to the promotion of science as a tool for development. She served as co-chair of the Young Scientist Ambassador Program (YSAP) which is an initiative of The Young Scientists from the 2010 Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC), Summer Davos. This program involves Young Scientists from 55 different countries representing every section on the Globe and will promote the efforts of AMNC Young Scientists to bridge the international scientific gap by facilitating cultural, scientific, intellectual, or educational interactions. Singh-Wilmot is a mentor and a motivator. She has been recognized various times for her contribution to teaching at UWI as determined by excellent scores in teaching assessment done by students. She spends at least one hour per week working with children from various Primary and Prep Schools in St. Andrew, getting them excited about science and its opportunities. In October 2010 she was inducted as a Young Affiliate Fellow of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) in Hyderabad India. She is the first Young Affiliate to be selected from the Caribbean Region.