Trent Luminary - Dr. Suresh Narine

It's no wonder that Dr. Suresh Narine was named one of Canada's Top 40 leaders under the age of forty in 2011. Since graduating from Trent with a M.Sc. in Chemical Physics, Dr. Narine has been pushing the boundaries of biomaterials research at an incredible rate. Now he is inspiring his students at Trent to do the same. Internationally recognized as a pioneer researcher, Dr. Narine began his teaching career at the University of Alberta where he was appointed professor and AVAC Research Chair at the young age of twenty-seven. While at the University of Alberta, he was the founding Director of the Alberta Lipid Utilization Research Program and was twice named Professor of the Year. Returning to Trent in 2009 as Professor of Physics, Astronomy and Chemistry, Dr. Narine quickly established himself as a leader. In just fourteen months he built the Trent Biomaterials Research Centre (TBRC), a 7,000 sq. ft., state-of-the art, research and technology development facility that focuses on the creation of petro-chemical replacements and biomaterials from lipids. Under Dr. Narine's directorship the TBRC has developed into a world-class facility which is collaborating with universities in other countries. The TBRC reflects Dr. Narine's commitment to making the world a better place and to taking a holistic approach to solving problems. "Our work is focussed on attempts to remake many of the world's materials in a sustainable, toxin-free, environmentally-friendly, but economically-viable, manner," he says. "I think without this change, our irresponsible consumption of harmful materials poses a serious threat to our way of life and our world." A native of Guyana, Dr. Narine first came to Trent as an undergraduate student in the Trent International Program. He was attracted to Trent's beautiful setting, its emphasis on cross-disciplinary learning and its world-class faculty. "I felt that it would be a place where I could develop my somewhat radical ideas, in an environment which would encourage deviation from the larger schools' factory-focussed approach to learning." As a student, Dr. Narine says Trent's unique approach to learning taught him much more than textbook facts. "I learned to think for myself, to challenge the status quo, and I learned that solutions often reside in unconventional partnerships. Without this approach, many of the successes I have counted in my life would not have been possible." Now an award-winning teacher, Dr. Narine is instilling the same approach to learning in his students. "I am back at Trent because I believe that propagating this culture is vitally important to a whole new generation of thinkers and doers." Dr. Narine also points out that Trent's small size, world-class facilities and faculty provide students with opportunities beyond the classroom which don't exist at larger institutions. "Trent students have the opportunity, at an early stage in their academic careers, to be involved in projects of potentially significant impact on the environment and on commercialization of new business ideas, which could additionally lead to authorship, patents or other career opportunities," says Dr. Narine.