Idelisa Bonnelly

Idelisa Bonnelly
Born (1931-09-10) 10 September 1931
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
Spouse(s) Vinicio Calventi Gaviñette
Academic background
Alma mater Columbia University
New York University
Academic work
Institutions Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo
Research Center of Marine Biology
Dominican Foundation for Marine Research
Main interests marine biologist
Notable works created the first sanctuary for humpback whales

Idelisa Bonnelly (also known as Idelisa Bonnelly de Calventi; born 10 September 1931) is a Dominican marine biologist who is considered the "mother of marine conservation in the Caribbean".[1] She was the founder of the study of biology in the Dominican Republic, as well as the founder of the Institute of Marine Biology and the Dominican Foundation for Marine Research. She was instrumental in the creation of the first Humpback Whale Sanctuary of the North Atlantic and has won numerous awards, including induction into the UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour, Unesco's Marie Curie Medal and the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella. The BBC has called her one of the most important women scientists in Latin America.

Biography

Bonnelly was born on 10 September 1931 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.[2] Because she wanted to study marine biology and there were no schools teaching biology in the Dominican Republic, she pursued her university studies in New York.[3] In 1953, she enrolled at Columbia University, graduating with a BS in marine biology in 1956. She went on to attain a master's degree from New York University in 1961.[2] After completion of her schooling, Bonnelly began her first job at the New York Aquarium as a research assistant to Ross Nigrelli.[2] In 1962, she returned to the Dominican Republic and began teaching at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), founding the first institution for the study of biology in the country.[3] In 1966, she founded the Institute of Marine Biology, which later became the Research Center of Marine Biology (Spanish: Centro de Investigación de Biología Marina) (CIBIMA),[3] at which she taught from 1967 to 1986 and then until 1992 served as the coordinator of graduate studies.[2]

In 1974, Bonnelly founded the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic[4] and began publishing works which became widely influential for those managing and concerned with conservation of marine resources. In 1986, she was instrumental in the creation of the first protected area for the humpback whale, originally called the Humpback Whale Sanctuary on the Silver Bank (Spanish: Santuario de Ballenas Jorobadas del Banco de la Plata but today known as Santuario de los Bancos de la Plata y la Navidad.[2] For her contribution, she was awarded the Medal of Merit of Dominican Women in Science by the Government of the Dominican Republic (1986), the National Science Prize from the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic (1987), and was inducted into the Global 500 Roll of Honour by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1987.[3][4]

She became a Professor Meritorious at (UASD) in 1990 and in 1991 she created the Dominican Foundation for Marine Research, (Spanish: Fundación Dominicana de Estudios Marinos) (FUNDEMAR), an institution which coordinates the marine management plan, studies marine life and the coral reef, and manages the Marine Mammal Sanctuary.[2] That same year, Bonnelly joined the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (TWOWS) and served in the First General Assembly.[4] She continued publishing and her works have been utilized for influencing marine and coastal Environmental Law.[2] Bonnelly was made an academic laureate of the Academy of Sciences in 2007, received a National Ecology Award from the Fundación Corripio in 2008, and was awarded the Marie Curie Medal from UNESCO in 2009.[4] In 2010, the Society for the Conservation of Biology of Victoria, Canada, honored her with a Distinguished Service Award in Biology and in 2011, the Government of the Dominican Republic granted her the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella.[2] In 2013, she was recognized by the BBC as one of the ten most important women scientists in Latin America.[1]

Awards

Selected works

References

  1. 1 2 "Ecuatoriana entre las 10 científicas más destacadas de Latinoamérica" (in Spanish). Alban, Guayaquil, Ecuador: El Universo. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Reconocen trayectoria de la maestra Idelisa Bonnelly" (in Spanish). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Álvarez, Venecia (6 April 2010). "Reconocimiento a la Sra. Idelissa Bonelly" (in Spanish). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Revista Vita República Dominicana. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Idelisa Bonnelly – República Dominicana" (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Interamerican Network of Academies of Sciences. 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Marie Curie". UNESCO. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
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