At the University of TT (UTT) on Wednesday, the administration building for the new campus was officially named after Prof Emeritus Kenneth Julien, reflecting not just his role as a driver in the establishment of the university, but his wider involvement in the successful industrialisation of the oil and gas industry in this country.
Prof Julien is 91-years-old. Over the course of a career spanning almost six decades, he has steadfastly championed tertiary education and the importance of developing a capable cadre of engineers to drive the development of the petrosector and the technologies that TT's energy resources have enabled under his guidance. Naming a building after him is an appropriate choice, given the vast investments in infrastructure that he has overseen, most notably the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, which kickstarted an emphasis on downstream industries as a next-generation exploitation of the country's natural resources. His leadership at Point Lisas didn't end with the reclamation and construction work that established the estate.
He would go on to chair more than a half-dozen major downstream state companies.
But concrete and steel were never the professor's ambition. They were the necessary byproducts of applied intellect and planning, the result of an inspired education that he was determined to make available to anyone interested in acquiring it.
He became one of the youngest deans in the Commonwealth when he was appointed professor and head of the Department of Electrical Engineering in 1970 at the age of 38.
Prof Julien's emphasis on education as a fulcrum for national development clearly struck a chord with Dr Eric Williams who asked him to chair the Energy Co-ordinating Task Force in the mid-1970s. In the 19th lecture in the Dr Eric Williams Memorial Lecture Series, Prof Julien recalled a relationship that was collegial but respectful. The historian who wanted to drive industry, the engineer with a fascination for the shaping forces of history. In that speech, he recalled Dr Williams' intent to reverse the "subordination of local interests to those of external capital."
As early as 1963, Prof Julien was aware that natural gas flaring was burning half of this natural resource into the air and undertook a strategic mission to turn a perceived by-product into revenue. It's hard to imagine today just how groundbreaking this collaboration of trust and intent between a sitting prime minister and a skilled technocrat was. Even today, when we speak of doctor politics as a metaphor for an absolute leader, the collaboration of Dr Williams and Prof Julien stands as a bold counterpoint.
We may make a fuss about putting Prof Julien's name on a building, but his signature is indelibly written into the last 60 years of oil and gas development in this country.
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