Idelisa Bonnelly (September 10, 1931 – July 3, 2025) was born Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. She went on to be known as the Mother of Marine Biology in the Caribbean. Bonnelly turned her love of the ocean into a career in Marine Biology, which she started in the US since the Dominican Republic had no biology programs at the time. She obtained her BS (1956) from Columbia University and MS (1961) from New York University in Marine Biology.
Upon returning to the Dominican Republic, she began teaching at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and established the first Biology program in the country. The Center for Marine Biology Research was founded by her in 1966, where she continued teaching until 1986. In 1974, she founded the Dominican Republic’s Academy of Sciences, and in 1986, she established the Humpback Whale Sanctuary.
For her work, she was inducted into the United Nations Environment Programs Global 500 Hall of Fame (1987) and served in the first general assembly for the Organization for Women in the Sciences for the Developing World. She also received the Marie Curie Medal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (2009). Idelisa passed away in 2022 at 90 years of age leaving behind a long legacy.
REFERENCES:
- https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043512/http://www.intec.edu.do/noticias-y-actividades/noticias/item/reconocen-trayectoria-de-la-maestra-idelisa-bonnelly
- https://awis.org/historical-women/idelisa-bonnelly/
- https://stemettes.org/zine/articles/meet-idelisa-bonnelly/
- https://www.wallofscientists.com/scientist/idelisa-bonnelly
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