Amidst the depressing reports of domestic murders, alleged circulation of plastic rice, and the Opposition’s griping over the use of the word “prosperous” in a new partnership agreement came the recent refreshing news of Dr Gavin Jones.

Dr Jones, a past student of Morant Bay High School, was recognised Monday night by Foreign Policy magazine for being among its 100 leading global thinkers this year.

That, we hold, is a signal honour, placing him on the same stage with world figures such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon, Taiwan’s first female president Tsai Ing-wen, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and US Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who were recognised this year in the category ‘The Decision-makers’.

As was we reported on Tuesday, Dr Jones shared the award with his IBM research colleague Dr Jeannette Garcia for developing a process to chemically recycle plastics while preventing BPA (bisphenol-A) — a chemical that is added to many commercial products, including food containers and hygiene products — from leaching.

Foreign Policy magazine, in explaining the reason for recognising Drs Jones and Garcia in its ‘Innovators’ category, said: “Every year, industry produces more than 2.7 million tons of hard polycarbonate plastic, used in smartphones, eyeglass lenses, and many other products. Difficult to recycle, it winds up in landfills, where it leaches the industrial chemical BPA. So Jeannette Garcia and Gavin Jones, chemists at IBM’s Almaden Lab, have developed a process that introduces new elements to polycarbonates that prevent BPA from leaching. The recycled, reconstituted plastic isn’t just durable.

“Garcia described it to CNN Money as ‘an environmental win on many fronts’. Because it doesn’t decompose like other polycarbonates, the material might be safe to use in water purification, fibre optics, and other systems. Trash, in short, could take on new value.”

Dr Jones conducted his postdoctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studying mechanisms of organometallic reactions. His achievements have highlighted an argument that we have repeatedly raised in this space — the importance of State and private sector support for scientific research that is critical to the country’s development.

In fact, it was just on Monday this week that we pointed to Professor Errol Morrison’s observation of the achievements of local inventor and entrepreneur, Mr Jovan Evans of AquaFlow Products and Services.

Professor Morrison, himself a distinguished scientist, noted that Mr Evans invented a pump-and-spray product that can transform an average of four or five gallons of water into an efficient, portable shower.

The innovation — buttressed by scientific knowledge and apparently inspired by the universal reality that necessity is the mother of invention — is making waves commercially, as Mr Evans is receiving orders from China and India.

Think of what Mr Evans, and other local scientists and inventors could achieve if they are afforded adequate funding. Think also of the contribution that Dr Jones’ research could make to Jamaica’s GDP, as well as the safety of our environment, had he been able to conduct his work here. The possibilities are endless.