Dr Charles Anthony Barnett, the Jamaican who made headlines in the US as an engineering genius, is the new president of the Cornwall College Old Boys Association of New York (CCOBANY).

Four years ago, Dr Barnett was appointed to lead the technical team at an American satellite service company charged with making the World Wide Web truly worldwide, by making connectivity possible from even the most remote parts of the world whether land, sea or air.

Dr Barnett was at the time a senior vice-president of engineering at Maryland-based Hughes Network Systems which is working with the “OneWeb” system to bring hitherto unseen broadband speeds to unserved and under-served communities.

He leads a new CCOBANY executive also comprising: Vice-President Vivian McCain; Secretary Athol Chen; Financial Secretary Linford Blagrove; Treasurer Helwig Stewart; Business Manager Earle Wilson; Assistant Business Manager Winston Anderson; Sergeant-at-Arms David Grant; member-at large Dale Brown; member-at-large Ottmar Wilson; and immediate past President Trevor Tomlinson.

Hughes Network, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, described the OneWeb system as one of the most advanced and complex low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations.

“When complete, the OneWeb constellation of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites will offer high speed, low latency connectivity globally — over the water, in the air and across places that were previously unconnectable, such as the polar regions,” said Dr Barnett, who has been with Hughes for over 34 years.

The operation requires an elite team of Hughes engineers to track and sync satellites in real time and perform far more complex problem-solving than ever before. It is this team that Dr Barnett headed.

In a May 21, 2021 Jamaica Observer article, Dr Barnett said of the project: “…We’ve applied our know-how and capabilities to solve complex engineering challenges with simple solutions. While OneWeb is complex, it’s also efficient. This is the type of advanced and innovative engineering prowess required to meet the demands for connectivity everywhere.”

Dr Barnett has broad technical backgrounds in wired and wireless terrestrial communication, and satellite communications, having spent over 40 years in the research and development of switching and transmission systems.

He attended Cornwall College from September 1969-1974 and then the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST) now the University of Technology (UTech, Jamaica), graduating with honours in 1977. He spent three years lecturing in electrical engineering at CAST before going to study in the US in 1980.

Dr Barnett graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (computer engineering), and has a doctorate in electrical engineering (communication) from the University of Maryland, College Park.

He was appointed vice-president of engineering at Hughes in 2003 and promoted to senior vice-president in 2017.

Hughes maintains that the 2020 novel coronavirus pandemic had underscored even more clearly how important connectivity is to the world, because “when everyone is isolating, the need for connectivity becomes even more critical”.

Dr Barnett told the Sunday Observer that his administration’s priority is fostering an excellence culture at their alma mater Cornwall College.

“Toward this end, we developed a Math Intervention Plan with the school, which is currently being rolled out.