"One UWI, One Alumni Family" 

“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” -William James

Hugo St Clair Alleyne was born in Dominica in 1942. He was admitted to UWI Mona to read Special Physics in 1961 and graduated in 1964 with 2nd Class Honors. After graduation he embarked on postgraduate studies and ended up with a PhD in Physics, doing work jointly at U of Sheffield, UK, and UWI on periodic motions in the upper atmosphere. He joined the academic staff as a Lecturer at UWI, where he taught and did research until late 1980’s (Please check the Registry). During his tenure at UWI, he was instrumental in helping to develop the Applied Physics Programme, especially in the area of Electronics. At UWI he was an avid cricketer and tennis player. He was married to Suelan Lyn, UWI Librarian in charge of the West Indian Collection, with whom he had 2 children, Sean and Matthew. He left UWI to join the staff of Sheffield University. However, he still maintained his contact with UWI and was the External Examiner for the MSc course in Digital Technology from 1999 to 2006.

During his tenure at Sheffield, Hugo Alleyne made important contributions in the field of Space Science and was eventually promoted to the position of Reader. He was the Principal Investigator for the Digital Wave Processor of the Cluster Project of the European Space Agency (ESA). The Cluster scientific community includes the ESA Project Scientist, 11 Principal Investigators, and more than 250 Co- Investigators from ESA Member States, the United States, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, and Russia. The Cluster project

involves four Cluster spacecrafts which spend much of their time travelling on the nightside of the Earth, in a region known as the magnetotail. The most exciting investigation is the search for the cause of explosive magnetospheric substorms. These storms can cause havoc with compasses and power systems on the ground.

The Digital Wave Processor (DWP) instrument, which measures waves or rapid variations in the magnetic field, was developed by the Cluster team at the University of Sheffield, under the leadership of Hugo Alleyne. Unfortunately, his involvement with Cluster was cut short by a long period of illness. During his illness he was cared for by his loving wife. He passed away on October 28, 2024. He was regarded by all as a quiet, kind and gentle man.