The career of Bert Fraser-Reid (born 1934) in chemistry research focused on carbohydrate reactivities and organic compound synthesis from carbohydrates. His findings allowed the Canadian Forestry Service to use a biological means of pest control in timber management. Other research projects of Fraser-Reid (with oligosaccharides, a complex sugar) brought us closer to finding a cure for such immune deficiency diseases as AIDS.

Bertram Oliver Fraser-Reid was born in Coleyville, Jamaica, on February 23, 1934, to parents who both worked in the educational field. Fraser-Reid's father, William Benjamin Reid, served as a school principal. His mother (Laura Maria Fraser) was a teacher, who died during Fraser-Reid's first year of life.

By the time Fraser-Reid had completed secondary school in Jamaica, his education was equivalent to that of a second year college student in the United States. He was able to begin teaching--the field he had chosen for his career. Fraser-Reid served as...