F ACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2011 Biography Booklet 2011 Bio... · FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2011 BIOGRAPHY BOOKLET 06 FIRST ROUND—ELIGIBILITY Based on compliance with eligibility criteria

FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE

2011 Biography Booklet

FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2011 BIOGRAPHY BOOKLET 02



2011 Biography Booklet


TABLE OF CONTENTSLetter of Introduction 05Faculty for the Future 2011–2012 Selection Fast Figures 06Fellows 2011 10Fellows 2010 38Fellows 2009 56Fellows 2008 66Fellows 2007 82Fellows 2006 92Fellows 2005 1102005–2011 Fellows Directory 118Information on the Schlumberger Foundation Legal Entities 132


Dear Faculty for the Future Fellows,

The Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future program welcomed 52 new Fellows in 2011. The community today stands at 194 women scientists from 54 countries.

As the flagship program of the Schlumberger Foundation, Faculty for the Future supports talented women scientists from the developing world by helping them pursue advanced graduate studies in scientific disciplines at leading universities worldwide.

You were chosen for your scientific talent, for your academic achievement and your potential as a role model for other women in science. You were also selected for your ability to support the socio-economic development of your native region by teaching, pursuing relevant research and strengthening the faculties in your home university. The Schlumberger Foundation is confident that you will inspire other young women to pursue scientific and engineering careers, and use your specific expertise to influence policy making locally and internationally.

You are part of a growing community which we are dedicated to helping through various communication tools. In addition to an online forum that has become a popular venue for daily interactions between members of the community, face-to-face meetings are hosted twice a year in regions where grantees are pursuing their studies. With approximately 20 Fellows in attendance, the in-person meetings provide an opportunity for participants to gather together and share research and work/life experiences, to initiate scientific international collaborations, to network with and learn from well-known scientist role models. The Schlumberger Foundation is pleased to share with you the 2011 edition of the Faculty for the Future Biography Booklet, another important tool for the community to get to know each other.

On behalf of the Schlumberger Foundation Board members and the Faculty for the Future coordination team, I wish you the best of success in your research and professional activities.

Sola OyinlolaVice Chairman and President Schlumberger Foundation


FIRST ROUND—ELIGIBILITYBased on compliance with eligibility criteria such as country of origin, discipline, completeness and overall quality of application

SECOND ROUND—QUALITYScoring based on originality and innovativeness of research topic, choice of host institution/supervisor and quality of references

THIRD ROUND—PHONE INTERVIEWSTelephone interviews conducted by Schlumberger Foundation Board members

SCHLUMBERGER FOUNDATION BOARD MEETINGBoard members select final candidates

RENEWALS


2011-2012 Selection Process

Faculty for the Future 1581 Registrations

631 Submit Applications

583 New Applicants 48 Renewals

379 New Applicants Go Forward Second Round

133 New Applicants Go Forward Third Round

52 New Grantees in 2011

47 Grants Renewed in 2011


52 NEW GRANTS FOR 2011–2012

Disciplines of the 52 new Grantees for 2011–2012

6Biology

Agricultural Science

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Physics/Biophysics

Other Engineering

Chemistry

Electronics, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Bioengineering

Computer/Web Science

Mathematics

Earth Sciences

Material Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Water Resources

Chemical Engineering

Nuclear Science

Medical Science

Astronomy

6

5

4

4

3

3

3

3

3

2

2

2

2

1

1

1

1



31 Countries of Citizenship—13 Countries of Study

United States22

Mexico1

Colombia2

Ecuador1

Peru1

Brazil2

Paraguay1

n 52 new grants awardedn Grantees coming from

47 universities in 31 countries of citizenship

n Grantees will be pursuing PhD or Post-doctorate studies in 44 host universities in 13 countries of study

Faculty for the Future community in 2011: 194 women from 54 countries

Faculty for the Future 2011–2012 Selection Fast Figures

Countries of Citizenship

Countries of Study

08 FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2011 BIOGRAPHY BOOKLET 09


31 Countries of Citizenship—13 Countries of Study

Russian Federation1

Bangladesh1

Japan2

Australia1

Indonesia2

Syrian Arab Republic 1

India3

Sri Lanka1

Tanzania4

Rwanda1

Kenya1

Nepal1

Ethiopia1

Madagacar2

Ghana2

Turkey1

Norway1

United Kingdom14

Belgium1

The Netherlands1

Sweden2

Finland1

Germany4

Austria1

Italy1

France1

Ukraine1 Kyrgyzstan1

Mongolia1

Egypt1

Republic of the Sudan

2

China3 Iran1

Pakistan4

Uganda2

Nigeria5

Benin1

FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2011 FELLOWS 10

FELLOWS2011


Ozge AKBULUT HALATCI

Home CountryTurkey

DegreePost-Doctorate in Materials Science

ExpertiseMaterials Science and Engineering

Research FocusDiagnostic Devices and Nanofabrication

Host UniversityHarvard University, United States

Fellowship Awarded2011

Marwa AHMED

Home CountryEgypt

DegreePhD in Chemistry

ExpertiseOrganic Chemistry

Research FocusChiral Synthesis and Analysis

Host UniversityUniversity of Canberra, Australia


Ozge Akbulut Halatci was born and raised in Izmit, the industrial center of Turkey, and is the oldest child in a family of two children. Her mother is a primary school teacher, her father an engineer.

Ozge graduated from Sabanci University in Istanbul with a BSc in Materials Science and Engineering in 2004. In 2009, she received her PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she worked on contact-based fabrication methods for DNA and protein arrays. Since October 2009, she has been a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University.

The aim of Ozge’s current research on diagnostic devices and nanofabrication is to put together simple, functional and inexpensive devices (from diagnostic tools to optical metamaterials) that literally anyone could make and use. In areas of the world where people have limited access to hospitals or medicine, medical workers need to be able to test patients and make on-the-spot decisions about treatment. The diagnostic devices Ozge is investigating are designed to be used for multiplexed detection of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C. She is also examining unconventional and price-effective nanofabrication techniques (nanoskiving, for example) for fabricating metamaterials with unique optical properties such as a negative refractive index. Techniques of this kind could replace top-down approaches, as they do not require expensive instrumentation, and could be widely used in the optics industry.

On completing her post-doctoral studies, Ozge would like to set up an internationally recognized diagnostics and nanofabrication group in her home country. She would also like her research findings to have commercial value and help create jobs for motivated and talented people.

Marwa Ahmed was born in Saudi Arabia but returned to her home country, Egypt, with her family at the age of six.

After graduating with a BSc in Pharmaceutical Science from Ain Shams University in 2001, Marwa worked as a research assistant at Egypt’s National Centre of Radiation Research and Technology for four years, while studying for her master’s thesis (subsequently published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal). She then worked as an assistant lecturer in the Pharmaceutical and Organic Chemistry departments at the German University in Cairo. In 2008, she won a short-term research scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to study the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique (ELISA) at the Institute of Pharmacy at Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen. She is currently working on her PhD at the University of Canberra.

The goal of Marwa’s doctoral research into chiral (assymetrical) synthesis and analysis is to develop fully integrated systems for pharmaceutical compounds. By combining asymmetric catalysis and enantioselective analysis in a flash-chemistry process (biocatalysis and polymeric monolithic chiral stationary phases in a miniaturized capillary liquid chromatography), compounds can hopefully be produced via a benign and environmentally friendly process. The outcome of her research should also be of use in fields such as engineering and biology.

When she has completed her PhD, Marwa would like to take up a teaching position at an Egyptian university and pass on her passion for research to a new generation of scientists.


Funmilayo Modupe ALAYAKI

Home Country Nigeria

DegreePhD in Geotechnical Engineering

ExpertiseGeotechnical Engineering

Research FocusStabilization of Problematic Laterite Soils

Host UniversityUniversity of Cambridge, United Kingdom


Funmilayo Alayaki was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, the seventh child in a family of nine. Her father was an optometry nurse.

After attending W. J. David Memorial Baptist School and Wahab Folawiyo High School, Funmilayo won a scholarship to study Civil Engineering at the Federal Polytechnic in Ilaro. In 1998, she took a BSc, and in 2002 a Master’s degree in Highway and Traffic Engineering, at the University of Lagos. After working for the construction industry and the Lagos State Ministry of Works for several years, she enrolled for an M.Phil at the University of Ibadan in 2006, and in 2008 was appointed Assistant Lecturer at the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta. She is currently on a PhD programme in Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Cambridge.

Funmilayo’s doctoral research focuses on the stabilization of laterite soils, especially those sometimes referred to as ‘problematic’. It is a subject of great importance to Nigeria, where many of the roads are in a deplorable state and road construction is among the most expensive in the world. The reason for this, Funmilayo believes, is that not enough attention is being paid to the foundation soils. The data she assembled in her master’s dissertation suggests that the quality of road construction could be much improved if certain standards used to test the suitability of laterite soils were combined with other, non-conventional methods. Funmilayo’s research findings will hopefully revolutionize the way laterite soils are analyzed for engineering purposes in Nigeria and help advance geotechnical engineering in the country.

On completing her research, Funmilayo plans to take up a teaching position at the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta.

Cecilia Olufunke AKINTAYO

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePost-Doctorate in Chemistry

ExpertiseIndustrial Chemistry

Research FocusSynthesizing Polymeric Resins for the Paint and Coating Industries from Renewable Resources

Host UniversitySyracuse University, United States


Cecilia Olufunke Akintayo was born in Omu-Ekiti, Nigeria, the second child in a family of five boys and two girls. Both her parents were teachers and encouraged her to keep an open mind when choosing a career.

After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Technology in 1995 from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Cecilia went on to the University of Ibadan, where she took a Master’s degree in Industrial Chemistry in 2001 and a PhD in the same field in 2005. She is currently a Lecturer 1 in the Chemistry Department of the University of Ado-Ekiti. The recipient of Sweden’s International Foundation for Science Award in 2008 and of Germany’s prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in 2009, Cecilia has published widely in international journals.

Cecilia’s post-doctoral research at Syracuse University focuses on plant oils as a renewable resource with the potential to create value-added polymers which could be used, at least in part, to replace petrochemical-based polymers. Her aim is to synthesize new oil-based thiols and enes through the Lewis acid-catalysed ring opening reaction of epoxidized oils with multifunctional thiols or hydroxyl functional allyl compounds. The resulting plant oils could then serve as an alternative feed stock for the polymer industry, especially in Nigeria where such oils are abundant but grossly underutilised.

When she has completed her research, Cecilia plans to return to her home university in Nigeria, where she would like to set up a research group to stimulate student interest in her field. She also hopes to implement her research findings in collaboration with the relevant industries.

12 FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2011 FELLOWS 13

Aretha APRILIA

Home Country Indonesia

DegreePhD in Energy Science

ExpertiseEnvironmental Management

Research FocusHousehold Solid Waste Management

Host UniversityKyoto University, Japan


Aretha Aprilia was born and raised in the coastal city of Semarang in Central Java Province, Indonesia. The youngest of two daughters, she has been fascinated with science ever since she was a little girl.

In 1998, Aretha enrolled for her Bachelor of Science degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Diponegoro, Indonesia, where in 2001 she won a scholarship for her outstanding academic achievement. With support from the Netherlands Fellowship Programme, she then went on to complete a Master of Science degree in Urban Environmental Management at the University of Wageningen in 2005. She is currently studying towards her PhD in the Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science at Kyoto University, Japan.

Aretha’s research topic was chosen in response to Indonesia’s waste and energy crisis, strategic solutions to which, she feels, are long overdue. The main constituent of the waste generated in Jakarta, for example, is organic matter, over 70% of which could potentially be composted and used as feedstock for energy generation through anaerobic digestion or landfill for electricity generation (LFE). Her research findings, she believes, will provide the government with important feedback when it comes to drawing up waste-to-energy policies in the future. The local authorities in Jakarta have also expressed an interest in setting up a think-tank with Aretha on the ‘3R’ concept (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) as it applies to Indonesia, and particularly to Jakarta. In 2011 she won a fellowship to attend the 5-week Climate Change Professional Fellows Program sponsored by the US Department of State in New York and Washington D.C., United States.

On completing her studies, Aretha plans to become an environmental professional and an academic.

Nada ALBUNNI

Home CountrySyrian Arab Republic

Degree PhD in Web Science

Expertise Informatics

Research Focus Evaluation of the Role of Trust in Establishing On-Line Social Networks

Host UniversityUniversity of Southampton, United Kingdom

Fellowship Awarded 2011

Nada Albunni was born and raised in Damascus, Syria, and is the second child in a family of six.

Nada took a BSc in Mathematical Science at the University of Damascus in 1997, and Post Graduate Diploma at the same institution in 1998. After working as a teaching assistant in Information Technology Engineering for five years, in 2006 she received a KRSF/Chevening scholarship to study MSc in Distributed Computing Systems at the University of Greenwich in London. She has started many projects aimed at Syrian youth, especially university undergraduates to raise awareness of the power of free knowledge and information in the digital age. She has been awarded many scholarships to participate and attend many international conferences.

The aim of Nada’s doctoral research is to develop a method for predicting how much a given user can be trusted by the other users of a community knowledge-building initiative, and to predict how much trust can be placed in articles written with the aid of collaborative tools by accumulating the trust values associated with each author. Trust is not a new research topic in computer science, but the way it operates within different communities depends on how it is represented, computed and used.

Collaborative editing, as in the wiki-process, is new to people in Syria. To deduce the trust pattern underlying community knowledge-building initiatives Nada uses network analysis software. The raw data gathered from link-analysis systems will enable her to determine trust factors and model them as a computable parameter.

On completing her PhD, Nada hopes to return to Syria and become the first woman to be appointed to a teaching post at Yarmouk Private University.


Sharanya ARCOT DESAI

Home CountryIndia

DegreePhD in Bioengineering

ExpertiseElectrophysiology and Signal Processing

Research FocusNeuroengineering and Epilepsy

Host UniversityGeorgia Institute of Technology, United States


Sharanya Arcot Desai was born in Bangalore and raised in Chennai, and is the eldest in a family of two children. In addition to being an academic, she is a professionally trained Kuchipudi dancer, a traditional Indian dance.

Sharanya took a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and a Master’s degree in Biological Sciences at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India (BITS–Pilani). As part of her double-degree programme, she did a one-year internship in a software development centre in Bangalore. As an undergraduate, she was the founder and president of the university book review club, and coordinator of the student Biological Sciences Society.

The aim of Sharanya’s doctoral research is to find novel electrical stimulation therapies for epilepsy, 90% of sufferers of whom live in developing countries. In India, more than seven million people are epileptic, some 30% of whom are resistant to any form of medication. Surgically removing the affected brain areas, while highly effective in completely impeding seizures, is often associated with severe side-effects, including total loss of memory and speech. Surgical removal is hence resorted to only in extreme cases. Electrical stimulation of the brain is a very promising alternative. Though some electrical stimulation therapies like Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) are currently available, they have proven to be less than 20% effective in most cases and again have undesirable side-effects. New electrical stimulation tools and techniques need to be developed.

On completing her research, Sharanya plans to return to BITS–Pilani and set up a world-class research lab and bioengineering department there.

Zakia ASAD

Home CountryPakistan

DegreePhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering

ExpertiseElectrical and Computer Engineering

Research FocusAlgorithmic and Information- Theoretic Aspects of Networking, Reliable and Fault-Tolerant Systems Design

Host UniversityTexas A&M University, United States


Zakia Asad was born in Kuwait and raised in Pakistan. Born to a mathematician and a telecommunications engineer, she first showed an interest in science at the age of twelve when she built a rope phone so that she could communicate with her family without leaving her room. Among the many awards she won while still at school are two national gold medals for outstanding academic performance. Her marriage is the turning point of her career, as her husband truly inspired her life and research career.

Zakia studied at the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, where she took a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 2004, and a Master’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2007. In 2009, she entered Texas A&M University, where she won the Electrical Engineering Department’s Competitive Scholarship for two consecutive years.

Zakia’s doctoral research focuses on fundamental open problems in handling the enormous amounts of data stored in modern network-centric systems. With the emerging cloud-computing paradigm, users can store large quantities of data on remote storage-servers. Given that huge volumes of user data are already stored at remote locations, the reliability, consistency and security of such storage services are crucial. The recent earthquakes in Pakistan and Japan, for example, left millions of people with no means of communication with the outside world. Zakia plans to investigate hybrid modular schemes for distributed storage that combine replication for fault-tolerance, erasure coding for reliability enhancement and network coding for improved throughput. She will also be exploring storage, bandwidth efficiency and fault-tolerance levels, with a view to identifying the maximum achievable limits.

When she completes her PhD, Zakia would like to to become a professor at her home university in Pakistan and help it become a center of research excellence in her field.


Rondrotiana BARIMALALA

Home CountryMadagascar

Degree Post-Doctorate in Oceanography

Expertise Physical Oceanography

Research Focus Indian Ocean variability



Rondrotiana Barimalala was born in Ankadinandriana, a small village in Madagascar, before moving with her family to Arivonimamo when she was two. Spurred on by her parents (her mother is a physics and chemistry teacher), she developed an interest in science and laboratory work at an early age.

After finishing school in 2000, Rondrotiana completed her undergraduate studies at the Physics Department of the University of Antananarivo. In 2004, she joined the Institute and Observatory of Geophysics in Antananarivo, where she was awarded a DEA (the equivalent of a Master’s degree) in seismology in 2006. She then won a grant to take a one-year course at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, graduating with a post-graduate-level diploma in 2007. In 2008, she began work on her PhD at the Doctoral School of Environmental and Industrial Fluid Mechanics at the University of Trieste, carrying out part of her research at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has recently completed her PhD in Trieste.

The aim of her post-doctoral research is to understand the internal variability of the Indian Ocean, the least studied of the three major oceans. Her main focus is the role played by eddy variability in the monsoonal circulation of the Indian Ocean basin, with particular emphasis on upwelling regimes along the east coast of Africa and the Bay of Bengal, the only nutrient-rich areas of the Indian Ocean. As tropical waters are one of the main drivers of oceanic and atmospheric circulation, it is important to understand how the latter are affected by internal variability. This is particularly true of the Indian Ocean, which is largely responsible for the climates of Africa and India. The subject also has important implications for the management of fishery systems in African and Asian countries.

On completing her studies, she would like to return to her home university and found a department of oceanography there.

Sara BAGHERIFARD

Home CountryIran

DegreePost-Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering

ExpertiseMechanical Engineering

Research FocusSurface Nanocrystallization Induced by Shot Peening

Host UniversityPolytechnic University of Milan, Italy


Sara Bagherifard was born and grew up in Kermanshah in western Iran in a family of four children.

After finishing school, Sara moved to Tehran to study mechanical engineering at Iran University of Science and Technology, where she graduated with a BSc in Solid Mechanics in 2002 and an MSc in Applied Mechanics in 2005. While completing her Master’s degree, she worked part-time as a senior mechanical engineer responsible for optimized design of mechanical hardware for power transmission lines. After working as a design engineer for three years, Sara won a scholarship from the Polytechnic University of Milan where she completed her PhD in Mechanical Systems Engineering in 2011. She has contributed to numerous scholarly journals and international conferences, and in 2009 was the recipient of the Italian Group of Fracture award for young researchers.

Sara’s post-doctoral studies at the Polytechnic University of Milan are a continuation of her PhD research into surface nanocrystallization induced by severe shot peening, and its effects on mechanical characteristics of the materials being treated. Most failures in engineering materials are caused by weaknesses in the material’s surface structure and properties. Thus generating a nanocrystalline layer on the component’s surface will enhance its overall performance without affecting the interior material. Shot peening is a well-established surface treatment used to increase fatigue resistance of metal parts by creating a hardened surface layer with compressive residual stresses. In recent years, alternative methods of shot peening have been used to produce surface nanocrystallization. Nearly all of these methods are expensive and need particular equipment; severe shot peening, on the other hand, can be performed by the conventional shot peening machines that are already widely used in industry.

Upon completing her post-doctoral research, Sara would like to take up a career as an academic.


Charisma CHOUDHURY

Home CountryBangladesh

DegreePost-Doctorate in Transportation Engineering

ExpertiseMobility Modeling

Research FocusTransportation Engineering

Host UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology, United States


Charisma Choudhury was born and brought up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in an extended family of grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. The only daughter of a professor of civil engineering, she was already building model pyramids, towers and bridges at the age of two.

After graduating from the Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) with a BSc in Civil Engineering in 2002, Charisma went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she completed an MSc in Transportation in 2005 and a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2007. Among her many fellowships and awards are the F. R. Khan Scholarship for Academic Excellence (2001), the Martin Family Society for Sustainability Fellowship (2004) and the Gordon Newell Memorial Prize (2010). She has published widely in books and journals and has participated in numerous international conferences in her field.

In her post-doctoral research, Charisma models travel behavior using mobility data from cell phones and GPS devices. Such models are critical for transportation-planning in developing countries like Bangladesh, which suffer from severe congestion problems and are expected to invest heavily in the transport sector in the years to come, yet seriously lack the data needed to develop dependable travel-behavior prediction tools. The models use ubiquitous, low-cost data sources and will make it much easier to quantify and compare the effectiveness of proposed congestion relief measures.

An active member of numerous student committees and associations at MIT and BUET, Charisma would like to become a leading researcher in her field and to win international recognition for her work.

Laura Andrea BENEGAS NEGRI

Home Country Paraguay

DegreePhD in Soil Science

ExpertiseAgronomy Sciences and Integrated Watershed Management

Research FocusThe Role of Trees and Hydrology in Watershed Management

Host UniversitySwedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden


Laura Andrea Benegas Negri was born and raised in Asuncion, Paraguay, and has three sisters and a brother.

Laura did her undergraduate studies in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the National University of Asunción, Paraguay, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Agronomic Engineering in 2003. In 2006, she completed a Master’s degree in Integrated Watershed Management at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE) in Costa Rica, and in 2009 began working towards her PhD at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

The main focus of Laura’s doctoral research is groundwater replenishment and the role played by trees in water infiltration and soil permeability in tropical environments. Water is obviously of vital importance for all forms of life, but in the context of climate change it is becoming increasingly important to verify certain assumptions about what constitutes a suitable watershed* system. Introducing more and more trees into farming systems, for instance, while it helps reduce global carbon emissions, could result in water-cycle alteration and risks to water access for local communities. Empirical local data is needed to help evaluate the environmental contribution made by farmers managing reasonable tree densities, balancing income creation and water production.

When she has completed her PhD, Laura hopes to take up a teaching position at CATIE and from there contribute to capacity-building programmes in Paraguay.


Fenny DWIVANY

Home CountryIndonesia

Degree Post-Doctorate in Molecular Biology

Expertise Molecular Biology

Research Focus Genetic Improvement of Bananas

Host UniversityQueensland University of Technology, Australia


Fenny Dwivany was born and raised in Bandung, Indonesia. Her father was a lecturer and researcher in economics.

Fenny received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the Bandung Institute of Technology in 1995, and a Master’s degree in the same field in 1998. In 2000, she was awarded an Indonesian government scholarship to carry out doctoral research at Melbourne University, Australia, where she completed her PhD in 2003. She has received an International and National Unesco–L’Oréal Fellowship for Young Women in Life Sciences (2006–07) and has published widely in scholarly journals.

The aim of Fenny’s post-doctoral research is to provide an alternative method of controlling fruit-ripening by gene silencing. Fruit is harvested at the mature green stage, then ripened artificially with ethylene before being sent to market. The ripening process is faster in a warmer temperature; this poses problems for handling and transportation that are usually solved by placing the fruit in atmosphere-controlled containers. However, it is complicated and expensive to apply this method in Indonesia, which is made up of more than 13,000 islands and where fresh fruit is sometimes collected from islands outside Java or Sumatra. The problem can be solved through genetic manipulation. In climacteric fruits such as bananas, ethylene is known to play an important role in the ripening process. Genetic manipulation can control ripening by silencing the genes that play a role in ethylene biosynthesis.

Fenny greatly enjoys her work as a lecturer and hopes to make an academic career in science.

Clarice DEMARCHI AIELLO

Home CountryBrazil

DegreePhD in Nuclear Science and Engineering

ExpertiseExperimental Physics

Research FocusQuantum Computing



Clarice Demarchi Aiello was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the only child of parents who attached great importance to education.

Her undergraduate studies began at the University of Sao Paulo and completed at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, where she graduated with a diploma in engineering in 2004. In 2005, she completed a Master of Philosophy in Physics degree at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, and in 2006, won a prestigious Fulbright Science and Technology scholarship to study towards her PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The goal of Clarice’s research is to understand bath dynamics and to find ways of isolating that part of the bath likely to prove computationally useful. To that end, she examines the dynamics of single NV centres in diamond in different environments—namely, in baths where the relative concentration of P1 centres to C13 varies. Her working hypothesis is that quantum control techniques can be developed to isolate that part of the bath which can be used as memory (C13) and repeater (P1) components in a quantum processor unit in which the localized NV centre electron functions as an information bus. She has also set up an experimental apparatus which uses optical probing of single NV centres in diamond at room temperature to detect and control bath-induced dephasing. The novelty of the project lies mainly in the approach it takes to developing decoherence models and control schemes that are robust and scalable at room temperature.

On completing her PhD, Clarice would like to take up an academic post in Brazil and devote her energies to raising funds for research and training a future generation of technology experts.


Natalia GONZALEZ PECH

Home CountryMexico


ExpertiseNanotechnology

Research FocusSynthesis and Characterization of Nanomaterials and their Application in Water Processes

Host UniversityRice University, United States


Natalia Gonzalez Pech is one of a family of three children born and raised in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, a small city in the south of Mexico.

Natalia received a BSc in Chemistry from the Monterrey Institute of Technology in 2010. While studying for her degree, she worked on a variety of summer research programmes, including organic synthesis projects at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (in 2006 and 2007 respectively). She also worked on zinc oxide nanostructures synthesis and nanomaterials development and application in photovoltaic solar cells at the Centre for Research in Nanotechnology and Nanoscience at Bellaterra, Spain (in 2008 and 2009). Her academic awards include a silver medal in the Iberoamerican Chemistry Olympiad in Peru in 2005 and a bronze medal in the International Chemistry Olympiad in Taiwan the same year. Natalia is also the co-founder of a research opportunities website for young Mexicans and a regional committee member of Mexico’s Chemistry Olympiad.

Natalia’s doctoral research focuses on nanomaterials synthesis and characterization, and their applications in water processes. She is currently working on the removal of arsenic from drinking water and looking at ways of improving the technology for imaging downhole measurements to find petroleum.

On completing her PhD, Natalia would like to carry out further research, before returning to Mexico to take up a teaching post at a university such as the Monterrey Institute of Technology.

Stefanie Maria FALCONI

Home Country Ecuador

DegreePhD in Environmental Engineering

ExpertiseHuman-Environmental Systems Interactions, Systems Analysis, Decision- and Policy-making

Research FocusWater Resource Management

Host UniversityJohn Hopkins University, United States


Stefanie Maria Falconi was born in São Paulo, Brazil, before her family returned to Ecuador shortly after her second birthday. She remembers how her parents stimulated her creativity with books, games, and puzzles.

In 2000, Stefanie won an international student scholarship to study chemistry at the College of Saint Scholastica, a small private university in Minnesota. After graduating with a B.A. in 2004, she took up a summer position at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York, before returning to Ecuador for a year. In 2007, she began graduate studies in environmental engineering, specializing in systems analysis and economics, at John Hopkins University. She was awarded an MS in 2009 and is currently pursuing her PhD there.

The focus of her doctoral research is the theories and models that inform water resource management, and the ways in which public participation is incorporated in the modeling process in a decentralized and integrated decision-making context. Water management involves both technical and political processes, and the goal of her research, based on a two-part study of water river basin management in Brazil, is to provide more effective water resource models in which the different stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process. She also wants to broaden the range of criteria defining how people participate in resource management and does not want to solely focus on economic terms. Stefanie’s studies could be relevant to the management of other natural resources as well.

On completing her PhD, Stefanie would like to explore environmental engineering and its implications for human and natural systems as a researcher and university professor in Ecuador. As an educator and mentor, she hopes to guide students to realize their professional goals as well.


Mary GORRET NANTONGO

Home Country Uganda

DegreePhD in Development Studies

ExpertiseDevelopment and Agricultural/Resource Economics

Research FocusClimate Change

Host UniversityNorwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway


Mary Gorret Nantongo was born in Masaka, a town in central Uganda to which her family had fled to escape the so-called ‘bush war’. When she was four, they relocated to Kampala. She is married to a civil engineer and is a mother to a four year old girl and a two-year old boy.

In 2002, Mary enrolled at Makerere University, where she graduated with a BSc in Agriculture in 2006. After working for a year as marketing director for a local seed company, she returned to her alma mater, first as a research assistant, then as a Master’s student in Development and Natural Resource Economics. She has recently completed her MSc and will be starting her PhD at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences later this year.

In her doctoral research, Mary will be comparing the REDD programmes (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) currently under consideration in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change with similar projects already in place in countries such as Ghana, Tanzania, Vietnam and Brazil. The drivers of deforestation in most developing countries are related to expansion of agricultural land, extraction of fuel wood and infrastructural development. Though there is a scientific consensus that tropical deforestation accounts for a significant part of the greenhouse-gas emissions that are the primary cause of global warming, the majority of people in developing countries depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and fuel wood is the major source of energy. While the REDD programmes may afford a cost-effective solution to emission reductions, their potential impact on food security, energy access and people’s livelihoods needs to be properly assessed.

On completing her research, Mary hopes to pursue a career in teaching and to encourage other young women to take up science.

Si GOU

Home CountryChina

DegreePhD in Water Resources

ExpertiseWater Resources Engineering

Research FocusEcohydrology



Si Gou was born and raised in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in the province of Sichuan, one of the remotest corners of southwest China. She is an only child.

In 2007, Si received a bachelor’s degree in Irrigation and Drainage Engineering from China Agricultural University, and, in 2010, a master’s degree in Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering from the China Institute of Water Resource and Hydropower Research (IWHR). In 2010, she was appointed graduate research assistant in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University, where she is currently studying towards her PhD. She has won numerous awards in her home country for outstanding academic achievement, and in 2010 was the recipient of Texas A&M’s prestigious Lechner Fellowship.

In the course of her university studies in China, Si conducted field studies in seven or eight different provinces and noticed that, in the name of rapid economic development, many areas of China were confronted with serious environmental issues relating to water management. Ecohydrology, the subject of Si’s doctoral research, takes an interdisciplinary approach to the sustainable management of water resources and ecosystems. By studying the impact of human activities and climate change on groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs), Si is confident that she can develop sustainable methods of managing groundwater resources that both maintain the health of ecosystems and satisfy the water needs of the local populations.

When she has completed her PhD, Si plans to return to China and pursue a teaching career at IWHR, where she would like to promote the study and practice of ecohydrology in China.


Ana HUAMAN QUISPE

Home CountryPeru

Degree PhD in Robotics

Expertise Mechatronics Engineering

Research Focus Planning Algorithms for Robotics



Ana Huaman Quispe was born in Lima, Peru, in a large family composed of one older sister, five step-sisters and two step-brothers. She is the first member of her family ever to graduate from university.

Ana has won many academic awards and was twice a silver medalist in Peru’s National Mathematics and Chemistry Olympiads. In 2009, she took a Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering at the National University of Engineering in Lima, and the same year was the recipient of one of the Fulbright Commission’s prestigious Opportunity Grants scholarships. In 2010, she won a KAUST Fellowship to pursue a Master’s degree in Computing in Saudi Arabia, but opted to study towards her PhD at the Georgia Institute of Technology instead.

The goal of Ana’s doctoral research is to develop planning algorithms that will enable robots to perform human tasks autonomously with intelligent behaviors. In high-risk environments such as mining, mineralogy and metallurgy, which are among the main economic activities of Peru, devising low-cost robotic systems to carry out tasks currently performed by badly underpaid workers would have a huge impact and save many lives.

Peru is a developing country with an economy based mainly on exportation of mineral and agricultural products. Most of its farmers live in poverty and don’t have access to a decent education. Ana would like to play an active part in changing all that – something that can only be achieved, she believes, through technology and education. Industry and education must work together, and for that reason, Ana plans to return to Peru after completing her research and take up a teaching position at her alma mater.

Lyudmyla GRYGOR’YEVA

Home CountryUkraine

DegreePost-Doctorate in Applied Mathematics

ExpertiseApplied Mathematics

Research FocusStability and Dynamics of Hamiltonian Systems

Host UniversityUniversity of Franche-Comté, France


Lyudmyla Grygor’yeva was born and raised in Mukachevo, in Ukraine, and later moved to Uzhgorod. An only child in a family of artists, she grew up torn between a love of painting and a love of mathematics.

In 2000, she joined the Faculty of Information Science at the Transcarpathian State University in Uzhgorod, where she graduated with a BSc in Computer and Information Systems in 2004. In 2005, she completed a MSc in Information Control Systems and Technologies there, and in 2005, began studying towards her PhD at the Faculty of Cybernetics at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, specialising in mathematical modeling and numerical methods. Since being awarded her PhD in 2009, she has been working as a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute of Higher Technologies of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She has also the experience of working as an Assistant on Computational Mathematics Chair at the same institution and as an Assistant on Higher Mathematics Chair at Vadim Getman Kyiv National Economic University.

Her doctoral research was devoted to problems involved in constructing and analyzing mathematical models for Hamiltonian systems of magnetically interacting rigid bodies, and to the investigation of contact-free equilibrium of rigid bodies in magnetostatics. Her post-doctoral studies are connected, but are based on a different approach. Her broad aim is to apply group-theoretical methods used to analyse non-linear dynamical systems with symmetry to the Hamiltonian symmetric systems with non-central force interaction between rigid bodies previously examined in her PhD thesis. In addition to throwing new light on these aspects of dynamical systems theory, the results should have practical applications in engineering and technology.

On completing her research, she wants to take up a position at her home university and help train a new generation of scholars.


Gauri JOSHI

Home CountryIndia

DegreePhD in Wireless Communications

ExpertiseCommunications and Signal Processing

Research FocusWireless Communications



Gauri Joshi was born and raised in Mumbai, the only child of civil engineers. Her father runs a small private firm developing software for the construction industry, and her mother teaches structural design to engineering students.

In 2009, Gauri completed a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bombay, and in 2010, a Master’s degree in Communications and Signal Processing at the same institution. Winner of the IIT’s gold medal for academic excellence in 2010, she has contributed several papers to the annual National Conference on Communications, India’s flagship forum for researchers and engineers in the field, and is currently a Jacobs Presidential Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is studying towards her PhD.

Gauri’s research focuses on the quality-of-service of communication networks. Among the problems it addresses are improving internet efficiency and increasing the number of users supported by systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA), a channel access method used by a variety of radio communication technologies. When studying for her Master degree at IIT, Gauri worked with some of India’s brightest professors and students on novel state-of-the-art systems such as fourth-generation (4G) wireless networks. They were one of the first Indian research teams to contribute to 4G standards. At MIT, she is looking at ways of optimizing protocols for video streaming to ensure that parcels are delivered on time with the least use of resources.

On completing her PhD, Gauri would like to return to India and become a faculty member at IIT.

Sehar IQBAL

Home Country Pakistan

DegreePhD in Mathematics

ExpertiseMathematical Modelling and Applied Analysis

Research FocusApplied Mathematics (Non-Linear PDEs)

Host UniversityUniversity of Twente, The Netherlands


Sehar Iqbal was born in Faisalabad, before moving with her parents to Rawalpindi at the age of five. She is the fifth child in a family of six.

In 2006, Sehar graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) in Islamabad, Pakistan, where she went on to complete her master’s in Applied Mathematics in 2009. The same year, she won an international student scholarship from the University of Twente in the Netherlands, where she is currently finishing a second master’s degree, in Mathematical Physics and Computational Mechanics.

Sehar plans to carry out doctoral research into partial differential equations (PDEs). The main area of study in this field is non-linear PDEs, which can be approached from one of three angles: general theory (symmetry and perturbation theory; stability, uniqueness and existence of solutions), specific fields of application (reaction–diffusion models, flow problems, numerical solutions) and methods of numerical analysis. Nonlinear PDEs play a particularly crucial role in modern applied mathematics, because of the many different physical systems they describe and the novel techniques generated by their analysis. The subject has developed enormously in recent years, branching out into all kinds of unexpected and challenging directions, and a new range of applications has emerged with the advent of transport problems in continua, continuum modes, PDE-constrained optimal control methods, continuum thermodynamics models and a variety of energy-based problems.

On completing her PhD, Sehar would like to return to Pakistan and work as an assistant professor at her home university.


Moureen KEMEI

Home CountryKenya

Degree PhD in Material Science

Expertise Materials Science

Research Focus Magneto-Electric Materials and Frustrated Magnetism

Host UniversityUniversity of California, Santa Barbara, United States


Moureen Kemei was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, and is one of a family of four children. Her interest in science began when she was eleven, when she read a book describing an author’s journey from a difficult and underprivileged childhood to a career as a distinguished neurosurgeon.

After developing an interest in physics during her high school, in 2006 Maureen won a place at Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, and in 2008 joined Professor Venky Narayanamurti’s laboratory at Harvard University, where she studied quantum confinement effects in cadmium selenide quantum dots. In 2009, she was part of an international team that built a detector to study neutrinos at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. She is currently a first-year PhD student in the Materials Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Magnetic materials play an important role in all kinds of modern technologies, being used to make information storage devices, novel spintronic devices and transducers that convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. They also provide ideal model systems for the advancement of condensed-matter physics. Moureen’s PhD research addresses the persistent need for robust, affordable, easily available, multifunctional magnetic materials. Her structure-property studies of single-phase complex transition metal oxides such as copper chromium spinel, are the foundation for functional materials design.

After completing her doctoral research, Moureen would like to be a science professor and help develop professional networks for women scholars in the sciences.

Nishu KARNA

Home CountryNepal

DegreePhD in Space Physics

ExpertiseAstrophysics

Research FocusPolar Coronal Holes

Host UniversityGeorge Mason University, United States


Nishu Karna was born in Janakpur, Nepal, and raised in various cities throughout the country, as her father moved from one posting to another. She is the youngest child in a family of five.

Nishu graduated with a BSc in Physics from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu in 2007, then moved to the United States to pursue her childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. In 2010, she completed a second BSc in Physics, specialising in Astrophysics, at Saint Cloud State University, Minnesota. She has twice done summer research internships at the Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, and is currently studying for her PhD in Space Sciences and Computational Astrophysics at George Mason University in Virginia.

In her doctoral research, Nishu analyzes the sizes and shapes of polar coronal holes using synoptic maps made from images from the SOHO spacecraft’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope and from magnetograms taken by the Michelson Doppler Imager. She uses the same image-analysis technique to establish the area of polar holes by first of all locating the boundary of the unipolar magnetic field. The aim of her research is to calculate the area for all 183 Carrington Rotations between CR1911 (June 28, 1996) and the present, to plot that area as a function of time and to compare the areas of the two solar minima. As the solar cycle has a huge impact on the earth’s atmosphere, Nishu is trying to find out if we can predict solar maxima by examining the size of coronal holes, which would then help us to forecast the sun’s impact on the earth’s atmosphere.

After completing her research, Nishu plans to join the faculty of Tribhuvan University and open a solar research laboratory there. She would also like to set up a student exchange programme.


Gabriela LORITE

Home CountryBrazil

DegreePost-Doctorate in Applied Physics

ExpertiseBiophysics

Research FocusAtomic Force Microscopy and Biofilms

Host UniversityUniversity of Oulu, Finland


Gabriela Lorite was born in São Paulo and lived there until she was eleven, when her family moved to the Brazilian city of Salto.

In 2004, Gabriela took a Bachelor degree in Physics at the Gleb Wataghin Institute of Physics at the State University of Campinas, and in 2007 completed her Master in Physics degree in Scanning Probe Microscopy Applied to Biological Materials at the same institution. She began studying towards her PhD the same year, doing part of her research with the Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry at Ulm University, Germany. She contributed to several international conferences in her field.

Gabriela’s doctoral research investigated bacterial adhesion to a variety of different surfaces. Her aim was to find out exactly how biofilm development occurs and then evaluate possible ways of preventing that adhesion. During her PhD, she has been working on the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium, a phytopathogen that causes disease in a number of plant species. The development of disease symptoms is associated with the blockage of the xylem vessels caused by biofilm formation. Xylella fastidiosa is also the causative agent of citrus variegated chlorosis, a disease present in almost half of the citrus-growing areas in Brazil, leading to important economic losses. She got her PhD in Science degree in 2011.

She is currently pursuing post-doctoral research in Applied Physics on biomedical investigations (University of Oulu). She is applying Atomic Force Microscopy on various biomedical studies as cartilage/subchondral bone properties from osteoarthoric, hete/homotrimers collagen nanostructures and bacterial biofilms adhesion and development on orthopedic protheses and different biomaterials. She has always wished to work close to medical applications, that’s why this is a great opportunity for her.

On completion of her post-doc research, Gabriela hopes to become a research professor at a public university in Brazil.

Anchala KURUPPU

Home Country Sri Lanka

DegreePhD in Molecular Biology

ExpertiseThe Molecular Biology of Cancer

Research FocusBreast Cancer Biology

Host UniversityUniversity of Nottingham, United Kingdom


Anchala Kuruppu was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She enjoys art and photography.

Anchala completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Technology in 2003 and embarked on a career as a lecturer in Sri Lanka. While working as a lecturer she took a second degree, in Biological Sciences, in Sri Lanka. In 2007 she pursued an MSc in Cancer Biology in the United Kingdom. She is currently studying towards her MPhil at the University of Colombo. Anchala is now a visiting lecturer in Biomedical Informatics and Medical Toxicology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo. She has also worked as a voluntary art teacher at a school for deaf children in Ratmalana.

Cancer is a complex genetic disease, with many genes and their interactions playing important roles in its pathogenesis. A systematic investigation of a large numbers of cancer genes in the human gene-gene interaction network may provide important biological data to help uncover the molecular mechanisms behind cancer. Anchala has therefore decided to investigate an array of single nucleotide polymorphisms in a gene-gene interaction network closely linked to breast cancer. She is examining the association of these polymorphisms in the Sri Lankan population, where the standardized incidence rate of breast cancer is lower than in some of the other Asian countries, and where many women are unaware of the symptoms. The results of this study would be very useful in early detection and prevention of this disease.

On obtaining her PhD, Anchala hopes to take up a teaching position at the University of Colombo. She would also like to further raise awareness around breast cancer in her country.


Silvia MATERU

Home Country Tanzania

DegreePhD in Environmental Toxicology

ExpertiseScience Education

Research FocusPotential Impact of Toxic Chemicals from Sugar and Rice Plantations on the Environmental Quality of Freshwater Wetland Ecosystems

Host UniversityHamburg University of Applied Sciences and Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany


Silvia Materu was born in Materuni, a small village in a remote area of northern Tanzania. The fifth-born in a family of six children, her early education owed much to the efforts of her mother, a small farmholder who invested in her children’s education whatever she could spare from her meagre agricultural earnings.

After finishing secondary school, Silvia attended the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, graduating in 2004 with a BscEd degree in Chemistry, Biology and Science Teacher Training. In 2005, she won a German government DAAD scholarship to undertake masters studies at the same university. She completed her Master of Science degree in Integrated Environmental Management in 2007 and is currently working towards her PhD in Environmental Toxology.

Contamination of habitat is not always visible and may not cause the immediate death of the organisms living in that habitat. In the Kilombero floodplain a variety of agrochemicals are used to ensure better yields, so it is essential that farmers be made aware of the potential hazards and environmental problems associated with pesticide use in the cultivation of sugar and rice crops in wetland ecosystems. This is the main focus of Silvia’s research, which combines the development of a conceptual site model for the valley’s wetland ecosystem, field surveys, ecotoxicological and chemical analyses of water, soil and sediments samples, and an integrated assessment of the impact of industry on this internationally recognized Ramsar site.

After completing her studies, Silvia plans to return to Tanzania and resume teaching at the Sokoine University of Agriculture. She would also like to conduct research into other wetland areas of Tanzania.

Happy MAGOHA

Home CountryTanzania

DegreePhD in Applied Biological Sciences

ExpertiseFood Chemistry

Research FocusMycotoxin Exposure Assessment in Children

Host UniversityGhent University, Belgium


Happy Magoha was born and raised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and is the youngest in a family of two children.

In 2000 Happy Happy graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and Technology from Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, in Tanzania. In 2002, she won a Commonwealth Scholarship to study at the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, where she completed her Master of Applied Science degree in Food Science in 2004. Since 2005, she has been working as a lecturer in Home Economics and Human Nutrition at the Open University of Tanzania. She is currently on study leave at Ghent University in Belgium.

Happy’s doctoral research focuses on mycotoxin exposure in children. Mycotoxin is a common toxin in maize, which is the main ingredient of complementary foods in Tanzania and the main staple food in most parts of the country. Several health risks are associated with mycotoxin exposure, especially in children. Breast milk can be contaminated by consuming mycotoxin-contaminated maize, with a high likelihood that the toxin will then be passed on to the infant through breastfeeding. Happy will also be examining the effectiveness of post-harvest processing, used either alone or in combination with other methods, in reducing fumonisin contamination in home-grown maize in Tanzania.

Happy’s ambition in life is to use her skills as a lecturer in human nutrition and her knowledge of contaminants to help improve food safety in her country.


Nahla MOHAMED

Home CountryRepublic of the Sudan

DegreePost-Doctorate in Clinical Virology and Molecular Biology

ExpertiseClinical Virology and Molecular Biology

Research FocusRVFV Zoonosis

Host UniversityUmea University, Sweden


Nahla Mohamed was born and raised in Wad Medani in east-central Sudan. She credits her academic success to her family, especially her father, an agricultural engineer and a firm believer in women’s education.

1992, Nahla was awarded a BSc in Biochemistry from Alexandria University in Egypt, and in 1997 an MSc in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Gezira in Sudan. In 2006, she completed her PhD in Clinical Virology and Molecular Biology at Uppsala University in Sweden. She has been working as a teaching assistant and a lecturer, and has contributed to numerous international conferences in her field.

The focus of her post-doctoral research is Rift Valley Fever (RVF), a viral zoonosis transmitted by mosquitoes that infects livestock and is endemic in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa. No antiviral or human RVF vaccine exists, and the use of animal vaccines during outbreaks of the fever has been questioned, as they are often not delivered in time. RVF, moreover, can be transmitted among animal herds through multi-dose vaccination vials and re-use of needles and syringes. Preventive vaccination would almost certainly be more effective. RVF outbreaks are connected to heavy rainfall, flooding and increased mosquito breeding, and predictive models for climatic changes could play an important role in combating the disease if data were provided before the onset of an outbreak. Collaborating with local communities to monitor entomological, climatic and clinical events in risk areas also needs to be considered, as the latter are important indicators of an RVF outbreak. Her three-year research plan will draw on diagnostic analyses of sentinel herd samples, mosquito vector competence studies and climate and land-cover data to develop a predictive model for RFV outbreaks in Sudan.

After her research, she wants to be professor of Molecular Biology and Virology, to establish her own research group in Sudan and to work in collaboration with Swedish universities.

Rehema MONKO


DegreePhD in Engineering Science

ExpertiseConstruction Cost Estimating, Project Management and Procurement of Works

Research FocusAdopting BIM Technology in Tanzania/Africa

Host UniversityLouisiana State University, United States


Rehema Monko was born and raised in Singida, central Tanzania, one in a family of seven children (three brothers and four sisters).

In 2003, Rehema graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Building Economics from University College of Lands and Architectural Studies (formerly part of the University of Dar es Salaam, today Ardhi University). In 2004, after working as an assistant quantity surveyor in the construction industry for fifteen months, she returned to her alma mater to take up a teaching assistantship there. Shortly afterwards, she won a scholarship to study for her Master’s degree in Engineering Management at the College of Engineering, which she completed in 2006. In 2009, Rehema was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to work towards a PhD in Engineering Science at Louisiana State University.

Rehema’s doctoral research addresses the technological challenges facing the Tanzanian construction industry. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is the latest design technology for generating and managing construction projects. It allows the user to attach information to each object in a drawing, resulting in an information model which can be used for estimating, scheduling and clash detection. The same model can be used to speed up the submittal process and RFIs (requests for information). BIM also makes it easier for architects to provide clear specifications, since quantities can be measured accurately, without the need for ‘provisional items’ (variations expected during the actual construction). BIM is increasingly used by leading-edge companies for marketing and project management, and adopting it in Tanzania would greatly increase national productivity.

When she has completed her PhD, Rehema plans to resume her teaching duties at Ardhi University, where she would like to work in close collaboration with the construction industry.


Jamiat NANTEZA

Home Country Uganda

DegreePhD in Earth System Sciences

ExpertiseMeteorology

Research FocusRemote Sensing Application to Hydro-disaster Monitoring and Management

Host UniversityUniversity of California, Irvine, United States


Jamiat Nanteza was born and raised in Kasana, a small village in the Luweero District of Central Uganda that was the main battleground in the 1979–85 Ugandan civil war. She is the sixth born in a family of twelve, of which five brothers and four sisters have survived. Her love of education was handed down to her by her parents, both of whom were primary school teachers.

After specializing in mathematics, economics and physics in school, Jamiat did her undergraduate studies at Makerere University in Uganda, where she was awarded a BSc in 2003. She then went on to complete an MSc in Applied Meteorology at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom in 2008. She is currently studying towards her PhD at the University of California, Irvine.

The focus of Jamiat’s research is remote sensing applicability to disaster monitoring and management in Uganda. Monitoring water-related disasters is a serious challenge the world over and requires timely and reliable data to yield effective results. Many countries rely on ground-based observations which suffer from ‘scatter effect’ (poor spatial resolution) and, for that reason, cannot provide a reliable dataset for disaster monitoring in a country such as Uganda, where weather is often affected by local factors occurring over small distances. Satellite technology has great potential when it comes to monitoring water-related disasters. The aim of Jamiat’s research, therefore, is to assess the viability of using remotely sensed satellite data to monitor hydro-climatic disasters in Uganda and, ultimately, to design an early warning tool.

When she has completed her studies, Jamiat plans to return to Uganda, where she would like to be involved in further research and consultancy work, while continuing to work as a teacher at Makerere University.

Elena MURCHIKOVA

Home CountryRussia

Degree PhD in Theoretical Physics

Expertise Theoretical Physics

Research Focus String Theory

Host UniversityImperial College London, United Kingdom


Elena Murchikova was born and raised in Moscow. Her interest in science began before she had even learned to read, when she would spend days poring over pictures of galaxies, stars, planets, molecules and atoms in a book her parents had given her.

In 2007, Elena was awarded a Specialist degree (equivalent to a Master of Science) at Moscow State University and immediately began work on her PhD. In 2010, after being appointed a Junior Research Fellow at the university’s Skobeltsyn Institute, she was granted a leave of absence to pursue her further studies and independent research at Imperial College London. Among her many academic distinctions are the Encouragement Grant for the Talented Young Researchers (2008) and the Dynasty Foundation research grant in 2009. She was also chosen in a competition among young scientists worldwide to participate in the “Meeting of Nobel Laureates” in Lindau. Theoretical physics is concerned with understanding the building blocks of the Universe and fundamental forces of nature. This is particularly true of string theory, a branch of theoretical physics, which is the focus of Elena’s research. In this theory a few dozen elementary point particles are replaced by a single extended object – string. Different oscillations of this string represent different particles. It is theoretically possible to describe all known interactions, including supergravity, in the framework of string theory. This makes it a strong candidate for the unified theory of everything. It was this that drew Elena to the field.

When she has completed her studies, Elena would like to return to Moscow State University and set up her own research group there.


Blessing OBINAJU

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePhD in Biological Sciences

ExpertiseEnvironmental and Biochemical Toxicology

Research FocusEnvironmental Xenobiotics

Host UniversityLancaster University, United Kingdom


Blessing Obinaju was born in Uyo Local Government Area, the Akwa Ibom State capital, in south-eastern Nigeria. She is the second child in a family of five.

After graduating in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Madonna University in Okija, Blessing taught at secondary school for a year, before winning a place at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, where she completed a Master’s degree in Environmental and Biochemical Technology in 2009. She is currently an assistant lecturer at the University of Uyo, where she is studying towards her PhD. In addition to her academic activities, Blessing has taken part in various community projects, including working as a dance instructor for children.

Blessing’s research centres around the risks associated with the presence in the environment of xenobiotic chemicals produced by human activity. The main focus of her research is the effects these xenobiotics have on the biochemical activities of living organisms (DNA damage, for example). In most oil-producing communities, near-permanent gas flaring and frequent oil spills pose a serious health threat, due to the risk of ingesting polyaromatic hydrocarbons through contaminated water. Most of the communities concerned are rural and benefit from few, if any, of the health and safety measures enjoyed by their urban counterparts.

Blessing would like to be an example to young scientists in her country, and especially to women. She also hopes that her work on toxicology and on the regulatory procedures governing food and drug administration will help improve living conditions for the groups concerned.

Thelma OHENE-AGYEI

Home CountryGhana

DegreePhD in Pharmacology

ExpertisePharmacology

Research FocusMultidrug Resistance of Bacterial Pathogens



Thelma Ohene-Agyei was born and raised in Obuasi, a mining town in Ghana. She attributes her early interest in science to her father, an engineer who was an avid reader of both literary classics and scientific texts.

She enrolled at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in Ghana and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy in 2007. While training to become a registered pharmacist, she spent a year working at the university as a teaching assistant, completing her MPhil there in 2010. She is currently studying for her PhD at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.

Her research seeks to enhance knowledge of drug transport mechanisms in pathogenic micro-organisms, which will enable new antibiotics to be developed. Microbial resistance to antibiotics is the major challenge confronting the control of infection worldwide. The consequences of resistance are seen during outbreaks of life-threatening diseases such as cholera and dysentery and in the increased mortality to diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a human pathogen that is resistant to a wide range of antimicrobial drugs. Multidrug-resistant strains of Gram-negative bacteria of this type rely on tripartite protein assemblies that span both the inner and outer membranes to pump cytotoxic compounds from the cell. Pseudomonas aeruginosa expresses several multidrug-transporter complexes of this kind, including the MexAB–OprM system that plays a dominant role in intrinsic drug resistance. Her goal is to throw light on the molecular mechanism of this important drug efflux pump.

She would like her future career to encompass further research to contribute to the discovery of new drugs and better disease therapies, and to use her findings to develop partnerships of knowledge transfer between industry and academia.


Marian D. QUAIN

Home CountryGhana

Degree Post-Doctorate in Biotechnology

Expertise Biotechnology

Research Focus The Effects of Drought on Soybean Plants

Host UniversityUniversity of Leeds, United Kingdom


Marian D. Quain was born in Ho, a small town in southeast Ghana. At the age of two, she moved with her family to Winneba, She is one in a family of five children.

In 1991, Marian completed her BSc in Botany with Zoology at the University of Ghana, and, in 1996, an MPhil in Botany at the same institution, where she specialised in Crop Physiology. In 2001, she enrolled for her PhD, but, due to a lack of suitable laboratory facilities at her home university, switched to a sandwich programme with the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, with support from the Third World Organisation for Women in Sciences. In 2005, she was a visiting scientist at the George Washington Carver Agricultural Experimental Station at Tuskegee University in the USA. She is currently carrying out post-doctoral research at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.

Marian’s studies look at ways of using modern plant biotechnology to improve food, feed and fuel crops. To offset the effects of global warming and urbanization, varieties of food crops need to be developed that can withstand a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses through selection and cross-breeding. Though this can be achieved by conventional farming methods, biotechnology techniques such as marker-assisted breeding, micropropagation and transgenics can significantly hasten the process of crop improvement, a development that would greatly improve the lives of resource-poor farmers and also lead to more nutritious milk for breast-feeding mothers.

Marian’s long-term ambition is to head a state-of-the-art biotechnology research facility that could host students and researchers from Ghana and other countries.

Rasha OSMAN

Home CountryRepublic of Sudan

DegreePost-Doctorate in Software Engineering

ExpertiseSoftware Performance Engineering

Research FocusSelf-Managing Database Systems



Rasha Osman grew up in a family of academics in Khartoum, Sudan, and is the eldest in a family of three girls.

In 1995, Rasha completed a BSc in Computer Science, and in 2001 an MSc in the same field at the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Khartoum. In 2010, she completed her PhD in Software Performance Engineering at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom. She is the recipient of one of the United Kingdom’s Overseas Research Studentship Awards for outstanding students, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (United Kingdom) and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the British Computer Society. In addition to her fourteen years teaching experience, Rasha has worked as a professional software engineer and consultant for top corporations in Sudan, where she ran her own company.

Rasha’s post-doctoral work on self-managing database systems seeks to fill a gap in database performance research, an area of study with important practical implications for industry. Her investigations explore lightweight incorporation of detailed database performance models in database management systems. The goal of her research is to provide less resource-consuming tools than those currently available in industry, and to find a solution to the weak feedback loop of existing tools.

On completing her post-doctoral studies, Rasha plans to return to teaching at the University of Khartoum. She would also like to set up a research programme with industrial and academic partners in Sudan and fellow members of the international computer-science community.


Onja RAZAFINDRATSIMA

Home CountryMadagascar

DegreePhD in Ecology

ExpertiseEcology

Research FocusEcology and Conservation Biology



Onja Razafindratsima was born and raised in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo.

Onja did her undergraduate studies at the University of Antananarivo, where she took a BSc in Entomology in 2004, and a second bachelor’s degree—in Animal Biology, Ecology and Conservation—the following year. After completing a DEA (the equivalent of a Master’s degree) in Ecology in 2009, she won an International Peace Scholarship from the Philanthropic Educational Organization and a Franklin Mosher Baldwin Fellowship from the Leakey Foundation to study towards her PhD at Rice University in Houston, Texas. She is a member of various professional organizations, including the Society for Conservation Biology and the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.

Onja’s doctoral research focuses on the co-evolutionary advantages that Malagasy primates confer on the structure, distribution and demography of their host plants. In her study of seed dispersal by three frugivorous and diurnal lemur species in Ranomafana National Park in Madagascar, Onja seeks to understand the effects of seed dispersal on the spatial distribution and population demography of shared host plant species, and the influence of lemurs on the forest community structure as a whole. Her findings should prove useful for the long-term conservation and recovery of corridor and degraded habitats in and around the park. The methods she is developing could also be applied to other forest systems to provide much-needed information on the likely effects of a decline in primate diversity and abundance on numerous plants and animals that rely on the forest for their existence.

On completing her studies, Onja would like to take up a teaching post in Madagascar and to work on service projects with the local communities surrounding the national park.

Monica RAMIREZ CARVALHO

Home Country Colombia

DegreePhD in Plant Sciences

ExpertisePlant Systematics

Research FocusEvolution of Tropical Vegetation

Host UniversityCornell University, United States


Monica Ramirez Carvalho was born and raised in Medellin, Colombia, one in a family of three children. Very early on in her childhood, she was fascinated by the different shapes and sizes of the plants and leaves that today play such an important part in her research.

In 2009, Monica graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia, specialising in Plant Systematics. In the final years of her undergraduate studies, she also did an internship at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution in Panama. She is currently completing her MSc in Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University, after which she will begin work on her PhD at Cornell University.

Elucidating the origins of high-diversity ecosystems is crucial to conservation and to understanding the effects of climate change on vegetation. Monica’s doctoral research will focus on the evolutionary history of various tropical plant groups that are known to extend far back in time in the fossil record. Establishing how certain morphological features have changed over time, at what stage in evolution the groups in question originated and what effect, if any, ancient climatic fluctuations have had on their forms and diversity, should provide important clues to the history of neo-tropical rainforests.

Upon completing her PhD, Monica plans to return to Colombia and take up a teaching position at the University of Antioquia. She would also like to set up a paleobotany and plant morphology laboratory specialising in the recovery and study of fossil plants and the evolution of plant forms.


Arangassery ROSEMARY BASTIAN

Home CountryIndia

DegreePhD in Biomedical Engineering

ExpertiseBiomedical Engineering

Research FocusHIV-1 Drug Development

Host UniversityDrexel University, United States


Arangassery Rosemary Bastian was born in Kerala in India, before moving to Kenya with her family at the age of three.

In 2006, Arangassery enrolled to study Biomedical Engineering at the Manipal Institute of Technology in India, doing her final year in a partnership programme with Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2009. She is currently studying for there for PhD.

The aim of Arangassery’s research is to develop anti-HIV/AIDS drugs that target the virus prior to entry into the host cells, thus reducing the chances that the disease will spread. The laboratory she works in at Drexel University is currently studying peptide inhibitors that target the initial entry of the HIV-1 virus. Peptides are natural polymers that have no toxic effects on the body; however due to their low potency, they cannot be used in therapy.

Arangassery’s work uses advanced biomedical engineering to develop a multivalent peptide display that increases the peptide’s potency, thereby generating a therapeutic design of the inhibitors that could be used in HIV-1 therapy. She has recently discovered a novel characteristic of these inhibitor constructs: not only do they inhibit viral entry, they also lead to viral rupture upon binding. This is a unique characteristic which could show the way to a highly invasive therapeutic agent capable of blocking the HIV-1 virus.

On completing her research, Arangassery, who has been teaching since the age of sixteen, would like to return to India and take up a position at one of the universities there.

Maria RIAZ


Degree PhD in Computer Science

Expertise Information Security

Research Focus Privacy and Access Control

Host UniversityNorth-Carolina State University, United States


Maria Riaz was born in Multan, Pakistan, one of a family of four children. Much of Maria’s childhood was spent moving between cities due to her father’s work, before settling in Rawalpindi when her father retired there.

After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Software Engineering at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad in 2003, Maria won a scholarship to study at Kyung Hee University in South Korea, completing her Master of Science degree there in 2005. She has worked as a Research Intern, and later as a software consultant in Switzerland, before taking up a position as a lecturer in the Faculty of Computer Science at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology. She is currently a visiting faculty member at her home university, NUST, and will be starting her PhD at North Carolina State University later this year. Among her awards are a President’s Gold Medal for the best undergraduate academic performance and a Ministry of Sciences and Technology scholarship.

Maria’s doctoral research will be focused on developing automated and dynamic customization techniques for privacy and access control over information and services. By incorporating demographic data such as social and economic status, age, gender and educational background, Maria hopes to throw light on the privacy preferences of different population sets.

After completing her PhD, Maria hopes to do further applied research in her chosen field and to set up collaborative projects between her home country and organizations and institutes working in the field of information security and privacy world-wide.


Asel SARYBAEVA

Home CountryKyrgyzstan

Degree PhD in Microbiology

Expertise Medical Business

Research Focus Tuberculosis Infection, Reactivation and Transmission

Host UniversityUniversity of Leicester, United Kingdom


Asel Sarybaeva was born in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the youngest child in a family of two.

Asel enrolled in the Medical Faculty of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University in 2004 and completed her studies there in 2010. During that time, she also worked as an assistant in a maternity hospital, an instructor at the Republican Mental Health Centre for children suffering from congenital mental disorders and as a lab assistant in the immunology laboratory at Kyrgyzstan’s National Centre of Cardiology and Therapy. She then went on to the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, where she is currently studying towards her PhD.

The aim of Asel’s doctoral research is to improve our understanding of latent tuberculosis. Latency and reactivation phenomena are a significant obstacle in eliminating the disease, since latently infected individuals display no signs of active tuberculosis.

The importance of the problem can hardly be overstated: there are two million deaths from tuberculosis and nine million new cases each year; a third of the world population is infected with the M.tuberculosis complex. By exploring the mechanisms of latent tuberculosis infection, Asel hopes to find new ways of combating one of the oldest known human diseases and to help in the development of new drugs and vaccines.

On completing her research, Asel would like to take up a teaching position at Kyrgyz State Medical Academy and serve as an example to other young women in her field.

Dativa SHILLA

Home Country Tanzania

DegreePhD in Environmental Science

ExpertiseEnvironmental Science

Research FocusOrganic Geochemistry in Marine Environments

Host UniversityUniversity of the Ryukyus, Japan


Dativa Shilla was born and raised in Mbulu, a small town not far from Mount Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania. As one of a family of ten (six brothers and three sisters), she learned early on to be hard-working and independent, a habit that stood her in good stead at school.

After graduating with a BSc in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Dar es Salaam in 2001, Dativa spent two years working as an Assistant Environmental Officer for GRAIN Africa. In 2005, she completed her Master’s degree in Environmental Science at the University of Auckland (New Zealand). Among her various academic distinctions are an award in Environmental Education and Conservation (2000), a New Zealand Aid Scholarship in Environmental Science (2003–05) and a Graduate Research Assistantship (2009–10) from the University of the Ryukyus, Japan, where she is currently working on her PhD.

Dativa’s doctoral research focuses on the effects of terrigenous organic substances and nutrients on water quality and on bio-geochemical cycles of materials in coastal waters. This subject is essential for proper coastal zone conservation and management and is of particular importance in Tanzania, where, due to a shortage of skilled manpower and equipment, very few studies of river systems and their associated coastal waters have been made.

On completing her PhD, Dativa hopes to carry out further scholarly research (on water pollution and the cycling of nutrients and organic matter in aquatic ecosystems in Tanzania) and teach at the University of Dar es Salaam.


Tsega TEKLU

Home CountryEthiopia

DegreePhD in Nuclear Geosciences

ExpertisePhysics

Research FocusApplication of Nuclear Radiation (Optimization)

Host UniversityUniversity of Vienna, Austria


Tsega Teklu was born in Adwa, a small market town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, into a family of five children raised for the most part by her mother.

In 2002, inspired by the life of Marie Curie, she enrolled in the Physics Department at Addis Ababa University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2005. After completing her master’s in 2007, she took up a teaching post at Mekelle University, where she was appointed head of the Physics Department in 2008. In addition to her many academic activities, Tsega is President of the Tigray Women Educationalists Association and a member of the Ethiopian Women’s Federation at the federal and regional level.

Tsega’s doctoral studies investigate ways of optimizing instrumental neutron activation analysis and gamma-gamma coincidence spectroscopy. These are important nuclear methods for determining the concentration of trace elements in very small geochemical and cosmo-chemical samples. They are used, amongst other things, to investigate the property of meteorite impact craters, but modifications need to be made both to the software and to the methodology employed, so as to improve the quality of the physical, computational and mathematical data they provide.

After completing her PhD, she would like to become Ethiopia’s top physics professor and carry out research in a range of fields, including petroleum exploration, crime investigation, radiation protection and archaeology.

Uranchimeg TUDEVDAGVA

Home CountryMongolia

Degree Post-Doctorate in Computer Science

Expertise Computer Science

Research Focus Man-Machine Systems, E-Learning and Virtual Laboratories

Host UniversityChemnitz University of Technology, Germany


Uranchimeg Tudevdagva was born and raised in a traditional Mongolian yurt (traditional habitat) in Ulaanbaatar, and is one in a family of five children.

In 1992, Uranchimeg graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Novosibirsk State Technical University in Russia where, after completing a Master’s degree from Mongolian University of Science and Technology in the same field in 1998, she returned to complete a PhD in Information Technology in 2003. Since 1992 she has been teaching at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology—first as an assistant lecturer, later as a full lecturer and currently as an associate professor. She is also a member of the Mongolian E-Governance Think-Tank Group and the Young Scientists’ Association for Technology and Innovation.

Uranchimeg’s post-doctoral research is a continuation of the studies she conducted on optimization methods for man-machine systems for her PhD. One of the key applications of man-machine systems is computer-supported learning systems, called ‘e-learning’ systems. The large geographical size of Mongolia, combined with a rapidly growing population eager to enjoy the benefits of a university education, makes the development of suitable e-learning systems particularly urgent. Uranchimeg’s aim is to develop virtual laboratories in which teaching can be carried out with the aid of man-machine systems, and, more specifically, to establish a computer-supported consulting and training centre for young lecturers in the engineering sciences.

When she has completed her post-doctoral studies, Uranchimeg plans to return to her teaching post at her home university in Mongolia. Her long-term dream is to set up a remote e-learning system linking the rural outlands of Mongolia to the capital city, Ulaanbaatar.


Ignacie TUMUSHIME

Home Country Rwanda

DegreePhD in Forest Science

ExpertiseSoil Science

Research FocusImpact of Nitrogen and Other Fertilizer Inputs on Carbon Dynamics in Managed Pine Forests of Southeastern United States

Host UniversityTexas A&M, United States


Ignacie Tumushime was born and raised in Burundi, but later moved with her parents to Rwanda. She is the eldest child in a family of three brothers and three sisters. Her parents fully supported her career aspirations to be a scientist.

In 2002, Ignacie graduated with a BSc in Agricultural Engineering from the National University of Rwanda, where she was the only woman in her class. After working as a junior lecturer at the Higher Institute of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry (ISAE), in 2003 Ignacie received a government scholarship to pursue her MSc in Soil Science at the University Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of Gembloux, Belgium. After completing her Master’s in 2005, she returned to teach at the ISAE, before working as an environmental officer for Rwanda’s Rural Sector Support Project. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Forest Science in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Texas A&M University in the United States.

Ignacie’s doctoral research examines the impact of nitrogen and other fertilizer inputs on carbon dynamics in managed pine forests of southeastern United States. These pine forests are important components of the American economy and like forests generally, are important to mitigating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions are widely believed to be the main cause of climate change and global warming. Efficient use of fertilizer can facilitate the sequestration and storage of carbon in woody materials and in the soil. This research will enable landowners to harness planted pine forest productivity to mitigate atmospheric CO2 increases, and assist in more efficient use of fertilizer. The data collected by Ignacie will become part of an open database on the use of fertilizer to increase productivity and sequester carbon dioxide.

When she has completed her doctoral studies, Ignacie plans to take up a teaching position at the National University of Rwanda.

Blessing UGBI

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePhD in Mechanical Engineering

ExpertiseManufacturing Technology and Systems Management

Research FocusSimulation and Optimisation of Emergency Treatment in Nigerian Hospitals

Host UniversityUniversity of Manchester, United Kingdom


Blessing Ugbi was born in Lagos, Nigeria, the second child in a family of five girls. Much of her childhood was marred by illness, obliging her mother to abandon her job as a teacher in order to look after her daughter.

After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Production Engineering at the University of Benin in 2008, Blessing took a Master of Science degree in Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Systems Management at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, where she is currently studying for her PhD.

Blessing’s research uses Arena, a discrete event simulation tool, to model various aspects of healthcare management in Nigeria. This involves simulating the running of the health care sector in real time and advising on optimum staffing requirements.

Her aim is to minimize waiting time for patients and thereby increase their chances of survival. Staffing costs are also taken into consideration. Though focused on four major university teaching-hospitals in the four geographical regions of Nigeria, the model could be extended to other hospitals in the country.

On completing her degree, Blessing hopes to become a lecturer in a department currently staffed exclusively by men and to pioneer the introduction of modeling systems in the curriculum of her home university.


Chinazo UNACHUKWU

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePhD in Electronics and Electrical Engineering

ExpertiseSignal Processing for Communications

Research FocusPrecoder Design for Interference Alignment

Host UniversityUniversity of Leeds, United Kingdom


Chinazo Unachukwu was born in Lagos, Nigeria, but spent most of her childhood in Port Harcourt. She is the second child in a family of two boys and six girls and was spurred on in her studies by her parents’ faith in education; as her father once said to her: ‘The three D’s of success are Dedication, Determination and Diligence’.

Chinazo’s interest in science began in secondary school, where she developed a particular love and understanding of mathematics. After graduating in 2008 from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, with a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, she took a course in Telecommunications Engineering at the Institute for Advanced e-Studies in Abuja, Nigeria. In 2010, she completed her MSc in Modern Digital and Radio Frequency Wireless Communication at the University of Leeds, where she is currently studying for her PhD.

Chinazo’s doctoral research focuses on signal processing for communication systems, with particular emphasis on developing new adaptive multi-user multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) precoding schemes for interference alignment in wideband channels that can significantly increase both overall spectrum efficiency and maximum throughput. Her aim is to mitigate the effects of interference in multi-user MIMO systems by designing the precoder at the transmitters to transmit their signals in such a way as to maximize the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR).

On completing her PhD, Chinazo would like to return to Nigeria and use her knowledge and expertise as widely as possible as a consultant, lecturer, researcher, philanthropist and entrepreneur.

Aida Marcela VASCO PALACIOS

Home CountryColombia

DegreePhD in Ecology of Fungi

ExpertiseEthnomycology, Taxonomy, Mycology

Research FocusBiodiversity of Fungi in Tropical Ecosystems

Host UniversityUtrecht University, The Netherlands and CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre


Aida Marcela Vasco Palacios. comes from a family of academics. Her father is an anthropologist who taught at the National University of Colombia, and her mother also worked with indigenous people. Her brother is an industrial designer.

Aida took a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the National University of Colombia in Bogota in 2003, and a Master’s degree in the Botany and Mycology Systematic Program, at the University of Antioquia in Medellin in 2007. In 2010, she was awarded a Netherlands Fellowship Programme scholarship to study towards her PhD at Utrecht University and CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre.

Building on her earlier investigations of the traditional use of macrofungi by indigenous peoples in Amazonia, Aida’s Doctoral research examines the diversity, specificity and function of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi in an area of Colombia’s tropical rain forest dominated by Pseudomonotes tropenbosii. Pseudomonotes tropenbosii is an endemic tree of the Diptercarpaceae family that is found only in very nutrient-poor sandy soil. Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis, a feature of the Dipterocarpaceae family, is of great ecological importance, has been widely studied in Asian species. However, relatively little is known about the diversity and structure of tropical EcM communities and the role they play in the dynamics of ecosystems in the neotropics. The data generated by Aida’s research will help evolve strategies for the conservation and reforestation of the tropical rain forest, and will hopefully lead to a sustainable use of this endemic species by the local indigenous communities.

After completing her PhD, Aida would like to return to her home country and, through teaching and research, put her knowledge of Colombian mycobiota to good use in the fields of biotechnology, industry, medicine, education and conservation.


Shuang WANG

Home Country China

DegreePhD in Civil Engineering

ExpertiseStructural Engineering

Research FocusSmart Structures

Host UniversityUniversity of Pittsburgh, United States


Shuang Wang was born and raised in the ancient city of Xiangyang, located on the banks of the river Han in China.

Shuang did her undergraduate studies at Wuhan University, China, where she took a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering in 2009. The same year she was admitted to the structural programme in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is currently studying towards her PhD.

The broad aim of Shuang’s research in the field of smart-structure technology is to advance computational methods for solving inverse problems in the mechanics of complex systems. In particular, she hopes to develop both the theoretical framework and the concrete algorithms needed to significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of computational inverse mechanics in the design, implementation and use of smart structural systems.

With the aid of experimental studies being made on shape-memory polymers by colleagues in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Shuang is confident that the appropriate computational tools can be developed. Smart structures integrate features that mimic those of living organisms, such as self-awareness and adaptability (i.e. the capacity to monitor their own activities and adjust their actions accordingly), and for this reason have become a key area of interest for virtually all forms of built environments, with a growing number of potential applications in the field of engineering.

Upon completing her PhD, Shuang plans to return to her home country and take up a teaching post at Wuhan University.

Omonlola Nadine WOROU

Home CountryBenin Republic

DegreePhD in Crop Modelling

ExpertiseCrop Modelling

Research FocusModelling Cropping Systems in Farming Conditions

Host UniversityUniversity of Bonn, Germany


Omonlola Nadine Worou was born and raised in Cotonou in the Benin Republic, and is the youngest in a family of six children. Her father is an agronomist who often took his children with him when working in remote rural areas threatened with desertification. As Omonlola liked to draw, she would help him make diagrams explaining the mechanics of soil erosion to the unschooled village people.

After majoring in biology in school, Omonlola won a Benin State scholarship to study Environmental Management Engineering at the University of Abomey-Calavi. On completing her Bachelor’s degree in 2002, she worked briefly as a research assistant on the Biodiversity of Lama Forest Project in Benin, before winning a place at the University of Liège/Gembloux in Belgium, where she took a Master’s degree in Natural Resource Management in 2006. She is currently a PhD student in the Department of Plant Nutrition at the University of Bonn.

Omonlola’s doctoral research focuses on the calibration and validation of two crop models—EPIC (Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator) and Oryza 2000—on rainfed rice. By comparing the performances of different strains of rice, Omonlola is able to demonstrate the impact of soil fertility, water availability, and cultivars on rice yield. The results of her research will provide a basis for assessing the impact of climate change on rice productivity in West Africa, including the use of improved rice varieties.

On completing her PhD, Omonlola would like to take up a post in her home country and help foster international exchange programmes there.


Rida-e ZENAB


Degree PhD in Mathematics

Expertise Pure Mathematics

Research Focus Semigroup Theory

Host UniversityUniversity of York, United Kingdom


Rida-e-Zenab was born and raised in Khal, a small village in Pakistan. She has two brothers and a sister, and her father is a farmer.

Rida completed a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Punjab in 2004 and a Master’s degree in Mathematics at the University of Gujrat in 2006. She is currently studying towards her PhD at the University of York, as part of an exchange programme with the University of Islamabad.

Rida’s doctoral thesis concerns a branch of algebra known as semigroup theory. In a mathematical structure, any collection of maps of the underlying set that preserves the structure forms what is called a semigroup. The main focus of Rida’s research is the semigroup of endomorphisms of an independence algebra, a type of universal algebra that encompasses a much wider class of vector spaces and sets. Building on existing work on maps of sets and linear maps of vector spaces, she is examining two ways of describing these semigroups, called ‘presentations’ and ‘representations’. She also hopes to develop illustrative examples, applications and possible extensions to endomorphisms of the still wider class of sets covered by basis algebra.

When she has completed her studies, Rida would like to take up a teaching post at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad.

Di ZHANG

Home CountryChina

Degree PhD in Chemical Engineering

Expertise Chemical Engineering

Research Focus Microgrid Optimization

Host UniversityUniversity College London, United Kingdom


Di Zhang was born and raised in Liaoning, a northeastern province of China. Her father is a retired general practitioner and she is an only child.

After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Dalian University of Technology in 2006, Di Zhang was awarded a place at Helsinki University of Technology in Finland, where she completed a Master’s degree in plant-wide disturbance detection and diagnosis in 2008. She is currently studying for her PhD at University College, London, where she also works as a teaching assistant.

Microgrid technology, the focus of Di’s doctoral research, is considered a promising alternative to current centralized power generation systems. The benefits of microgrids include reduced carbon dioxide emission, increased energy efficiency and the possibility of providing more environmentally friendly forms of energy to remote communities not hooked up to the electric grid. The benefits of setting up such small-scale power-supply networks in a fast-developing country the size of China are self-evident.

On completing her studies, Di would like to return to China and take up a post at her alma mater, the Dalian University of Technology.


Faculty for the Future Fellows and guests at a Forum held in Paris in 2011.

38 FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2010 FELLOWS

FELLOWS2010


Deborah AJAYI

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePost-Doctorate in Mathematics

ExpertiseMathematics

Research FocusInteractions of Combinatorics, Geometry and Algebraic Topology

Host UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, United States


Deborah Ajayi was born in Leeds, England but at a young age she moved to Ibadan, Nigeria where she lived with her grandmother, an uneducated but wealthy trader in textiles. Deborah helped her grandmother count money, which developed her numeracy aptitude. She married a lecturer and professor in Nigeria, and they have three boys.

While attending the University of Ibadan Deborah received her undergraduate degree in 1986 in education, specializing in pure and applied mathematics. In 1990 she obtained her Master of Science degree in mathematics specializing in functional analysis, and then went on to earn her PhD in mathematics in 1996 in the field of algebraic topology, where she became interested in combinatorics because it has widespread applications for real-world problems in such fields as computer science, chemistry, molecular biology and engineering.

She is now enrolled in post-doctoral studies at Pennsylvania State University, where she will focus on the interactions of combinatorics, geometry and algebraic topology and the use of combinatorial methods in contact and symplectic geometry. Her research in algebraic topology has applications in differential geometry, especially the characteristic classes and the span of certain manifolds. She intends to focus on aspects of combinatorics such as graph theory and Tverberg theorems using her knowledge of characteristic classes and combinatorial methods to solve problems in contact and symplectic geometry. The results of her research should benefit computer scientists and enhance multidisciplinary research in such fields as mathematics, computer science, medicine and engineering.

When she completes her post-doctoral studies, she intends to return to the University of Ibadan to continue her teaching, research and mentoring activities. She says that despite the importance of her field, there is no known expert on this research area in Nigeria.

Eyiwunmi AKINSANMI

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePhD in Electrical Engineering

ExpertiseEngineering and Public Policy

Research FocusOptoelectronics-Based Solar Applications

Host UniversityCarnegie Mellon University, United States


Eyiwunmi Akinsanmi was born in Lagos, Nigeria where she grew up in a large family of four girls and two boys, of which she is the youngest. She likes to write and says if she hadn’t chosen a career in engineering she would have chosen literature. She also enjoys travelling and trying new types of food, and she recently took up tennis.

The year she turned 18, Eyiwunmi accepted a presidential scholarship to study electrical engineering at Howard University in Washington, DC. She graduated summa cum laude in 2007 and started a career as a hardware design engineer. She began pursuing her PhD in engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University because she feels a compelling urgency to help make an impact on the development of her home country.

At Carnegie Mellon her research objective is to investigate how recent advancements in optoelectronics-based solar applications can be harnessed together with the growing mobile telephone network in sub-Saharan Africa to provide educational and developmental opportunities on that continent. Her research sits at a unique confluence of manufacturing, education and cutting-edge solar technology advancements—her aim is not only to discover the factors needed to seed a viable solar-manufacturing industry in Africa, but also to leverage technical and manufacturing expertise to model the economic viability of new cost-cutting advances in solar technologies.

When she completes her doctorate in the United States, Eyiwunmi intends to teach in Nigeria, where she has already co-founded a non-profit organization called Nigerians4Change that has established a scholarship for girls in high school designed to help increase the number of young women who choose careers in science and engineering.


Suman ANAND

Home Country India

DegreePost-Doctorate in Physics

ExpertiseOptical Coherence, Laser Tweezers

Research FocusOptical Trapping of Aerosol Particles

Host UniversityUniversity of Dundee, United Kingdom


Suman Anand was born and raised in Gomia, India. Married to a telecommunications engineer in 1997, she has one son.

After qualifying for the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) Indian National Mathematics Olympiad (INMO) during high school, in 1989 she received her BSc (Hons) degree in physics from Ranchi University. She then moved to Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, graduating in 1992 with a MSc in physics and in 1999 with a PhD in physics. During her doctoral studies she received a Best Researcher award for excellence in science.

In 2001 she took up post-doctoral studies at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in New Delhi, where she began working on problems in optical coherence. In 2004 she received funding from DST for an independent project on optical phase singularity, and in 2009 the Leverhulme Fellowship in the United Kingdom. The Faculty for future grant made her eligible to apply for Royal Society Research grant that she receive for 2011–2012. Now at the University of Dundee, she is involved with experiments related to optical manipulation and freezing of aerosol particles. Her research aims to develop new techniques to explore aerosol properties by making use of optical tweezers that can trap and manipulate aerosols in a controlled, non-destructive way. She uses optical tweezers and laser probes to explore the size and composition of aerosol particles. Her methods for sampling and analyzing atmospheric aerosol particles enable chemical reactions and physical transformations to be followed under controlled laboratory conditions. Her work may help in resolving environmental issues such as climate change, global radiation uncertainty and the effects of aerosols on cloud formations. She published around 50 papers in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals and presented at several national and international conferences.

At the completion of her studies she intends to return to India to teach.

Shehla ARIF


DegreePost-Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering

ExpertiseSoft Matter, Fluid Mechanics

Research FocusAdvanced Composite Materials

Host UniversityMcGill University, Canada


Shehla Arif was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan. Both her parents are academics and they instilled a life-long commitment to intellectual inquiry in their three children. An avid cyclist, she admires nature, finds respite in yoga, and has recently discovered a passion for Kung Fu. She also paints and cooks and is interested in sustainable urban living.

Shehla graduated in 1996 with her undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore. She taught at National College of Textile Engineering in Faisalabad for two years, where she was the first woman faculty member. She taught for another two years at National University of Sciences and Technology in Karachi before proceeding abroad for her graduate work. After earning her master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Bucknell University in the United States in 2004, she entered the PhD program in mechanical engineering at Northwestern University in the US, where she graduated in July 2010.

Shehla is now conducting post-doctoral research at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where her focus is on advanced composite materials used in a diverse range of materials science and bioengineering applications. She is using an electric field to mobilize silica particles encapsulated in hydrogel colloids. This technology will have widespread application for academic and industrial purposes, such as catalysis, bio-sensing, drug delivery, photonic crystal sensors, enhanced ultrasound imaging and infrared cancer radiation treatment.

When she completes her post-doctoral research Shehla intends to teach at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan.


Rana BILBEISI

Home Country Jordan


ExpertiseChemistry

Research FocusSynthesis and Application of Container Molecules

Host UniversityCambridge University, United Kingdom


Rana Bilbeisi was born and raised in Amman, Jordan. Her hobbies and interests include sports, reading, cooking and travelling.

Rana obtained her Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Biochemistry in 2005 from Concordia University in Canada. As part of her co-op undergraduate degree she worked in the pharmaceutical industry. She completed her Master of Science degree in Chemistry at McGill University in Canada in 2008, and following that she taught chemistry at Kings Academy in Madaba, Jordan before beginning her doctoral studies in science and chemistry in 2009 at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

Rana is focusing her PhD research project on the synthesis and application of container molecules. She is particularly interested in the development of a subcomponent self-assembly methodology to form tetrahedral cages (container molecules). Rana is investigating the concept of host-guest chemistry in which rigid, hollow-cage structures with cavities of well-defined sizes and shapes are able to encapsulate guest molecules with high affinity and selectivity. These cages can used as sensors, drug delivery tool and they can serve in catalysis.

Rana’s research motivation is driven by the project applications, and by its potential impact within the pharmaceutical industry, and she is optimistic that ongoing drug delivery challenges can be addressed by her research. She says that designing and synthesizing supra-molecular molecules (cages) in water is a key challenge in the creation of enzyme-like artificial catalysts. The drug delivery systems she is helping develop are designed from the ground up to work in water as a new generation of green nano-scale receptors and catalysts.

When she completes her doctoral studies in Cambridge Rana intends to return to Jordan to teach.

Heyddy CALDERON-PALMA

Home CountryNicaragua

DegreePhD in Hydrology

ExpertiseGroundwater and Surface Water Interactions

Research FocusWater Resources and Availability

Host UniversityUNESCO–IHE, The Netherlands


Heyddy Calderon-Palma was born in a small town in Nicaragua where her mother worked as a school teacher and her father was a university professor teaching English. The third of four children, she has two brothers and one sister.

Heyddy says that a major satisfaction for her is in finding versatile applications to scientific knowledge. She delights in persevering in finding answers to scientific questions, and in achieving her life goals. One of her favorite quotes is, “To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.”

While studying for her doctorate in hydrology at UNESCO- IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft, The Netherlands, Heyddy is researching the interactions that take place between groundwater and surface water. Water availability is a growing concern throughout the world. Mismanagement of existing water resources and sometimes natural conditions can lead to a deterioration of water quality and cause water scarcity.

Groundwater resources are usually obviated from water resources management strategies, where the focus is mainly placed on surface water bodies such as lakes and rivers. However, both types of reservoirs (groundwater and surface water) are vital to humankind, as both are intrinsically related. Smart planning strategies should consider these relationships and provide integrated solutions to water availability and water quality problems. Heyddy is working at a catchment scale looking at a variety of mechanisms and types of interactions and the consequences for quality of water resources and availability.

When she completes her studies in The Netherlands Heyddy plans to teach at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN/Managua). She says Nicaragua is a small, developing country struggling with economical and social inequities where women face obstacles to careers in science due to cultural and social barriers.


Bridget CHUKUALIM

Home CountrySierra Leone

Degree PhD in Medical Informatics

Expertise Sleeping Sickness

Research FocusComparative Genomic Analysis of Kinetoplastid Protozoa



Bridget Chukualim was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone and grew up with her father, founder of the first commercial training college in Freetown. While in secondary school she loved to read biographies of famous scientists. Now married with three children of her own, she enjoys reading and playing tennis.

Bridget graduated from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria with her BSc in biochemistry. She earned her MSc in bioinformatics in 2006 from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and in 2010 she began studying for her doctorate in medical informatics at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

At Cambridge her research interest is in a comparative genomic analysis of kinetoplastid protozoa and related parasites. She is performing literature searches to identify novel drug targets in corresponding parasitic diseases such as Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent for sleeping sickness in humans and for nagana in cattle. These diseases currently plague the sub-Saharan Africa continent, affecting more than 60 million people and contributing to loss of lives and cattle throughout the region. Related parasites include Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes the disease American trypanosomiases (chagas disease), which affects about 11 million people in America, and leishmania, which causes the disease leishmaniasis and affects about 12 million people in tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide.

Bridget’s analysis of these parasitic genomes is aimed at dissecting the genetic susceptibility and resistance to trypanosomiases. She hopes her work will help in better understanding the pathogenesis of these diseases and lead to the production of effective treatments and management regimes.

When she graduates with her doctorate, Bridget intends to contribute to the curriculum development of medical informatics research in Sierra Leone and other countries in West Africa.

Pelin CANDARLIOGLU

Home CountryTurkey

Degree PhD in Materials Science

ExpertiseBioegineering

Research FocusBone Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Host University Imperial College London, United Kingdom


Pelin Candarlioglu is the second of two daughters raised in a small town in Turkey. Her parents attached great importance to knowledge and did everything possible to provide the best education. Fluent in German, she is professionally interested in proteomics, and in her leisure time she enjoys learning learning about art.

Pelin graduated in 2005 with her BSc in biological sciences and bioengineering from Sabanci University in Istanbul. She obtained her master’s degree in biotechnology and bioanalytics at the Vienna University of Technology in Austria, and in 2009 she began studying for her PhD in bone tissue engineering and regenerative medicine at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom.

Pelin’s research focuses on developing new biomaterials for bone tissue engineering. She aims to incorporate strontium, the main ingredient of Protelos, a well-known osteoporosis drug, into Bioglass, a bioactive material used for bone replacements. Bioactive glasses dissolve in bodily fluids and release ions that promote bone production. Incorporating strontium into Bioglass offers the possibility of slow release and local delivery of strontium at the defect site, and local delivery of its therapeutic effect. As well, Bioglass may be formed into a tissue engineering scaffold when embedded in a collagen mesh to increase the flexibility of the material.

Her work is especially promising for young patients where longevity of the implant is a critical factor, as well as for patients with osteoporosis where these biomaterials help to control drug release at the trauma site. It is also important for aging populations in developed countries, where orthopedic interventions are becoming more frequent and the lifespan of implants has risen from less than 10 years to more than 20 years.

Pelin plans to continue post-doctoral research and following that to take a lecturer position at Sabanci University in Turkey.


Rosana COLLEPARDO-GUEVARA

Home CountryMexico

DegreePost-Doctorate in Biomolecular Simulations

ExpertiseTheoretical Chemistry

Research FocusBiomolecular Simulations

Host UniversityNew York University, United States


Rosana Collepardo-Guevara was born and grew up in Mexico, where her parents inspired her to succeed academically. She enjoys hiking, creative cooking, independent cinema and reading, particularly feminist literature and books about how the human mind and human behavior are shaped by evolution.

Rosana graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 2004 with a BSc (honours) in chemistry. During her final undergraduate year she specialized in high-performance supercomputing. The following year she graduated with her MSc in theoretical chemistry from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, where in 2009 she also completed her doctorate in physical and theoretical chemistry. Rosana was elected president of the Oxford University Mexican Society, a student organization that helps Mexicans adapt to the experience of studying abroad, and for three years she also taught mathematics to undergraduates.

As a Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Fellow, Rosana undertook post-doctoral research in theoretical chemistry at New York University. She investigated the structure of the chromatin fiber, a DNA-protein array that is intimately related to gene expression regulation in humans. Rosana’s work is key to understanding aberrant cellular processes and, in turn, to design agents that can prevent associated illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes and cancer. The results of her work yielded 4 first-author publications and are of high impact as they reconcile the two main competing models for chromatin’s structure (zigzag and solenoid) and explain the unfolding mechanisms of the fiber.The Faculty for the Future program has pushed her career forward: Rosana has been recently awarded a prestigious Marie Curie fellowship to perform research at the Barcelona Institute of Biomedical Research and has been offered a tenure-track job at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), her home University.

Masoumeh GHARAEI

Home CountryIran

DegreePhD in Mathematics

ExpertiseMathematics

Research FocusMathematical Theory of Random Dynamical Systems

Host University Amsterdam University, The Netherlands


Masoumeh Gharaei was born in Gonbad-e-Kavoos, Iran and partly raised in Gorgan, a beautiful city near the Caspian Sea. The eldest of two brothers and one sister, Masoumeh considers herself introspective and says that she puts a lot of thought into what she does. She uses mathematics as a tool for logical thinking and powering her mind. Adventuresome and interested in travelling, she likes learning about new perspectives as well as the arts, mysticism and philosophy. In her spare time she enjoys reading, sports, music and singing. She is married to an industrial engineer.

Masoumeh attended Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in Tehran, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in pure mathematics. In 2006 she received her MSC degree in mathematics from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (UM). After graduation she taught mathematics at Azad University, and in 2010 she enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands

Masoumeh is focusing her research on random dynamical systems, a field of research that has broad relevance in applied sciences such as finance, weather forecasting and statistical mechanics. Weather phenomena associated with climate change and the current worldwide financial crisis are examples of systems with deep economic impact that require sophisticated stochastic models that can take abrupt changes into account. Studying such things as random billiards (a key topic in dynamical systems) or bifurcation patterns of a random time-series modeling one of these world-wide phenomena, for instance, helps to understand such complex systems and to discover new features.

After graduating with her doctorate in mathematics, Masoumeh intends to pursue post-doctoral research in Europe or the United States and then return to Iran, where she hopes to continue research and teaching at one of the universities. She also hopes to establish a mathematical institute for girls and women.


Saima HASHIM


DegreePost-Doctorate in Weed Genomics

ExpertiseMolecular Mechanism of Herbicide Resistance in Weeds

Research FocusMode of Action of Allelochemical Compounds

Host UniversityTokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan


Saima Hashim was born and raised in Peshawar, Pakistan. She is interested in nature and history, particularly the evolutionary stages of humankind, and she loves to observe other cultures. She is married to a biotechnologist, and two children.

After receiving a gold medal for academic achievement while studying for her master’s degree in agriculture, she was offered a teaching position in her own department at the Agricultural University Peshawar. At Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, where she is now enrolled in post-doctoral agricultural research, her focus is on the mode of action of allelochemical compounds, and in weed ecology.

Until the recent past, chemical weed control was considered the most effective weed control measure. However, repeated use over decades of the same herbicides eventually resulted in the development of herbicide-resistant weed biotypes. This phenomenon has alarming implications for farmers. In her research, Saima is trying to find the cause and the solution to this situation in our natural and agro ecosystems.

She feels that weeds need to be managed wisely in harmony with our natural environment, and believes that nature has its own way of balancing the things it has purposely created. Her research on the molecular mechanism of cyanamide as an allelochemical and its use as a bioactive natural compound for the environment friendly weed management may contribute to reduce the selection pressure on herbicide resistant weeds by introducing new allelochemical derived natural herbicide. Her study of inhibitory mechanism in plants will contribute both to applied weed science and allow scientist to develop broader weed management strategies and relying on natural compounds for weed management. Her research’s results may aid sustainable crop production.

Saima plans to teach at the Agricultural University Peshawar.

Ana Paulina GOMORA-FIGUEROA

Home CountryMexico


ExpertiseChemistry

Research FocusPorous Metal-Organic Frameworks

Host UniversityUniversity of California Berkeley, United States


Ana Paulina Gomora-Figueroa was born and raised as the eldest of five children in Mexico City. Both of her parents are engineers and as a child she often played in the lab of her mother, a chemical engineer and researcher at the Mexican Institute of Oil.

Ana Paulina earned her BSc and MSc degrees in chemistry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) before becoming an exchange doctoral student in 2008 at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. She obtained her doctorate in chemistry in 2010 from the Institute of Chemistry at UNAM.

Her research pursues the development and deployment of recyclable and long-lived CO2 capture and storage materials by the generation of water-stable metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which exhibit a high surface area for interaction with fossil-fuel-burning flue gases.

The targeted applications of the resulting materials will range from the high selectivity and storage for CO2 to a more efficient capture from a low pressure stream of flue gas. In addition, these small molecules may be used as chemical feedstock for the construction of more complex molecules. This will allow, in turn, the development of more efficient and atom-economical process technologies for their use in commercial applications.

Ana Paulina considers that her research will provide significant contributions to help managing current environmental challenges such as alternative energies and global warming. She is also interested in helping to initiate collaborative and interdisciplinary research programs in Mexico.

As an instructor of thermodynamics in the undergraduate level at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Ana Paulina intends to continue teaching at UNAM.


Basma HASHMI



ExpertiseBioengineering

Research FocusReprogramming Adult Bone Marrow Stem Cells



Basma Hashmi was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, where her family continues to reside. Her interests and hobbies include horse riding, poetry and outdoor activities.

Barely in middle school, Basma was the youngest research team member of the world’s first uterine transplantation research and medical team. Although the transplant was ultimately not successful, the experience taught her the importance of biomedical engineering research. She pursued her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at Boston University in the United States and graduated Magna Cum Laude prior to becoming a PhD candidate in bioengineering in 2008 at Harvard University in the United States.

At Harvard Basma is researching a novel method of engineering tooth formation by reprogramming adult bone marrow stem cells on a polymeric biomaterial/scaffold. The goal of this research is to use the mechanical, chemical and engineering blueprints determined from the tooth model and to apply them to larger organs of interest such as the pancreas, kidney and heart. To date there have been no successful reports of tooth formation in vitro using this method. Organ regeneration is of particular importance in developing countries, which report one of the highest incidences of diabetes in the world. Basma intends to return to Saudi Arabia to teach, although she has not yet chosen a university in her home country. She says that she is excited to be pursuing education in a relatively unknown field, and she aims to be one of the first female professors in Saudi Arabia to begin teaching in this field.

Sheeja JAGADEVAN

Home CountryIndia

DegreePhD in Engineering Science

ExpertiseEnvironmental Engineering

Research FocusRemediation of Toxic Metalworking Fluid Wastewater

Host UniversityUniversity of Oxford, United Kingdom


Sheeja Jagadevan was born in Trivandrum, India. In her spare time she enjoys reading and travelling. Active in community service and teaching, she is attempting to foster the values of responsibility, sharing and selflessness in her own daughter.

Sheeja graduated in 1996 with her BSc in life sciences from Andhra University in India, and in 1998 she earned her MSc in environmental science, also from Andhra University. She spent two years at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, where she earned her Master of Technology degree in environmental engineering. In 2008 she enrolled as a PhD student at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

At Oxford Sheeja is researching hybrid technologies for remediation of industrial wastewater. She says that nature has an amazing ability to cope with small amounts of water wastes and pollution, but it would be overwhelmed if we stopped treating the billions of gallons of wastewater and sewage produced every day before releasing it back to the environment. Treatment plants reduce pollutants in wastewater to a level nature can handle. Sheeja is focusing on treatment of toxic metalworking fluid (MWF) wastewater. Using a combination of advanced oxidation processes and bioremediation, her approach combines complementary physico-chemical and biological technologies to optimize the processing of MWF wastewater treatment. The toxicity associated with this MWF formulation is largely due to biocides added into the blend to prevent bacteriological action during its lifetime.

Most major cities in India face severe urban water management challenges related to drinking water supply, storm water and wastewater treatment. Sheeja believes that a clever manipulation of chemistry, microbiology and engineering could tackle this problem in a sustainable manner.

Sheeja plans to teach at the Indian Institute of Technology.


Xiaoxu KANG

Home CountryChina


ExpertiseNeuroscience

Research FocusNeural Signal Processing, Instrumentation, Clinical Neuroscience

Host UniversityJohns Hopkins University, United States


Xiaoxu Kang grew up in Harbin, China. She writes novels and articles as a hobby. After graduating in 2007 with her BSc in biomedical engineering from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, she attended the biomedical engineering program at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, where she graduated with her master’s degree in 2009 and is now studying for her PhD in biomedical engineering.

Her goal is to advance development of a fully implantable neuro-optic vestibular prosthesis. The function of the vestibular part of the inner ear is to stabilize our gaze via the angular Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (aVOR). This is the fastest human reflex and the only means to stabilize our vision during common fast-head movements such as walking. More than two million people in the world have vestibular dysfunction, especially in China due to use of toxic medicines.

She is working to address this by helping to develop a prototype vestibular prosthesis that encodes head movements via electrical stimulation of the corresponding vestibular nerve, much like cochlear implants now commonly used to restore hearing to deaf individuals. Initial tests have been promising, but so far the spread of stimulus current leads to a distorted pattern of head movement sensation. Laser stimulation of neural tissue shows promise in selectively stimulating auditory nerves, and she hopes to apply this novel approach to the vestibular system.

She has been the President of Women of Whiting (WoW) at JHU since 2009. She was honored with leadership award from JHU in 2010, and was elected as the representative of JHU to Emerging Leaders Summits in 2011. Recently she won 2011 Technology Fellowship of USD 5000 from JHU.

Xiaoxu plans to teach at Beihang University in China.

Zegbeh JALLAH

Home CountryLiberia


ExpertiseFemale Pelvic Floor Disorders

Research FocusPelvic Organ Prolapse and Urinary Incontinence

Host UniversityUniversity of Pittsburgh, United States


Zegbeh Jallah was born in Liberia as the second and youngest child in her family. As a child she was always eager to learn new things and her great interest was reading and mastering new words. Growing up during years of civil war in Liberia, the idea of peace seemed fragile and the educational system suffered greatly due to frequent school closures during times of civil unrest.

Zegbeh attended high school in the United States and graduated in 2006 from Saint Augustine’s College in North Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. She then worked in the pharmaceutical industry and as a researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology before enrolling in doctoral studies in bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

At the University of Pittsburgh her area of research is in pelvic floor disorders with a focus on pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence. Pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence are disorders for which childbirth is a primary risk factor. These conditions affect women all over the world, but they are especially prevalent in Africa. Liberia is one of the many African countries facing an increase in the number of women affected by urinary problems. In countries where a women’s worth is defined by her ability to have children, these conditions can lead to social isolation and exclusion. Zegbeh feels that women facing these challenges need to have a female figure who understands the challenge and is working to find a remedy.

When she returns to her home country with her PhD, Zegbeh intends to take up a teaching position at the University of Liberia.


Witri Wahyu LESTARI


DegreePhD in Science

ExpertiseChemistry

Research FocusOrganometallic Co-ordination Chemistry

Host UniversityUniversity of Leipzig, Germany


Witri Wahyu Lestari grew up in a small village in Central Java, Indonesia. She is married to a chemist and they have one daughter.

She pursued her BSc in chemistry at Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta and graduated cum laude in 2003. She became a junior lecturer at UNS in 2003 and in 2008 she earned her MSc in chemistry at the University of Leipzig, where she is also enrolled in a doctoral program studying organometallic co-ordination chemistry.

Her research focuses on the synthesis of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), which are of interest due to their novel structures, interesting properties and potential applications as new materials such as molecular magnets, as heterogeneous catalysts for gas separation and storage, for ion exchange and as drug delivery systems. MOFs with micro-porous architecture are promising for hydrogen and methane storages as alternatives renewable energy in the future. Witri is aiming at generating catalytically active MOFs by employing functionalized (chiral) building blocks based on biphenyl and binaphthyl (BINAP) systems as bridges between the metal centers for a well-defined three-dimensional framework.

Her research is important because catalysis plays a significant role in many areas of life. A large number of organic and inorganic reactions need catalysts to reduce their activation energy and to accelerate the reaction, increasing the selectivity of specific products. Catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenations are useful in pharmaceutical industries, and heterogeneous catalysis is important in hydrocarbon cracking within oil refineries and petrochemical industries. MOFs are feasible candidates as environmentally friendly solid catalysts that are easier to separate and recover and are thus reusable.

Witri plans to teach at Sebelas Maret University in Indonesia.

Indira MAHMOUD

Home CountryRepublic of Sudan

DegreePhD in Environmental Engineering

ExpertiseGeology

Research FocusGroundwater Pollution Assessment for Environmental Management

Host UniversityUniversity of Sheffield, United Kingdom


Indira Mahmoud was born in Sudan but at the age of 11 her father’s work took her family to Yemen. Described as a curious child, she now believes that science was a good career choice for her. She has four younger sisters.

Indira graduated in 1994 with a BSc (Honours) in geology from the University of Khartoum in Sudan, and four years later she earned her MSc in geology from the same university. In 2010 she joined the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom to pursue her PhD in environmental engineering.

At the University of Sheffield Indira is preparing a groundwater pollution assessment for environmental management of water resources in Sudan. One of the most important natural resources in Sudan, a developing country with a semi-arid climate and an unsystematic distribution of population, water resources are being threatened by ever-growing industrial activities that could have drastic environmental impacts due to contamination.

Indira is motivated by a genuine sense of responsibility toward the natural environment of our planet. As a human being and as a scientist, she says she can’t think of anything more important than water. Her research is focusing on developing an integrated approach to groundwater pollution by providing a base of scientific information required to develop policies that would help to avoid exposure of groundwater to contaminating substances or to minimize the impacts of those substances, to provide cost–effective cleanup and waste disposal strategies, and to reduce future risk of contamination. Her expected results will lead to an integrated mechanism for assessing groundwater pollution and an evaluation model based on bio-geochemical and socio-economic parameters as the basic components for assessing, monitoring and predicting environmental impacts.

When she completes her studies in the United Kingdom Indira plans to teach at the University of Khartoum.


Tuyeni MWAMPAMBA


DegreePost-Doctorate in Ecology

ExpertiseTropical Forest Ecology and Conservation Management

Research FocusCommunity Forests and Payment for Ecosystem Services

Host UniversityNational Autonomous University of Mexico


Tuyeni Mwampamba was born in Bucharest, Romania and raised in Tanzania, where her father was a university professor. After acquiring her love for the outdoors at an early age she continues to enjoy gardening and hiking. She is married with two children and they all enjoy hiking and camping together as a family.

In 1999 Tuyeni completed a study abroad program with the Center for International Education Exchange in Costa Rica, and she graduated magma cum laude in 2000 with her BA in environmental studies from Mount Holyoke College in the United States. She earned a conservation management graduate academic certificate at the University of California at Davis where she also completed doctoral studies in ecology. She is currently pursuing a post-doctorate in community forests and payment for ecosystem services at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

In Mexico Tuyeni is researching forest-derived ecosystem services with a focus on ecosystem services in secondary forests (forests that regenerate after the primary forest is removed). As an ecologist she is looking at various types of ecosystem services in forests that are managed or owned by local communities, and as a social scientist she is examining social and institutional aspects of forest management.

She says that ecosystem services are a new commodity on the world market, and that poor communities in developing countries are in a good position to produce these services. Working with the Tanzanian Forest Conservation Group, she is hoping to apply her research to protect forests in Tanzania and to benefit local communities. At an international level her research is designed to contribute to the role of communities in climate change policy discussions, especially those policies that relate to trading of carbon and other ecosystem services.

When she completes her post-doctorate Tuyeni plans to teach at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania.

Taryn MORRIS

Home CountrySouth Africa

DegreePhD in Ecology

ExpertiseEcology and Invasion Biology

Research FocusIntroduction of Invasive Alien Species

Host UniversityUniversity of Colorado at Boulder, United States


Taryn Morris was born in Johannesburg, South Africa as the youngest of four siblings. She loves being outdoors and is a keen runner and hiker as well as a passionate photographer.

In 2004 Taryn graduated cum laude with a BSc (Hons) in zoology from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where in 2008 she also graduated cum laude with her MSc degree. After earning a professional certificate in environmental policy and economics at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Bard College in New York, United States, in 2010 she enrolled in doctoral studies in ecology at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Taryn’s research will be carried out in the Cape Floral region of South Africa, which supports one of the richest diversities of flora in the world. While representing less than 0.5% of Africa’s land area, it is home to nearly 20% of the continent’s flora. It also displays remarkable levels of endemism with almost 60% of plant species being found nowhere else in the world. The biome’s high plant diversity as well as its unique plant reproductive strategies, nutrient cycling patterns, adaptations to fire, pollination biology and patterns of endemism and adaptive radiation found in the flora are of outstanding value to science.

Taryn’s research aims to investigate biogeochemical dynamics and ecophysiological properties of the unique fynbos biome in response to several anthropogenic pressures, particularly the introduction of invasive alien plant species. Her research will enhance understanding of how such pressures can influence diversity, structure and functioning within this unique and fragile ecosystem. She feels that her research is not only pertinent to the conservation of the unique Cape Floral region, but insights gained there can also be extended to many other parts of the globe.

Taryn plans to teach at the Organization for Tropical Studies in South Africa.


Sidrotun NAIM


DegreeMS-PhD in Soil, Water, and Environmental Science MS in Microbiology and Pathobiology

ExpertiseAquaculture

Research FocusShrimp and Fish Diseases

Host UniversityUniversity of Arizona, United States


On rencontre sa destinée souvent par des chemins qu’on prend pour l’éviter (One often meets the fate in the road she takes to avoid it).”

Popularly called Naim by colleagues, her career has taken various paths. She became interested in marine biology while working at the top elevation in Indonesia to avoid water. Being exposed to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia as a marine biology student, she changed her minds to aquaculture. Never knowing or eating marine shrimps and fish for 25 years, she has studied shrimp and tilapia for her PhD since Fall 2009. An ecologist who enjoys nature and avoids sitting in the lab, as a pathologist she has to spend more time in laboratory.

“Opportunities are limited sometimes. While I’m in America all labs are available, this is my chance to use it the best way I can.” She finished the first MS in 2010, and will finish the second MS and PhD in 2012. She is also associated with awards or fellowships from Fulbright, Arizona, the UNESCO-L’Oréal For Women in Science, Alltech Young Scientist, and USAID-Aquafish.

From ecology point of view, her research focuses on the beneficial effects of having shrimp and tilapia together to maximize space and to combat shrimp diseases. From pathology point of view, the potential risk of disease transmission from one to another became her concern. “Good and bad sides usually come together, this is the challenge.”

Her passion to different languages gives direct access to engage with ideas, customs, cultures, and belief of others. “On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux (Only with the heart that one can see rightly. The essential is invisible to the eyes).”

Naim plans to spread the seed of knowledge at the Bandung Institute of Technology. “Education is not preparation of life, education is life itself.”

Esther NGUMBI

Home CountryKenya

DegreePhD in Entomology

ExpertiseChemical Ecology

Research FocusAlternative Strategies for Controlling Insect Pests

Host UniversityAuburn University, United States


Esther Ngumbi is active in a number of professional associations, and is an advocate for ending world hunger. She speaks on this topic at conferences and interacts with policy makers.

After earning her Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and zoology in 1999 at Kenyatta University in Kenya, where she also graduated in 2002 with her Master of Science degree, in 2008 Esther began studying for her PhD in entomology at Auburn University in the United States.

Her research involves insect pests affecting crops, one of the most serious constraints on food security worldwide. Spraying insecticides creates problems such as human poisoning along with health risks, environmental hazards, loss of biodiversity and resistance among pests. In developing countries women are especially vulnerable to the risks associated with pesticide use. Esther is researching more sustainable ways to feed the expanding population. She is seeking to characterize mechanisms of olfaction and response to host-related odor in two parasitoid wasps using a multidisciplinary approach that integrates analytical, behavioral and electrophysiological techniques. Her results may help understanding of better olfaction in parasitoids and may open avenues for improved insect pest management.

In early 2011, she, worked in partnership with Auburn’s Women in Science and Engineering Institute to initiate a mentoring program for girls back in Kenya where undergraduate students at Auburn will be their pen-pal mentors. Additionally, she is working toward the establishment of a science and leadership center in Kenya to facilitate sustainable growth of the African continent through science and technology. Esther is excited about a future of working with young talented African girls to prepare and mentor them for future careers in science, engineering and leadership.

Esther plans to teach at Egerton University in Kenya.

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Nimalika PERERA

Home CountrySri Lanka

DegreePhD in Physics

ExpertiseBio Fuel Cells

Research FocusEfficient and Cost-Effective Membrane—Electrode Assemblies for Bio Fuel Cells



Nimalika Perera was born and raised in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The eldest in her family, she has two brothers. Her mother, a librarian, encouraged reading which resulted in her thirst for knowledge since early childhood for which she is grateful. In her spare time she enjoys reading, painting and needlework.

Nimalika entered a mathematics stream in national school and passed her advanced-level examination with high marks. She then entered the University of Moratuwa in Chemical and Process Engineering, from which she graduated with first-class honors. Her master’s degree research focused on nanotechnology and its applications for the Sri Lankan food processing industry.

Now at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, her doctoral research is related to the development of fuel cells based on organic substrates and biological catalysts. Bio fuel cell technology, which is an efficient method for energy generation from waste substrates, uses microbes or enzymes as the biological catalyst. These fuel cells do not only produce electricity but also purifies the waste streams from the industry. They are useful to generate power for remote areas and when modified, can be used to desalinate water.

Her research seeks to fill some of the gap in the knowledge of the biological fuel cells as a cost-effective and efficient renewable energy source. Fuel cells are viewed as a promising method for future energy generation due to low carbon emissions and the ability to use energy in the waste streams. Nimalika hopes her work to develop the biological fuel cell technology will help reduce the cost of fuel cells and improve the life of many people in remote areas who do not have access to the central power grids. Moreover, this technology will help poor economies around the world to generate their own clean power.

When she completes her doctoral studies Nimalika plans to returns to her home country for an academic career.

Oluwabukola Abiodun OKE

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

ExpertiseRenewable Energy

Research FocusStatistical Load Flow for Energy Distribution Systems

Host UniversityUniversity of Nottingham, United Kingdom


Oluwabukola Abiodun Oke is from Are-Ekiti, Nigeria where she was the youngest in her family of two boys and three girls. Mathematics is her favorite subject and she has always wanted to be an engineer. In her leisure time she enjoys reading motivational books and listening to or singing hymns.

The only female in a class of 45 engineering students at the University of Ado-Ekiti in Nigeria, she graduated in 2007 with first-class honours as the best student in the Faculty of Engineering. In 2009 she earned her MSc with distinction in electrical technology for sustainable and renewable energy systems at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, where she is also pursuing a PhD.

Oluwabukola is researching statistical load flow for energy distribution systems. Global developments within the energy sector have emphasized renewable and sustainable energy to reduce CO2 emissions. Along with the advent of deregulated electricity, this has encouraged a rise in small renewable energy generators, but most of these power sources have varying output which makes it imperative to have a method to fully account for uncertainties in the power network.

Probabilistic load flow analysis can account for and estimate power system operation during such uncertainties, but the main method employed in probabilistic load flow, the Monte Carlo simulation, is unwieldy due to the high computational burden placed on systems that have many renewable power generators. To forestall this problem, Oluwabukola is developing a fast but accurate method to estimate the probability distribution needed for a probabilistic load flow calculation while taking a variety of loads and power sources into consideration. Her research may be used by power grid operators worldwide and especially in Nigeria, where state governments are now making efforts to invest in renewable energy solutions to local power issues.

Oluwabukola plans to join the University of Ado-Ekiti in Nigeria.


Sobia Anwar QAZI



ExpertiseMaterial and Structural Aspects of Concrete

Research FocusDevelopment of Advanced Materials for Enhancing the Fire Endurance of Structural Members

Host UniversityUniversity of Technology Mara, Malaysia


Sobia Qazi was born in Karachi, Pakistan. She has got married in 2011 with a chartered accountant.

Sobia received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi, graduating in 2007 among the top ten students in her class. She obtained her Master of Science degree in civil engineering from University Technology Petronas in Malasia in 2010. During her studies she earned silver and gold medals for excellence along with a Best Paper award. Sobia is now enrolled in a doctoral engineering program at the University of Technology Mara in Malaysia.

She is focusing on the development of improved advance materials to enhance the fire rating of existing structures as well as the structures that have undergone the event of extreme temperatures such as fire. There is an urgent need of this research as fire fighting aspects are inadequate in developing countries due to economic constraints. It is envisioned that a combined analytical/experimental work will be conducted jointly in Malaysia as well as at NED University, to achieve the desired objectives. Her research methodology will start with the exploration and identification of suitable mineral additives as well as fibers to develop cementitious composite followed by the development of the mix proportions with the help of trial mixes. After this, structural members will be designed by using the high strength cementitious skin cladding with and without FRP materials and tested in the laboratory. Lastly, the analytical model will be developed to predict the behavior of structural members under normal and elevated temperature and then will be validated with experimental results. She hopes her research will provide a valuable tool to protect and re-strengthen the structures against elevated temperatures in her home country.

When she returns to Pakistan Sobia intends to teach at NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi.

Maria Claudia SEGOVIA-SALCEDO

Home CountryEcuador

DegreePhD in Molecular Systematics

ExpertiseBotany

Research FocusConservation Genetics and Molecular Systematics

Host UniversityUniversity of Florida, United States


Claudia Segovia-Salcedo was born in Cuenca, Ecuador but spent her childhood in the capital city of Quito. She loves travelling, trekking expeditions and spending time with her two children. She is married to a biologist.

Claudia obtained her bachelor’s degree at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and her Master of Science degree in environmental and plant biology at Ohio University. In 2009 she became a PhD candidate in the biology department at the University of Florida.

In Florida she is interested in the Andean paramos—highelevation, neo-tropical ecosystems now occupying less than 2% of the northern Andes and characterized by high biodiversity, large numbers of endemic species and isolated distribution as a result of large-scale destruction. The tree genus Polylepis is the dominant vegetation of the Andean paramos, but Polylepis forests continue to disappear at an alarming rate partly due to population growth and partly because people follow unsustainable cultural traditions such as slash-burn agriculture and shepherding exotic animals. Claudia is researching the genetic composition of Polylepis as an essential component of comprehensive conservation planning. Her research is among the first to use genetic divergence and uniqueness to identify areas of conservation importance in Ecuador, and she hopes it will be used in the development of restoration programs across the Ecuadorian highlands.

When she completes her PhD Claudia plans to teach at the Army Politechnic School in Ecuador.


Sadiyo SIAD

Home CountrySomalia

DegreePhD in Infectious Diseases and Immunology

ExpertiseMedical Research

Research FocusRole of Properdin in Infectious Diseases

Host UniversityUniversity of Leicester, United Kingdom


Sadiyo Siad was born in the capital city of Somalia, Mogadhishu, and is the first in her family to go on to higher education. She and her sister were raised by their mother, who she credits with supporting her academic success. She enjoys playing badminton, reading, travelling, learning about new cultures and meeting people from different backgrounds.

After moving as refugees from Somalia to Denmark in 1994, Siad became interested in infectious diseases and immunology when she witnessed her aunt suffering from tuberculosis, and her grandmother died from the same deadly disease. She obtained her international baccalaureate in Denmark, and in 2008 she earned her BSc (Hons) in biological sciences with a focus on microbiology and biochemistry at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, where she later graduated with a master’s degree in infection and immunity and where she is now pursuing PhD studies in infectious disease and immunology.

Her research is on the role of properdin, an important innate immune protein, in the cellular response to mycobacterial infection. Properdin is emerging as a central player in the complement-mediated immune response to a variety of inflammatory situations such as infections and autoimmunity. Siad is also investigating the role of properdin in the cellular response to latent tuberculosis infections.

Sadiyo has always dedicated her life to serving others. In addition to her PhD studies she works as a health education coordinator raising awareness about infectious diseases, and she is also working to put an end to the practice of female genital mutilations, a major problem in the communities she serves.

When she completes her doctoral studies, Sadiyo plans to pursue post-doctoral research before returning to Somalia to become a researcher and a lecturer in infectious diseases and immunology at one of the universities in Mogadhishu.

Sitara Parveen SHAH


DegreePhD in Geography

ExpertiseGeography

Research FocusImpact of Climate Change on Rural Populations

Host UniversityUniversity of Bonn, Germany


Sitara Parveen Shah was born in Gulmit Gojal, a village in Pakistan near the Chinese border. She grew up in a big family with eight sisters and one brother. Married with two children, a boy and a girl, she enjoys cooking and reading books.

Sitara completed her undergraduate education in the city of Gilgit, where she obtained her higher secondary education from the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. She also attended Aga Khan University in Karachi and Punjab University in Lahore before graduating with her master’s degree in geography from the University of Peshawar in Pakistan. She is now attending the University of Bonn in Germany, where her doctoral research is focusing on climate change in northern Pakistan.

In her research Sitara is examining how climate change is affecting people living in the high, mountainous regions of northern Pakistan. The vulnerable populations of these areas are suffering from climatic changes due to global environmental problems such as rising temperatures, changes in precipitation, floods, droughts and other extreme weather events. Evidence shows that a trend toward longer winters is causing dramatic declines in agricultural productivity in many high, mountainous areas in Asia, where much of the population depends for survival on agricultural activities.

Sitara is studying the effects of climate change on a local and regional scale because this provides first-hand evidence of impacts and how people must adapt and prepare for an uncertain future—beyond the obvious need to secure critical resources for survival such as water, food, shelter and firewood. Her research will contribute to indigenous knowledge and may help in designing climate-change mitigation programs. Her work will also help create general awareness about the impacts of climate change on rural populations.

Sitara plans to teach at Karakoram International University in Gilgit.


Sithabile TIRIVAROMBO

Home CountryZimbabwe

DegreePhD in Water Resource Science

ExpertiseAquatic Chemistry and Hydrology

Research FocusClimate Change and Variability Impacts on Water Resources Management of the Zambezi River Basin

Host UniversityRhodes University, South Africa


Sithabile Tirivarombo was born and raised in Gweru, Zimbabwe, where she attended secondary school. She did her Advanced level education Bulawayo after which she enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe as an undergraduate student. After obtaining a Bachelor of Science honors degree in chemistry at the University of Zimbabwe in 1994, she became a teaching assistant in the University’s chemistry department. She attained a Master of Science degree in Water Resources Engineering and Management in 2000 and in 2003 she joined Chinhoyi University of Technology in Zimbabwe where she founded the Department of Environmental Sciences and Technology. She then developed a Bachelor of Technology honors degree in Environmental Health in 2006. During her stay at Chinhoyi University she was instrumental in the formulation of most of the policies for the young and upcoming university. She played an effective role at the University’s Senate Executive meetings and other university committees. In 2008 she joined Ethiopian Civil Service College where she lectured in the Uban Management and Planning master’s degree program. In 2009 she began doctoral studies at the Institute for Water Research at Rhodes University in South Africa.

Sithabile is modeling the climate change impacts on water resources in the Zambezi River basin. She hopes to gain a better understanding of the interaction between climate and hydrologic systems through a comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of water resources to a changing climate. The impact of climate change on food security in the basin is also assessed. The broader aim of her study is to formulate new hydrologic estimates that can better inform management practices and thus produce timely and appropriate adaptation strategies.

Sithabile looks forward to returning home and adding to the scientific knowledge base of her country. She also hopes to inspire other females to pursue scientific careers.

Na XU

Home CountryChina


ExpertiseHydrology and Biochemistry

Research Focus Dynamics of Dissolved Organic Matter in Water

Host UniversityYale University, United States


Na Xu grew up in Yueyang, a city along the Yangtze River in central China that frequently suffers from flooding. She grew up as an only child, but she and her husband plan to have several children. She enjoys jogging, hiking and reading as well as travelling the world savoring the beauty of nature and experiencing different cultures.

After receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Tsinghua University in China, she entered the doctoral program in 2005 at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in the United States.

Na is investigating the dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in terrestrial and aquatic environments. DOM is a complex of organic compounds with differing reactivity and ecological roles. Higher concentrations of DOM may enhance the transport of nutrients and associated pollutants to freshwaters, where they contribute to harmful algal blooms and severe reductions in water quality. Long-term rising trends of DOM export to rivers in the northern hemisphere have been linked to climate change, but a comprehensive understanding of DOM dynamics in watersheds remains challenging due to the complex interactions between hydrological, geochemical, and biological processes.

Na’s research objective is to generate knowledge that can be used to make well-informed water-resource management decisions for sites that are impacted by polluted water, or that suffer from freshwater scarcity. She is especially interested in studying the poor quality of freshwater in her home country, where groundwater and surface water are so polluted from man-made or natural contaminants that 60% of the rivers cannot be used as sources of drinking water and 320 million people lack access to clean drinking water. Na hopes her research will help to alleviate those challenges.

Na plans to teach at Tsinghua University in China.


Eleni YESHANEH

Home CountryEthiopia

DegreePhD in Water Resources Systems

ExpertiseCivil and Environmental Engineering

Research FocusCatchment-level Environmental Changes Using Remotely Sensed Data

Host UniversityVienna University of Technology, Austria


Eleni Yeshaneh was born and raised in Debre Markos, a small town in northern Ethiopia. She comes from a large family, with five brothers (one of whom has passed away) and five sisters. Before he retired her father was a high school English teacher and she feels lucky that her parents encouraged and supported the educational aspirations of all their children. She is married to an agricultural engineer and they have two children, a boy and a girl. In her spare time Eleni enjoys reading novels, watching movies and cooking.

After earning her BSc in geology in 1995 at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, Eleni began studying at the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences in the Netherlands, where she graduated in 2001 with her MSc in geo-information science and earth observation specializing in environmental systems analysis and management.

She then began working in industry as a GIS and remote sensing expert before joining the faculty of Addis Ababa University in 2003 as a lecturer in GIS and remote sensing.

In 2010 Eleni enrolled at Vienna Technology University in Austria, where she is studying for her PhD in water resources systems. The aim of her research is to assess typical catchment-level environmental changes that have occurred over the past 50 years using remotely sensed data and long-time series hydrological data; to estimate soil loss and runoff using hydrological models in an Ethiopian watershed. As well, she is attempting to identify possible causes of changes in the catchment and suggest appropriate soil and water conservation practices. She believes the results of her research will enable policymakers to formulate appropriate management strategies for conservation of natural resources.

When she graduates from Vienna Technology University Eleni intends to return to Ethiopia and resume teaching at Addis Ababa University.

Moe Swe YEE

Home CountryMyanmar

DegreePhD in Agricultural Sciences (Division of Environmental Science and Technology)

ExpertiseGlobal Future of Life, Food and the Environment

Research FocusAdvanced Agricultural Technologies for Food Sufficiency, Food Security, Rural Development and Environmental Management

Host UniversityKyoto University, Japan


Moe Swe Yee was born and raised in Myanmar. Her father is an education officer serving the townships of the Magway division where she grew up with her elder brother and three elder sisters. She is married to an agricultural extension officer in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and they have one son.

After graduating from Yezin Agricultural University in Myanmar with her Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree in 1996, Moe Swe worked in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation before entering Khon Kaen University in Thailand, where she earned her Master of Science degree in systems agriculture in 2009. In 2011 she will begin studying for her doctorate in a new agricultural sciences course for international students called For the Global Future of Life, Food and the Environment at Kyoto University in Japan.

In Japan Moe Swe is researching the role of crops, livestock and traditional practices for sustainable agriculture and focusing on the Dynamic of Land Use Change and Farming System in the dry zone of Myanmar. She hopes her research will help improve the lives of small farmers in the dry zone, where the majority of farmers hold less than two hectares of land. These farmers generally practice subsistence farming where they need to produce a continuous, reliable and balanced supply of food as well as cash for basic needs and farm expenditures. These small, marginal landholders face different types of problems than large farmers. Moe Swe is helping develop suitable agricultural technologies for single-crop production enterprises—her research focuses on food security, rural development for poverty alleviation, sustainable agricultural development and resource/environmental management.

Moe Swe plans to teach in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation within the Department of Agricultural Extension Education.


Poster Session at a Faculty for the Future Forum held in Boston in 2011.

Faculty for the Future Fellows at a Forum held in Boston in 2011.


FELLOWS2009


Maha ABUHAFEETHA

Home CountryPalestine

DegreePhD in Environmental Design

ExpertiseEnvironmental Design, Project Management, Architectural Engineering

Research FocusGreen Building Design; Indoor Air Quality

Host UniversityUniversity of Calgary, Canada


Maha AbuHafeetha grew up in Palestine, where her father and mother are both school teachers. She is married with one child.

Maha obtained her undergraduate degree in architectural engineering from An-Najah National University in Palestine in 2006. She obtained her master’s degree in engineering management from the Schulich School of Engineering and the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, Canada in 2009, and subsequently began working toward her PhD at the University of Calgary specializing in environmental design and energy conservation in building sustainability.

Because many conventional buildings are hard on the environment due to construction methods, air emissions, operations, ongoing maintenance and eventual deconstruction, Maha is focusing her doctoral research on designing green buildings that are environmentally friendly and can be designed to reduce direct and indirect environmental consequences. She is designing green buildings optimized for their intended use and for the local climate—buildings that use the natural environment to deliver maximum efficiency and comfort with lower overall lifecycle costs than conventional buildings.

Maha is also investigating the impact of indoor air quality on occupant’s health, well-being and performance. Her study focuses on the school indoor environments and its effects on student comfort in Palestine. Her work is novel as no study has been done in Palestine on the issue of indoor environment and air quality. Her work will obtain baseline data about school environments, which could help decision makers in their efforts to improve school environments.

When Maha completes her studies at the University of Calgary, she plans to teach at An-Najah National University in Palestine.

Susana ADDO NTIM

Home Country Ghana


ExpertiseEnvironmental Science

Research FocusNanotechnology Methods for Water Treatment

Host UniversityNew Jersey Institute of Technology, United States


Susana Addo Ntim was born in Akropong Akwapim, in eastern Ghana. After representing her high school at a science and mathematics clinic for girls, she decided to pursue a career in science. In 2001 she won the Bentil Prize for Promising Women Scientists from the Ghana Science Association. In 2002 she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). In 2006 she received her MSc in marine estuarine environmental science from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She has since January 2007 been working toward her PhD at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Last year, she was selected by the college of science and liberal at the New Jersey Institute of Technology arts to receive the award for outstanding graduate student.

Her research focuses on using nanotechnology for water treatment. She is looking at generating clean water using novel carbon nanotube-based nanocomposites. She is focusing on a nanocomposite system comprised of nanoparticles immobilized on multi-walled carbon nanotubes that can carry out a wide range of diverse functions, from water disinfection to the removal of specific pollutants. Her preliminary data has shown that such immobilization is possible, and synergistic activities combining carbon nanotubes and tetragonal zirconia have been demonstrated for the de-fluoridation of water. She is interested in application of this approach to arsenic removal from water. She has developed an iron oxide-multiwall carbon nanotube nanocomposite which has successfully been used for arsenic removal from water to meet and exceed the US EPA drinking water quality standards, and it is currently being investigated for the removal of other contaminants such as selenium from water. The nanocomposite system she is researching has promise for arsenic removal under many different conditions, and may present an efficient, cost-effective technology for water purification.

When she completes her doctoral studies, Susana plans to teach at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana.


Mercy AFADZI

Home CountryGhana

Degree PhD in Medical Technology

ExpertiseBiophysics and Medical Physics

Research FocusCombining Ultrasound with Drug Delivery

Host UniversityNorwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway


Mercy Afadzi was born in Kweikuma, Ghana where she grew up with her brothers and sisters. Her interests include singing and listening to music as well as reading motivational books.

Mercy attended the University of Cape Coast in Ghana and graduated in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in physics. She received the Dean of Science Award for academic performance in 2001 along with a number of other awards including Best Graduating Student, Unilever Award for Outstanding Performance, and Best Science Graduate in 2005. In 2008 she obtained her master’s degree in medical technology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway, where she is pursuing a PhD in Medical technology.

Mercy is working to improve the delivery of cytotoxic drugs to cancer tissues by combining ultrasound with drug delivery. Successful cancer therapy requires that cytotoxic agents reach all cancer cells and deactivate them, but the lack of specificity toward tumor cells is a major obstacle in conventional cancer therapy. During treatment, normal tissue can also be damaged, and this limits the dosage that can be applied to the tumor.

One solution is to deliver large doses in a highly localized manner, but to do that it is necessary to have triggerable release mechanisms such as ultrasound. Ultrasound is of special interest because it is non-invasive, it can be focused on targeted sites, it can penetrate the interior of the body without affecting the interposed tissue, and no ionizing radiation is involved. Mercy is investigating the interaction between ultrasound and encapsulated drugs in solution and tissue, and she is designing ultrasonic beams and transducer arrays for dual frequency detection and destruction of the encapsulated drug.

Mercy intends to return to her native country, Ghana, where she hopes to become a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast and at the University of Ghana.

Arezoo ARDEKANI

Home CountryIran

DegreePost-Doctorate in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

ExpertiseFluid Mechanics

Research FocusMultiphase Fluid Mechanics, Complex Fluids



Arezoo Ardekani was born in Iran. She received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Iran in 2003 and her PhD from University of California Irvine in 2009. She then joined MIT department of Mechanical Engineering as a Shapiro postdoctoral fellow.

Arezoo’s PhD research focused on interaction and collision of particles in viscous and viscoelastic liquids, particle-droplet interactions and instability of thin liquid sheets. As a post-doctorate fellow, she investigated surface tension-driven instability and break-up of viscoelastic jets, which play a crucial role in the use or processing of many multi-component complex fluids such as paints, inks and fertilizers. Another aspect of her research was related to the properties of migration and aggregation of small particles in flows of polymer solutions. Elastic forces present in polymer solutions act like a glue and lead to self-assembly and chaining of particles.

Arezoo is currently an assistant professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at University of Notre Dame. Dr. Ardekani heads the Complex Fluids and Multiphase Flows Laboratory, where she and her students focus on understanding fundamental properties of multiphase flows of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids that are relevant to complex fluids, biofluids, and microfluids used in biomimetic applications, biomedical devices, alternative energy, and environmental remediation.


Charlotte Kendra Gotangco CASTILLO

Home CountryPhilippines

DegreePhD in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Expertise Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Research FocusClimate and Tropical Deforestation

Host UniversityPurdue University, United States


Charlotte Kendra Gotangco Castillo was born and raised in Metro Manila, Philippines.

At the University of the Philippines she was an Oblation Scholar, an honor given to top applicants in the country. She transferred to Ateneo de Manila University where she received numerous academic awards, graduating as class valedictorian and one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines in 2004. In 2007 she earned her master’s degree in environmental management jointly at Ateneo de Manila University and the University of San Francisco. She began her PhD at Purdue University as a Fulbright Scholar and was also a recipient of the Purdue Climate Change Research Center Ross Fellowship. She graduated in May 2011.

Kendra’s research centered on modeling the interactions between climate and time-dependent tropical deforestation. She investigated biophysical and biogeochemical feedbacks on climate of different deforestation pathways through the use of the Community Climate System Model, looking at both global teleconnections as well as regional impacts. Her dissertation tested the sensitivity of the earth system to different deforestation rates, but in the long run, she hopes to include socioeconomic factors into these scenarios.

Her integrative approach may lead to a deeper understanding of how the terrestrial biosphere and climate interact. This may lead to better climate change projections and mitigation decisions and to better forest management strategies and policy responses to climate change and sustainable development issues.

In a few months, Kendra will begin her work at the Manila Observatory (MO), a research institution focusing on the environment and sustainable development. She will be the Program Manager of Klima, MO’s climate change assistance center. Kendra also plans to teach at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Wiratni BUDHIJANTO


DegreePost-Doctorate in Engineering

ExpertiseBioprocess Engineering

Research FocusSmall-Scale Continuous Bio-Digesters

Host UniversityCornell University, United States


Wiratni was born and raised along with her brother in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Engineering runs in her family—her father is a mechanical engineer, her mother a chemical engineer (both retired), and her husband is a chemical engineer. They have one daughter.

Wiratni obtained her BSc in chemical engineering at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta in 1996 and her MSc in 1999, graduating with a GPA of 4.0. She obtained her PhD in chemical engineering in 2003 at West Virginia University in the United States, again graduating with a GPA of 4.0.

As a post-doctoral student, she is working on biogas production rate enhancement in household bio-digesters for rural energy sufficiency. Biogas is a clean fuel developed mainly from waste materials. Wiratni is helping develop a small-scale continuous bio-digester that is cheap, easy to handle and installable near remote cattle pens.

A full-scale and low-cost anaerobic digester was developed with a 0.3-millimetre diameter PVC pipe and was subsequently tested in about 30 households in rural Indonesian areas. Diluted cow manure was fed to one end of the digester while effluent was collected from the other end for land application. For each digester, enough biogas was accumulated in a gasbag to cook for approximately one hour per day. However, some of these plug-flow digesters clogged after a one-year operating period. During her stay in Cornell University, Wiratni worked to optimize the digester configuration to guarantee maximum methane yields while preventing clogging.

Wiratni has been a faculty member at Gadjah Mada University since 1996, and she plans to continue teaching there. Besides her teaching and research activities, she is also active in community empowerment programs, especially in the efforts of technology transfer for rural communities.


Fatma Nazli DONMEZER

Home CountryTurkey



Research FocusThermal Engineering of Electronic Devices



Fatma Nazli Donmezer was born and raised in Ankara, Turkey. In high school she became interested in science and teaching as well as learning French language and culture.

After graduating in 2007 with her BSc in science from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, she began studying for her MSc in mechanical engineering with a specialization in thermo-fluid sciences, especially spectrally selective heating of nano-sized particles using radiative heat transfer.

She received her MSc degree in July 2010 and started working toward a PhD at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, United States. Nazli’s doctoral research will focus on thermal issues related to Gallium Nitride (GaN) electronic devices. Interest in high-power, high-frequency transistor technologies is growing in the telecommunication sector. Thermal issues resulting from the high power loads applied to these devices is a major obstacle to engineering better devices. Nazli’s goal is to understand thermal problems such as hot spots associated with these devices by using experimental techniques, and to work on heat transfer models that are capable of explaining heat transfer at such small scales. These models should be able to explain heat transfer in domains having multiple scales from nano to macro.

She is attracted to the thermal engineering of electronic devices, a cutting-edge subject today, and to the strong interdisciplinary nature of her research area, one that binds electronics, mechanical engineering and physics. She feels that many disciplines can benefit from the knowledge gained by another, and that in the future scientists and engineers seeking solutions to technological problems must be open to interdisciplinary perspectives.

Partly because gender roles within science and engineering are changing in Turkey today, she intends to pursue a career teaching at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.

Vivien Suphandani DJANALI



ExpertiseComputational Fluid Dynamics

Research FocusPreconditioning in the Fractional-Step Methods of Navier-Stokes Equations

Host UniversityThe University of Sydney, Australia


Vivien Suphandani Djanali was born in 1981 in Madison, Wisconsin in the United States while her parents were pursuing their PhD degrees. At the age of three she moved to Surabaya, Indonesia. Raised in an academic family with a brother and a sister, she loves to teach and since childhood has dreamed of becoming a lecturer.

Vivien is now married with two young children. Although she recognizes the difficulties involved in simultaneously managing children and PhD work, she is determined to achieve her goals.

In 2003 Vivien finished her undergraduate studies in the Mechanical Engineering department at ITS, which she then joined as a lecturer. In 2008 she obtained her Master of Engineering (Research) degree from the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at The University of Sydney in Australia, where she is now enrolled as a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering.

Vivien is conducting research on direct numerical simulations of incompressible flows using a fractional-step method to simplify the coupling between velocity and pressure in Navier-Stokes equations. Solving the pressure poisson equation in the fractional step method is often the most consuming part, in terms of work, memory and computation time.

The focus of her study is to develop an efficient preconditioner for the pressure poisson equation. The preconditioner is implemented in Fortran language in the code developed at The University of Sydney. It is expected that the resulting preconditioner will accelerate the convergence of the iterative solvers, and thus will improve the efficiency of direct numerical simulations.

When she completes her PhD, Vivien plans to return to teach at ITS in Indonesia.


Olga DUDCHENKO

Home CountryUkraine

DegreePhD in Biophysics

ExpertiseBiophysics

Research FocusFluid Flow in Deformable Vessels; Hydrodynamic Aspects of Blood Coagulation

Host UniversityMoscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Russia


Olga Dudchenko was born in Kiev, Ukraine, where she attended an elementary school with a liberal bias while at the same time taking piano lessons at the Children’s Artistic School. After transferring to Kiev Lyceum of Natural Sciences, she became enthusiastic about chemistry and took part in National Chemistry Olympiads while continuing to play piano. She is also interested in classical and contemporary fine arts, literature and sports.

In 2001 Olga was an exchange student at the Department of Molecular and Biological Physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) in Russia. In 2004 she worked at the National Hematology Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2005 she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BSc in applied physics and mathematics. In 2007 she obtained a MSc in applied physics and mathematics with honors. The research for her MSc was in collaboration with the Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Olga’s PhD research focus is on hemodynamics in large elastic vessels considering features associated with blood coagulation. Present-day developments on the subject concern mostly low-Reynolds phenomena in small vessels, while clotting under intensive flow conditions is poorly understood, although progress in computer engineering may widen understanding of the problem using the prognostic potential of methods for numerical simulations of reactive flows. One practical aspect of her work is on the correlation between blood coagulation and pathological tissue processes such as atherosclerosis, inflammation or cancer development. The idea is to detect blood coagulation system alterations and draw conclusions about the evolution of tissue pathology based on the distribution of chemical traces within the flow. If successful, her work may lead to improved diagnostic facilities for cancer and other patients.

Olga plans to teach at the National Technical University of Ukraine.

Nada Bushra EL TAHIR AHMED


DegreePhD in Seismology

ExpertiseSeismology

Research FocusSeismic Velocity Structure of the Crust and Upper Mantle in Sudan

Host UniversityUniversity of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and The Pennsylvania State University, United states


Nada Bushra El Tahir Ahmed was born in Omdurman City, Sudan. She grew up as part of a large family with three sisters and four brothers, and she is now married with one son and one daughter. From an early age Nada was interested in exploring our planet, so when it came to choosing an academic path she decided to study geology and learn about the outer compositions of the Earth’s surface. She earned her BSc in geology with honors in 1995 at Khartoum University in Sudan.

Her first chance to study the deep Earth came when she joined the Faculty of Solid Earth Physics at the University of Bergen in Norway, where she worked toward her master’s degree in geophysics. She is particularly interested in earthquakes, and she notes that although earthquakes can cause great damage to humans, they can also yield valuable information about the deeper Earth—information that may one day lead to a greater understanding of the phenomena.

Nada intends to obtain a PhD degree in seismology working under the Africa Array program between the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and The Pennsylvania State University in the United States.

In her research, Nada will investigate the seismic velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle in Sudan using seismograms from local, regional and teleseismic earthquakes recorded by the Sudan Seismic Network (SSN). The results of her research will provide the first seismic estimates of crustal thickness and velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle for many parts of Sudan.

Since little is currently known about the structure of the crust and upper mantle in that area of the world, her research may be of great value to the SSN, who may be able to obtain accurate locations of earthquakes.


Farhana JABEEN


DegreePhD in Distributed and Adaptive Systems

ExpertiseComputer Science

Research FocusAd-Hoc Wireless Sensor Networks



Farhana Jabeen was born in rural Pakistan and raised in the city of Rawalpindi.

After beginning her academic studies in mathematics, statistics and economics, she found her calling in computer science and earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees in that field at the University of Peshawar. During her career as a lecturer and project director at Fatima Jinnah Women University, she deployed and managed the university intranet (using fiber optics in the backbone). Later on she earned her master’s degree in software engineering at the National University of Science and Technology, Pakistan. She then went on to earn PhD in computer science at the University of Manchester. This year she has successfully defended her PhD and went back to her country.

Her research was on distributed spatial analysis over wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which are collections of spatially distributed nodes equipped with sensing, communication and processing capabilities. Sensor nodes can be considered small computers, but they are extremely resource-constrained in terms of communication, power, storage and computational resources. The spectrum of applications for WSNs spans multiple domains. In the environmental sciences they are on the way to becoming an essential technology for monitoring the natural environment and for modeling the dynamic behaviour of transient physical phenomena over space. By spatial analysis, she means the ability to explore topological relationships between spatially-referenced entities (e.g., whether mist intersects a vineyard or is disjoint from it) and to derive representations grounded on such relationships (e.g., the geometrical extent of that part of a vineyard that is covered by mist).

Her contributions enable the high-level specification of expressive spatial analysis over WSNs. Her research showed that WSNs can be used effectively as spatial information systems. She believes her research will open the gateway towards this direction.

Patricia ILLOLDI-RANGEL

Home CountryMexico

DegreePost-Doctorate in Biodiversity

ExpertiseEmergent Diseases and Conservation

Research FocusLyme Disease

Host UniversityThe University of Texas at Austin, United States


Patricia Illoldi-Rangel, the eldest of three siblings, was born and raised in Mexico City. She is married. She has traveled extensively throughout the United States and loves nature and the outdoors.

Patricia received her undergraduate degree in biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1994 along with two awards for achieving the best grades during undergraduate studies.

While working as a biology teacher at the middle and high school levels, she earned her MSc in ecology at UNAM in 1998 and her PhD in biological sciences from the same institution in 2005. In addition, she earned her MSc from the Technological University of Monterrey in 2009, and she was enrolled as a post-doctoral student at the Biodiversity and Biocultural Laboratory of The University of Texas at Austin in the United States.

Patricia’s post-doctoral research focus was in the field of emergent diseases in Mexico. Using state-of-the-art technology such was remote sensing, climate change scenarios and niche modeling, she is working to identify potential areas where Lyme disease can appear. Using systematic conservation planning, she was also attempting to identify areas where potential reservoirs for Lyme disease can be found.

The results of her research may provide useful information about different climate change scenarios and actions to be taken in strategic health campaigns.

Patricia is an experienced biology teacher in Mexico and intends to continue teaching in her chosen field.


Grace OFORI-SARPONG

Home CountryGhana

DegreePhD in Energy and Mineral Engineering

ExpertiseBiohydrometallurgy and Environmental Biotechnology

Research FocusEnhancing Gold Extraction from Refractory Gold Ores



Grace Ofori-Sarpong was born and raised in Ghana, and she is the highest educated person in her family.

Grace earned her undergraduate degree (honors) in 1998 in metallurgical engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, where in 2002 she also obtained her MSc in environmental resources management. In 2006, she was admitted into a graduate program in energy and mineral engineering at the Pennsylvania State University and was awarded PhD in 2010.

Gold is a major income earner for Ghana, which has large reserves of refractory ores and hosts two of the largest bio-oxidation plants in the world. Refractory gold ores contain sulfides and carbonaceous matter and require pre-treatment to oxidize these minerals and free the metal before gold leaching. Sulfide minerals encapsulate fine gold particles, and carbonaceous matter adsorbs gold during leaching, resulting in low gold extraction. Traditional treatment methods, such as roasting and pressure oxidation are expensive and/or create operational risk and environmental pollution. As well, bacteria oxidation is used in the decomposition of the sulfides, but the organisms are not able to oxidize the carbons. Finding solutions to the refractory problem in gold extraction is therefore an area of high research interest.

Using fungi in her doctoral research, she has developed a ‘one pot’ process that simultaneously oxidizes sulfides to liberate gold for dissolution, and deactivates carbonaceous matter and prevent it from picking up the dissolved gold. This process is cost-effective, technically simple and environmentally friendly.

She began lecturing in 2002 and has been motivating young girlsto enter the fields of science, technology and mathematics. Afterobtaining her PhD, she has resumed lecturing at the University of Mines and Technology in Ghana. Grace is also actively involved in research and service to the community.

Premaladha PODDUTOORI

Home CountryIndia

DegreePost-Doctorate in Organic Chemistry and Materials Science

ExpertiseOrganic Chemistry and Materials Science

Research FocusHighly Efficient Systems for Solar Fuel Generation

Host UniversityNorthwestern University, United States


Premaladha Poddutoori was born in Eraiyur, a small village in India. She has one brother. Both of her parents were teachers.

After earning her BSc in physical sciences (chemistry, physics and mathematics) at Madras University in 1996, Premaladha obtained her master’s degree in chemical sciences at Pondicherry University in 1999 and her doctorate in bio-inorganic chemistry at Hyderabad University in 2006. She is now a post-doctoral researcher in organic chemistry and materials science at Northwestern University in the United States, where her research focus is on highly efficient systems for solar fuel generation.

Photosynthesis is the most important biological process on earth. It converts sunlight into energy-rich fossil fuels. However, the rate of fossil fuel production is about 500,000 times slower than our current consumption rates. As a result, our energy reserves are progressively decreasing. Moreover, the continued use of fossil fuel produces harmful effects such as pollution and greenhouse gases. Hence, it is clear that sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources need to be developed.

Solar energy is the only source with sufficient capacity to meet our projected energy needs. The energy supply from the sun to the earth is 3´1024 J/year, or about 104 times more than what humans currently consume.

Premaladha is looking at porphyrin and perylene derivatives as potential candidates to tap this huge source of energy and to utilize it for solar cells based on the concepts of natural photosynthesis. Solar energy (fuel) produced by artificial photosynthesis using abundant, inexpensive raw materials such as water and carbon dioxide can be economical and environmentally beneficial.

When she completes her post-doctoral research, Premaladha plans to teach at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology.


María del Carmen RODRÍGUEZ-VALLARTE

Home CountryMexico

DegreePost-Doctorate in Mathematics

ExpertiseLie Algebras and Lie Superalgebras

Research FocusNatural Generalizations of Heisenberg Lie Algebras



María del Carmen Rodríguez-Vallarte was born in Mexico and grew up in Puebla, a beautiful colonial city in that country. Her parents and sister always supported and encouraged her academic interests. Now she is happy to combine a professional and personal life with the support of her husband and daughter.

As an undergraduate in mathematics, she participated in a summer session at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey on the topic of representation theory of Lie groups. She graduated with a BSc in mathematics in 2000 from the University of the Americas in Puebla and earned her mathematics MSc in 2003 from the Research Center for Mathematics (CIMAT) in Guanajuato, Mexico. In 2008 she obtained her PhD in mathematics at CIMAT. Her specialization areas are Lie algebras and Lie superalgebras. In 2010 she was a Post-doctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She has recently joined a Mexican academic institution, the Universidad Autonoma De San Luis Potosi (UASLP) as a full time teacher and researcher. She expects to motive young students to pursue scientific careers.

In mathematics, a Lie algebra (named after Sophus Lie, a prominent mathematician) is an algebraic structure used in studying geometric objects such as Lie groups and differentiable manifolds. Lie algebras were introduced to study the concept of infinitesimal transformations. Her research seeks to determine the existence of invariant geometric structures and superstructures in certain classes of solvable Lie algebras and Lie superalgebras. In her doctoral research she studied Heisenberg Lie algebras, which have received special attention in physics as they provide an isomorphic image of the so-called canonical commutation relations in quantum mechanics. Heisenberg Lie superalgebras provide a way to generalize the former when super-symmetric principles are involved. María aims to study natural generalizations of Heisenberg Lie algebra within the category of finite dimensional complex Lie superalgebras. Her interests include representation theory, mathematical physics and differential geometry.

Betty PURWANDARI


DegreePhD in Web Science

ExpertiseWeb Science

Research FocusImpact of Mobile Web on Emerging Economies



Betty Purwandari was born in Bandung, Indonesia. She is married to an industrial engineer; and they have a 13-year old son and a 9-year old daughter.

After earning her undergraduate degree in computer science at the University of Indonesia, she obtained Chevening awards from the British government to pursue an MSc in data communications, networks and distributed systems at University College London. She is now doing her PhD in Web Science at the University of Southampton.

She is developing the Model of Mobile Web Uptake (MMWU) to measure the impact of accessing the Web from mobile phones on people in emerging economies. Her goal is to identify and evaluate the interplay between the mobile Web and its stakeholders in the developing world. The model is crucial to enable the advancement of mobile Web technology and to anticipate the potential impact on society. In developing countries, mobile phones are often the only means of communication, as landlines are usually rare. Besides many mobile phones are more affordable than PCs or notebooks. Moreover, mobile handsets do not consume much electricity, a problem in developing nations.

Betty’s PhD is closely related to the research agendas of the Web Science Trust, Web Foundation and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)-Mobile Web for Social Development (MW4D) Interest Group. They work hand in hand to understand the Web and explore new ideas with interdisciplinary approach, leverage the Web for social and economic change, as well as to advance the Web on mobile phones to bridge digital divide and serve under privileged populations in developing countries.

She intends to teach and continue Web science research at the University of Indonesia, collaborating with other Web science labs worldwide


Korakot SOMBATMANKHONG

Home CountryThailand

DegreePhD in Chemical Engineering

ExpertiseFuel Cells

Research Focus Micro-Fabrication Techniques for Micro-Fuel Cells



Korakot Sombatmankhong was born in Nakhonsawan, Thailand and raised in Chiang Mai as the youngest of three daughters.

After graduating from Chiang Mai University in 2004 with a BSc with first-class honors in industrial chemistry, she obtained her MSc in 2006 in polymer science at the Petroleum and Petrochemical College in Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. After being awarded a Royal Thai scholarship she earned another MSc in chemical engineering at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, where she graduated in 2007. In the same year she enrolled in a PhD program in chemical engineering at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Korakot notes that worldwide energy consumption has been rapidly increasing and that the majority of our energy needs continue to be met by the combustion of fossil fuels, which has resulted in an increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide linked to global warming. Depletion of the world’s limited fossil fuel reserves provides further motivation for the development of a novel technology to harness alternative sources of energy with minimal or no pollutant emissions. Korakot sees fuel cell technology as a possible solution, and in her research she is exploring the merits of micro-fabrication techniques to develop highly efficient micro-fuel cells—particularly fuel cells aimed at replacing batteries in portable devices such as cordless tools, mobile phones, laptops, camcorders and digital cameras. She is investigating the use of alternative electro-catalytic materials to increase cell performance, and has identified as a key target the use of porous materials to increase the available surface area in small, portable devices.

When she completes her studies, Korakot intends to become a researcher in Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency, which is part of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and she plans to teach at Chulalongkorn University.

Euis Tintin YUNINGSIH


DegreePhD in Geology

ExpertiseEconomic Geology

Research FocusEpithermal Gold, Silver and Base Metal Mineralization in West Java, Indonesia

Host UniversityHokkaido University, Japan


Euis Tintin Yuningsih was born and raised in Bandung, Indonesia as the youngest of three brothers and one sister.

She completed her BSc in geology in 1999 at Padjadjaran University (UNPAD) and began working as a junior lecturer in the Geology Faculty’s Petrology and Mineralogical Laboratory of UNPAD in 2001. In 2003 she obtained her MSc from the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB). In September 2011, she gained her PhD from Hokkaido University, Japan and will start post-doctoral research there soon.

During her PhD she studied Arinem deposit, a new prospect of gold-silver deposit discovered in West Java, Indonesia. Even thought Arinem deposit has low content of gold, some interesting mineralogy was found and described during Euis’ studies. The Late Miocene Arinem deposit contains silver- and gold-bearing tellurium minerals associated with abundant of base metals. This study documents the complex of mineralogy, geochemistry and water-rock interactions in Au- Ag- Te-bearing hydrothermal system.

During her post-doctoral research, Euis will study the characteristics of the Se- and Te-types mineralization in Japan and compare it with this kind of deposit in Western Java. Both Indonesia and Japan have similar tectonic setting, as part of the southwest Pacific Rim plate margins of the gold-copper mineralization, formed in subduction related I-type vulcaniplutonic arcs. The results of this research will help to provide a genetic model of the Se- and Te-types deposit that has important implications for the future exploration. It can be used to assist exploration target within other area in Indonesia. This research may be applied to track the continuity and possibility of the similar deposit in other places in Indonesia.

After completing her post doctoral studies, Euis plans to continue working as a lecturer at the Faculty of Padjadjaran University in Bandung.


FELLOWS2008


Suma ADINDLA

Home CountryIndia

DegreePhD in Computer Science

ExpertiseComputer Engineering

Research Focus Information Retrieval in Natural Language Processing

Host UniversityUniversity of Essex, United Kingdom


Suma Adindla was born at Deverkonda in Andhra Pradesh, India, where she grew up with her two sisters and one brother.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Technology degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) in 2004, she worked as a lecturer in an engineering college before being accepted to a software engineering program at JNTU. She received her master’s degree in 2007. She is now a doctoral student at the University of Essex studying computer science.

At the University of Essex, her research goal is to develop methods for information retrieval and to help develop novel systems for human-computer interactions in real-time applications. She is interested in the information retrieval aspects of Natural Language Processing (NLP), an area of Artificial Intelligence concerned with software that will analyze, understand and generate languages that humans can use naturally—she says that eventually we will be able to address our computers as though we were addressing a person.

Web search engines are built for helping web users to locate information quickly and efficiently. Despite the fact that search engines provide assistance in locating information, the main difficulties remains the ambiguity and uncertainty involved in matching information needs against documents which might satisfy those needs. A possible solution is the application of natural language dialogue systems, an area that is becoming increasingly prominent in the field of natural language processing. Dialogue Systems aim at conversing with a human using a logical and articulate structure. They have been shown to work well over structured knowledge sources. However, it remains to be seen if they can be usefully employed in Web search. An additional challenge is the move towards truly intelligent interaction.

When she finishes her doctorate, Suma plans to teach at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in India.

Martha Beatriz ALVAREZ-ELIZONDO

Home Country Mexico

DegreePost-Doctorate in Biomedical Optics

ExpertiseOptics

Research FocusUse of Optical Tweezers to Measure Cell Viscoelasticity

Host UniversityUniversity of California Irvine, United States


Martha Alvarez-Elizondo was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. During her academic career she has been a research assistant, teaching assistant, lecturer and painter as well as an entrepreneur.

While an undergraduate student at the Monterrey Institute of Technology (Monterrey Tech), Martha studied physics engineering, and she obtained her master’s degree in electronics systems and optics. She completed her PhD studies in information technology with a focus on biophysics at Monterrey Tech in December 2008 and is now conducting research at the University of Queensland Physical Sciences in Brisbane, Australia.

Working with the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland to learn how physics and biology can be combined to achieve applications in medicine, Martha is using optical tweezers and confocal imaging to study physical changes in cells that undergo exocytosis. Optical tweezers use a focused laser beam to provide an attractive or repulsive force to hold and move microscopic dielectric objects—they are particularly useful in studying a variety of biological systems.

Martha performs experiments using optical tweezers to measure viscoelasticity in the cells and utilizes mathematical models to understand the signals obtained from the movement of vesicles before and after stimulation of exocytosis. Changes in the dynamics of vesicles due to viscosity variation caused by drugs or cellular processes can be an early indicator of disease, since these cytoskeleton changes occur right at the onset of the disease. Her work may help in our understanding of the altered neuronal activity associated with learning and memory, along with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.

Martha plans to pursue post-doctoral research in the UnitedStates and then to apply for a teaching position at MonterreyInstitute of Technology in Mexico.


Ruth AMUTA AISABOKHAE

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePhD in Agricultural Economics

ExpertiseAgriculture

Research FocusWest African Agricultural Trade and Competitiveness



Ruth Amuta Aisabokhae was born in Kaduna, Nigeria where she lived until the age of five when her family moved to Makurdi. Both of her parents work in an academic environment, and education plays a pivotal role in the values of her family.

She began teaching in 2002 after obtaining her bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Agriculture in Makurdi, where she earned first-class honors and the Best Graduating Student award. She met her husband while studying for her master’s degree at the University of Reading, United Kingdom in 2004 and 2005, and they now have a daughter and a son.

She is studying for her PhD in agricultural economics at Texas A&M University in the United States. Her research topic is “Implications of Trade Policy Reform and Debt Cancellations on the Competitiveness of West African Agriculture in the International Market using Computable General Equilibrium Analysis.” Recommendations based on this analysis will give insight into World Trade Organization structuring and possible directions for future policy reform within the emerging and developing economies of West Africa.

Her research is important in the development of West African trade and Ruth believes that in the long run her research will make a difference for trade opportunities and commerce for West African women. She is also currently working on the implications of climate change adaptation and designing an optimal mix of effective climate change responses in agriculture.

The University of Agriculture in Makurdi, where she intends to continue teaching, is a science-only institution where approximately 8% of students are female. She has returned to her hometown twice since receiving the Faculty for the Future grant to organize motivational and empowering conferences for young ladies attending her home university.

Jeanne Therese Hilario ANDRES

Home Country Philippines


ExpertiseChemical Engineering

Research FocusCarbon Dioxide Capture and Storage



Jeanne Therese Hilario Andres is a Filipino chemical engineer who has worked as a university faculty instructor and research assistant, as well as a youth worker, trainer, singer, writer, editor and environmental educator. Her distinctions include:BSc in Chemical Engineering (Magna cum laude), ranked 1st out of 59 graduates, University of Santo Tomas; Third Place (nationwide rank) in the Philippine Chemical Engineering Licensure Examinations; Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines.

She is pursuing doctoral research as a Clare Hall student in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. Her research on carbon dioxide sequestration seeks to study, predict and model the effects of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS), a climate change mitigation technology currently being employed to re-inject waste carbon dioxide from industrial sources back into subsea surfaces, spent oil and gas fields, or deep geological formations. She has developed and utilized a mathematical model to understand and simulate the long-term fate of captured carbon dioxide in saline aquifers. She supervises graduating chemical engineering students in conducting experimental CCS-related research projects, and designs and performs experiments to validate her simulation results and to further extend knowledge of subsurface fluid behavior in porous media. Advanced study of CCS technology as a current climate change mitigation method is relevant, not only for predicting timescales for complete CO2 dissolution and leakage potential as well as for optimizing resources and storage capacities, but also to increase knowledge about other unintentional chemical emissions discharged into subsurface geological formations.

She plans to conduct regular teaching visits to the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Engineering in the Philippines, while maintaining academic ties with the University of Cambridge to establish long-term research linkages and collaborations between the two institutions.


Isil AYRANCI KILINÇ

Home Country Turkey

DegreePost-Doctorate in Combustion Diagnostics


Research FocusCombustion Characteristics of Liquid Fuel Injectors



Isil Ayranci Kilinç is a senior research associate at Cambridge University, United Kingdom. Her research in combustion diagnostics and thermoacoustics is on low-emission fuel injection technologies for next generation aero-engines. She has been conducting research at the Cambridge High Pressure Combustion Facility since 2008.

Born in 1978 in Ankara, Turkey, Isil completed a French-Turkish joint doctoral program in 2007, receiving a doctorate in thermal and energy science from INSA Lyon and a doctorate in chemical engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, She was honored with international recognition including the 2007 Young Scientist Award in Radiative Transfer from Elsevier; METU 2007 Best Thesis Award from Mustafa Parlar Foundation; and 2007 Best Dissertation Award in Physics and Materials Science from the EADS Foundation in France.

When she returns to Turkey Isil plans to become a faculty member at one of the leading technical universities.

Arul Mani Shanti ARUMUGAM

Home CountryMalaysia

DegreePhD in Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering

ExpertiseGeology

Research FocusSubduction Zone Earthquake-Triggered Tremors



Arul Mani Shanthi Arumugam is from Malaysia.

Her research focus is on subduction zone earthquakes, the related tremors and damages with particular emphasis on Malaysia in general and specifically on West Malaysia which is a peninsula. Malaysia is situated within the “Pacific Ring of Fire” area, which is surrounded by many subduction zones and is prone to large and potentially devastating earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This area is also home to earthquakes that have high potential to generate big tsunamis along with strong aftershocks and tremors.

Her research aims to document and process regional seismic data from all relevant authorities; to characterize and categorize the types of tremors affecting West Malaysia; to identify the geology and localities likely to be more affected by tremors; to model ground failures and structural damage; and to develop a predictive equation for subduction zone earthquake-triggered tremors for West Malaysia. The scope involves using existing ground motion predicting equations (GMPE) from countries with similar tectonic settings; its suitability is tested against local seismic data. Statistical analyses are carried out and modifications are suitably made to the GMPE.

Her research will lead to a better understanding of these tremors and their effects. She hopes to develop better methods to alert authorities about high-risk areas and structures, and to provide advice about hazard management and measures. As well as helping to mitigate damage, her research will educate the public about earthquakes and tremors; minimizing panic, chaos and paranoia. In addition to her career in academia, Arul hopes to be in a position to approach the government to set up an independent body for an earthquake and tremor control centre for Malaysia, and eventually for the entire south-east Asia region. She hopes for a successful career in lecturing and researching in earthquake related fields. She too plans to keep contributing to the development of women in Malaysia.


Folasade Mojisola DAHUNSI

Home CountryNigeria


ExpertiseElectrical Engineering

Research FocusAccuracy of Location- Based Services

Host UniversityUniversity of the Witwatersrand, South Africa


A PhD student at the School of Electrical and InformationEngineering in the University of the Witwatersrand inJohannesburg, South Africa, Folasade is a member of theCentre for Telecommunication Access and Services (CETAS) research group. This group is focused on research intelecommunication access and services and has one ofthe best convergence laboratories in Africa geared towardresearch and teaching for Next Generation Networks andNetwork Convergence.

In her research Folasade is seeking to determine the accuracy of Location-Based Services (LBS). She is working to develop a model that can be employed to estimate the accuracy of positioning techniques offered by LBS providers based on the topology, mobile-wireless environment and other parameters of the mobile network.

Her work will assist in optimizing the infrastructure of mobile operators and their mobile user devices (legacy and modern), and it will provide improved serviced quality for users. Her research will have a significant impact on anywhere, anytime services, which are widely expected to become ubiquitous in the future as we move toward a more converged world.

Folasade is currently rounding off her research work and will be returning to her academic duties with the Federal University of Technology Akure in Nigeria where as a full-time academic staff member she enjoys the opportunity to not only teach but also to mentor, motivate and provide counsel to her students.

Nana Ama Kum BROWNE

Home CountryGhana

DegreePhD in Environmental and Geographical Science

ExpertisePhysics

Research FocusClimate Prediction Systems

Host UniversityUniversity of Cape Town, South Africa


Nana Browne was born in Saltpond, Ghana but hails from Nyanfeku Ekroful. She is married with a son.

While attending Anomabu Methodist Primary and Junior Secondary School in Saltpond, Nana’s father and teachers encouraged her to pursue an academic career in physics.

She obtained her bachelor’s degree in physics in 2003 from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, and her master’s degree in physics from the same institution in 2006. Following the first year of her PhD studies at the University of Cape Coast, Nana was admitted to a doctoral program in Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she is now applying her interest in physics and mathematics in the area of climate science.

Extreme weather events such as cyclones, hurricane, severe storms and heat waves remain a threat to society. In addition to destroying lives and property, these events can lead to food shortages and to outbreak of disease.

To make weather forecasts more reliable, forecasters have started using results from many climate models instead of only one. Nana’s research tests the capability of climate models in producing seasonal forecasts of extreme events. She investigates the best way to combine the results of these models to produce more reliable forecasts.

Although her research focuses on Africa, if she is successful in developing a reliable seasonal climate prediction it would contribute to global climate prediction systems.

Nana has returned back to the University of Cape Coast in Ghana after her PhD studies in South Africa. She is of the opinion that girls should be encouraged at the basic level to build their interest in science.


Zoila Luz EPOSSI NTAH

Home CountryCameroon

DegreePhD in Archaeometry

ExpertiseChemistry

Research FocusProduction Techniques and Provenance of Ancient Ceramics from Cameroon

Host UniversityUniversity of Leipzig, Germany


Zoila Luz Epossi Ntah is from Cameroon in Central Africa, where for several years she has been teaching secondary courses in chemistry and physics. She obtained her Secondary School Teacher Certificate and her Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies (the equivalent of a Master of Science degree in the English-speaking university system) from the University of Yaounde in Cameroon.

She is now pursuing her doctorate in archaeometry at the University of Leipzig in Germany. Her research objective is to understand the production technique and the provenance of ancient ceramics (pottery) using analytical methods. In Cameroon the ceramics industry has a long history, and the richness of pottery artifacts in archaeological sites provides great opportunities for research.

Using non-destructive methods (3D laser scanner, 3D X-ray computed tomography) and destructive methods (X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, polarized light microscopy, differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry) to study ancient pottery shards, Zoila looks at the provenance (local production or imported), mineralogy, microstructure, firing temperature, firing atmosphere, firing system, molding techniques, age, surface treatment, tools and techniques of ornaments. Local raw materials are examined for chemical and mineralogical composition and thermal decomposition along with physical properties such as mineralogy and microstructure of the fired products to compare them with the analyzed shards.

Her research focusing on the cultural heritage of her country requires a great deal of cooperation between archaeologists and natural scientists (chemists, geologists, petrographists, mineralogists and physicists), and constitutes a great contribution to the knowledge of the archaeology of Cameroon.

Zoila plans to teach at the University of Yaounde or at the University of Douala.

Dawn FOX

Home CountryGuyana



Research FocusEnvironmentally Friendly Water Filters Using Cactus Mucilage

Host UniversityUniversity of South Florida, United States


Dawn Fox was born in Bartica, Guyana, as the eldest of three children. Along with her brother and sister she grew up in many places, spending much of her childhood in Bartica and Caracas, Venezuela. She and her husband share a love of teaching.

Dawn’s decision to pursue a career in chemical sciences was supported by two strong female role models—her mother, who inspired her to be strong and independent and not to set limits on her goals, and a female chemistry teacher whose courses sharpened her analytical reasoning skills and whose encouragement gave her self-confidence.

In August 1994 the tailings pond of Omai Gold Mines Guyana Ltd. suffered a breach and spilled cyanide-containing waste water into the Omai and Essequibo rivers adversely affecting the environment and the livelihoods of downstream riverain communities including Bartica. This event became a major factor in Dawn’s decision to focus her research on remediation of contaminated water resources. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at the University of Guyana in 1997, and subsequently completed her master’s degree in chemical and materials engineering at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She returned home to take up a teaching appointment in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Guyana.

Currently enrolled in a doctoral program in chemical engineering at the University of South Florida in the United States, Dawn is researching ways to safely remove arsenic from groundwater using cactus mucilage. Using a combination of molecular spectroscopy and analytical spectrometric techniques to examine the interaction between the mucilage and arsenic, her research goal is to develop a safe and environmentally friendly water filter to remove arsenic and other contaminants from groundwater.

Upon completion of her doctorate Dawn plans to resume teaching and research at the University of Guyana.


Nada HASHMI


DegreePhD in Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

ExpertiseHealthcare Information and Communication Technologies

Research FocusTechnologies for Remote Health Care



Nada Hashmi is originally from Pakistan but grew up in Saudi Arabia. In her spare time she enjoys horseback riding, photography and learning about different cultures and traditions.

Nada graduated from Washington College, Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude) degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude) degree in math. She obtained her master’s degree in computer science from the University of Maryland and in September 2008 she began working toward her PhD in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

At MIT her research focuses on developing and setting up remote technologies that help city hospitals communicate with village clinics in developing and emerging economies. Generally, doctors do not relocate to villages, and government spending is not aimed at rural health care development. As such, the quality of the health care system in villages is lacking and insufficient to accommodate local villagers. Telemedicine and remote diagnosis, in conjunction with other healthcare information and communication technologies, can alleviate the problem by raising the quality of health care at the villages to provide effective remote diagnosis. Nada’s research aims to bridge the gap between city hospitals and villages in emerging economies by developing affordable health care solutions using technology.

Nada is passionate about using education to empower individuals to help themselves and the society around them. When she graduates from MIT, she plans to teach in Saudi Arabia.

Tendai GADZIKWA



ExpertiseChemistry

Research FocusDesign and Synthesis of Supramolecular Catalysts

Host UniversityUniversity of Amsterdam, The Netherlands


Tendai Gadzikwa was born the third of four children in Kariba, a small resort town in Zimbabwe, but grew up in Harare, the capital city. Over the last two decades while the economic and social situation in Zimbabwe changed drastically Tendai’s family grew through adoption—she now has a total of eight siblings.

The deteriorating education system in Zimbabwe forced Tendai to pursue post-secondary education abroad. She obtained her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2003, and her doctoral degree in chemistry at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She is currently pursuing post-doctoral research at the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands.

Tendai’s research focus at Northwestern was directly related to sustainable technologies. Her doctoral thesis work involved the design and synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)— materials with applications in hydrogen storage, gas separations and catalysis.

In Amsterdam, she has turned her focus towards the synthesis of supramolecular catalysts that mimic enzymes. Catalysts are known to reduce the cost, in both time and energy, of reactions. However, they can also be used to guarantee the formation of only one type of product, out of the several that are possible. This ability is termed selectivity, and the most selective catalysts known are enzymes. Tendai is constructing structures that may be considered artificial enzymes, and is applying them to the catalysis of industrially relevant processes.

Tendai says that while the past several years abroad have been extremely fruitful, she misses home and family and this has made her passionate about improving higher education institutions in her region. She plans to teach at a university in southern Africa.


Saira HASHMI


DegreeDoctor of Design (DDes)

ExpertiseWater Resources

Research FocusDesigning Water Infrastructure and Water Policy Resource Management Issues in United Arab Emirates



Saira Hashmi is originally from Pakistan but grew up in Saudi Arabia. In her leisure time she enjoys glass painting, photography and working out.

After obtaining her undergraduate degree in civil engineering at the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, Pakistan, Saira obtained her master’s degree in environmental engineering at Harvard University in the United States. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Design degree in the Harvard Graduate School of Design with a focus in designing water infrastructure.

Her research at Harvard involves designing an optimal water infrastructure model for sustainable cities that embodies the culture and the environment. She is focusing on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region especially the Abu Dhabi region in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which is facing water scarcity issues. Saira is developing a model that will integrate all sources and uses of water, including rainfall, groundwater and surface water, water treatment, reuse and recycling of water, alternate technologies and the quality of water received from desalination plants along with environmental, social, economic and political constraints and policies.

Her objective is to help in maximizing reuse of water sources and minimizing water consumption by investing in appropriate and efficient water-saving technologies along with unconventional water resources within the city. Her proposed model will provide different cost analyses of newly available technologies and may be used to minimize investments in water management systems and to maximize social benefits. This will help in pricing water and in the evaluation of future water demands. While based on the city of Abu Dhabi, her model is applicable at a global level and is particularly appropriate for emerging and developing economies.

Saira plans to teach in Saudi Arabia after her graduation from Harvard.

Jenny HO


DegreePost-Doctorate in Bioengineering

ExpertiseChemical Engineering and Bioengineering

Research FocusGenetic Therapeutics

Host UniversityMonash University, Australia


Jenny Ho is the eldest child in a family of five. She was born and raised in Malaysia, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering with first-class honors from the University of Technology Malaysia.

Since a young age she has pursued academic excellence with diligence, and this passion is reflected in the academic laurels she has earned. She received several scholarships during her bachelor and PhD studies, best poster and travel awards and was named best graduating student in chemical engineering.

Her ultimate aim is to combine engineering and medical knowledge to improve human health care and quality of life. Throughout her PhD studies she has been recognized as innovative, productive and solution-oriented through the publication of papers in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals and her presentations at several national and international conferences.

Jenny’s research focus is in the area of genetic therapeutics and targeting delivery especially for DNA vaccines and protein biopharmaceuticals. The central aim of her research is to develop feasible and scalable production methods to reliably produce therapeutic products that facilitate the cellular uptake of biopharmaceuticals such as plasmid DNA and antibodies for infectious diseases and cancer therapies.

Jenny intends to pursue her dream of developing frontier science and technology products to improve the well being of humankind. With the experience and expertise she has obtained, she hopes to help advance biotechnology research in her home country and in the world.

When she completes her current studies Jenny plans to work as a post-doctoral fellow to gain related research experience, then to teach at the Monash University campus in Malaysia.


Kissa KULWA


DegreePhD in Applied Biological Sciences

ExpertiseConsumer Sciences and Human Nutrition

Research FocusInfant and Young Child Growth and Micronutrient Intake

Host UniversityGhent University, Belgium


Kissa Kulwa has one child, two sisters and one brother. She enjoys reading, cooking, travelling, meeting people and learning their culture.

After obtaining her Bachelor of Science degree in 1995, Kissa completed her Master of Science degree in applied human nutrition in 2001 at the Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, University of Nairobi, Kenya. She joined the Sokoine University of Agriculture in December 2001 as an assistant lecturer in the Department of Food Science and Technology, and was promoted to lecturer in 2005.

Kissa won a Best Final Year Student award in home economics and human nutrition in 1995, and a Best Overall Staff award in her department in 2005 and 2007. She entered a PhD program at Ghent University in 2008. Her PhD research focus is on infant and young child growth and micronutrient intake in rural Tanzania.

She is particularly interested in investigating the extent to which seasonal variation in food consumption patterns influences nutrient intake and growth; and in the effectiveness of a food-based approach in improving quality of complementary meals, dietary adequacy, and growth of rural children. Her work involves an assessment of feeding practices, consumption patterns and dietary adequacy; an assessment of growth patterns; a determination of nutritional content of key meals; and the formulation of recipes and educational messages promoting increased nutrient intake.

Since under-nutrition is an underlying cause of nearly 60% of child deaths in Tanzania, she hopes that understanding behaviors and motivations influencing early feeding will help in developing effective and sustainable nutrition interventions.

Upon completion of her doctoral program, Kissa intends to continue teaching at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania.

Edu INAM

Home CountryNigeria


ExpertiseGroundwater Monitoring

Research FocusEnvironmental Monitoring and Risk Assessment

Host UniversityGwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea (South Korea)


Edu Inam received her PhD in chemistry from Loughborough University, United Kingdom in 2005. She has participated in a variety of professional training programs in the United Kingdom and at the United Nations University in Japan. She recently completed a three-year post-doctoral study program at the International Environmental Research Centre, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in Korea.

During her post-doc studies Edu was involved in several research projects including international collaborative research on the impact of climate change on water quality in southeast Asia. This afforded her the opportunity to work with scientists in various disciplines from eight southeast Asian countries.

Edu initiated and carried out a joint research project on geochemical distribution of trace element concentrations in the vicinity of the Boroo gold mine in Mongolia, working with the National Agency for Meteorological and Environmental Monitoring in that country. Her work was accepted for publication in a special edition of the Journal of Environmental Geochemistry and Health. Edu’s research on concentrations of trace elements in ground water and packaged water in Akwa Ibom state in Nigeria was published by the Korean Society for Geosystems Engineering in its Geosystems Engineering Journal.

After completing her post-doctorate studies Edu returned to Nigeria where she is teaching at the University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom State. She is seeking funding to establish a research group within the Department of Chemistry with a focus on environmental monitoring and risk assessment of hazardous chemicals.

Edu has mentored several female students from Thailand, Mongolia, Vietnam and Nigeria.


Elizabeth MARTÍNEZ GÓMEZ

Home CountryMexico

DegreePost-Doctorate in Astrostatistics

ExpertiseAstronomy

Research FocusPlanetary Sciences and Application of Statistics to Astronomy and Astrophysics



Elizabeth Martínez Gómez is from Mexico City and lived there until she took a post-doctoral position at Penn State University.

Elizabeth began her academic career in the School of Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where she obtained her bachelor degree in physics in 2001, and her masters degree in 2003. She received a diploma in applied statistics in 2005, a doctorate in space physics in 2007, and a diploma in econometrics in 2009, all at the same university.

After starting her post-doctoral research at the Institute of Astronomy at UNAM, she is now continuing it in the Center of Astrostatistics at The Pennsylvania State University in the United States. As a researcher, Elizabeth has wide-ranging interests, from solid state physics to computing and statistics. Her main research focuses on the application of statistical methodologies to problems in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

At the Center of Astrostatistics she is learning advanced statistical methods and applying them to several problems. For example, she is analyzing the relationship between exoplanets and their host stars because it is important to find suitable constraints for planet-formation models. On the other hand she is studying the solar activity and terrestrial climate connection.

Elizabeth has attended numerous national and international conferences, and in 2010 she was distinguished as a candidate of the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI) in her home country. In 2011 she is the organizer of an invited paper session devoted to Astrostatistics at the Joint Statistical Meeting.

Elizabeth has taught many courses in the undergraduate and graduate levels at her home institution, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and she intends to return to teaching and doing research there. One of her dreams is to create an Astrostatistics group, which would be the first of its type.

Emily Benice Ngubia KURIA

Home CountryKenya

DegreePhD in Medical Sciences

ExpertiseGender Studies Research, Neuroscience Research, Science and Technology Studies

Research FocusEvaluation of the Mental Rotation Task in its Role in Establishing Cognitive Gender/Sex Differences in Intellectual Capacity

Host UniversityCharité-Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany


From the time a professor told her that “physics was not a women’s playground” and recommended she change majors, Ngubia became passionate to find out why there is such a disparity between the number of women and men in Science and Technology. This led her from studying Physics at the University of Nairobi to Neurological Science at the International School of Advanced Studies in Italy, and finally to Gender Studies and General Neuroscience at the Charite University School of Medicine in Berlin. Her PhD research investigates the objectivity of empirical studies in psychology and neuroscience that continue to allude to biological roots for the gender math-gap. She is working to understand the interpretation of “gender”in within experimental designs—specifically in the Mental Rotation Task. While a student at University of Nairobi, she founded “Rise of the Eves,” a mentorship program that motivates women to achieve their dreams. Her research is important because normative attributions of sex differences can lead to dissimilarities in the way responsibilities are allocated, resources are distributed, and rights are granted because policy makers and governments make institutional awards to educational systems based on scientific interpretations.

She is a co-founder of the Ubongo Initiative, an organization that educates the Kenyan society on public health issues regarding mental health. She is a founder member of the Youth Agency for the Development of Science Technology and Innovations (YADSTI), now a registered NGO, that encourages Kenyan youth to cultivate a science culture for problem-solving. She is a founding member of the Kenya chapter of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World, and a global speaker on the disparity of women in science throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

She plans to teach at the University of Nairobi and to participate in policy-making and capacity-building exercises at a national and international level.


Paula MEJIA VELASQUEZ


DegreePhD in Botany and Geology

ExpertiseBotany

Research FocusDiversification and Radiation of Flowering Plants in Lower Cretaceous Period



Paula Mejia Velasquez was born and grew up as the eldest of three children in Medellin, Colombia. She is married, and in her spare time she loves to read, hike, dance, bike, crochet and knit.

Paula began her academic career studying biology and geology, her two great passions. She graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Antioquia in Medellin, where she also pursued athletic activities such as softball, running and rugby.

After working briefly in the private sector she obtained her master’s degree in botany in 2007 at the University of Florida in Gainesville, United States. She then was able to combine her two passions when she began to specialize in the area of paleobotany (the study of fossil plants) at the University of Florida, where she is now working toward her doctorate.

Paula’s research focus is on the diversification and radiation of flowering plants in the Lower Cretaceous period (120 million years ago) as inferred from fossil pollen. Flowering plants (angiosperms) are the dominant group of plants in most terrestrial ecosystems today. However, their origin and diversification—described by Charles Darwin as “the abominable mystery”—remains one of the major unresolved questions of science.

Paula is attempting to reconstruct the floristic composition and paleo-environmental conditions of several tropical sites during the Lower Cretaceous period. She is sampling cores in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Cameroon and Nigeria and analyzing a stratigraphic section of approximately 30 samples per site. In addition to helping determine the conditions under which flowering plants began their rapid and unparalleled process of diversification in the tropics, her research may yield clues as to how different plant groups respond to severe global warming events.

Paula plans to teach at the University of Antioquia in Colombia.

Zahiraniza MUSTAFFA



ExpertiseHydraulics, Hydrology, Probabilistic and Corrosions in Pipeline

Research FocusSystem Reliability Assessment of Offshore Pipelines

Host UniversityDelft University of Technology, The Netherlands


Zahiraniza Mustaffa, known as Zahira, was born in Perak,Malaysia in 1978. She is married to a husband who has a similar career path. They have one son.

Her first degree, a bachelor of engineering (civil) with honors, was earned in 2000 at University of Technology in Malaysia, and in 2003 she obtained her Master of Science degree in water resources engineering from the University of Alberta in Canada. Her PhD research focus is in risk-based modeling, probabilistic mechanics and optimization techniques specializing in stochastic methods. Her work on probabilistic assessment of aging marine pipelines has widespread opportunities for application, and may attract the interest of specialists in stochastic methods and offshore engineering. She hopes her research will lead to a more economic, cost effective and safe design of offshore pipelines from an inspection, maintenance and rehabilitation point of view. The results of her research, conducted under the auspices of the Petroleum National Company in Malaysia (PETRONAS), will be beneficial not only to the university but also to her country.

Zahira has chosen an academic career path because teaching satisfies her in many ways. She feels that her friendly, easy-going manner encourages students to come to her for guidance in academic as well as personal matters. In July 2007 she received an Effective Education Delivery Award. Zahira will complete her PhD study in October 2011 and continue to serve at the PETRONAS University of Technology in Malaysia, where according to Malaysia’s Minister of Women and Family Development about 8%of women are studying in science and technology at the national level.


Happy Primita NOVANDA


DegreePhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

ExpertiseElectronics and Electrical Engineering

Research FocusPower Quality Monitoring in Wind Farms



Happy Primita Novanda is a lecturer at the University of Indonesia. She has two older brothers and says that although her family had expected her to become a doctor or to go into one of the pure science fields, they nevertheless supported her decision to pursue a career in electrical engineering.

Happy obtained her first degree in electrical engineering in 2006 at the University of Indonesia, majoring in power electric. She obtained her master’s degree in technology management at The University of New South Wales in Australia. This degree taught her that while it is important to conduct research in areas of personal interest, scientists must also think about whether their research will be useful in the future, and it will have a positive impact on their communities, and how to get profit from their findings.

Her PhD research focuses on the development of intelligent network devices to monitor and control electric power in wind farms. Because Indonesia still uses non-renewable resources to generate electrical energy, she feels that it is important to develop new sources of electricity in her home country, but the difficulty of maintaining quality of electric power and of reducing losses during transmission through Indonesia’s power networks is a recurring problem.

Happy’s work in developing more accurate methods of monitoring power quality will help improve the consistency of electric power generation in wind farms. Lack of power quality, particularly in wind energy power generation, may cause unwanted distortion. Her work in monitoring power quality in wind farms is important because delivering high-quality electric power helps ensure that equipment will operate within its specifications and be reliable.

After completing her PhD, Happy plans to continue teaching in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Indonesia.

Dade NURJANAH



ExpertiseComputer Science

Research FocusCollaborative Authoring for Adaptive Learning



Dade Nurjanah was born in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia and raised in a family that valued the importance of education. Dade’s parents believed in education and taught her, along with her two brothers and sister, that it is a way of making life worthwhile.

After graduating from the Institute of Technology Bandung in Indonesia with undergraduate and graduate degrees in Informatics, Dade began teaching at Telkom Institute of Technology in Bandung. In 2008 she began her PhD in the Electronics and Computer Science School at the University of Southampton.

Her research focuses on adaptive educational hypermedia(AEH), social-semantic web technology, and computer-supported collaborative work. Dade proposed a new collaborative authoring model to develop learning resources for adaptive personalized learning systems. This advanced model supports communities of practice, general public and teachers to work collaboratively to create learning resources. Since many people with various backgrounds contribute to the authoring process, the quality of learning objects will be improved. Moreover, as the proposed model encourages authors to continuously update learning objects, the objects will always evolve, thus keeping them relevant to students’ need.

Dade believes that her PhD research is important for disseminating knowledge, improving learning quality and diminishing knowledge gaps in society.

She has been teaching at Telkom Institute of Technology in Bandung, Indonesia for several years and plans to return.


Dyah Ayu Mira OKTARINA


DegreePhD in Dermatology

ExpertiseMedicine

Research FocusPemphigus Pathogenesis

Host UniversityUniversity of Groningen, The Netherlands


Dyah Oktarina, a medical doctor who graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, comes from a simple Indonesian Javanese family. Her father, who is retired, and her mother, who works as a government employee, always supported her educational goals and motivated her to continue her studies at a higher level.

Dyah’s research focus is on pemphigus, an autoimmune blistering disease of the skin and mucous membranes caused by antibodies which form against the cell surface of keratinocytes. Her research, conducted at the Centre for Blistering Diseases in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands, involves observing the in vivo patterns of immunoglobulin depositions in the skin of patients with pemphigus.

Pemphigus is often fatal for people who are afflicted with it because they suffer from dehydration or infection. Because their skin is covered in blisters, they are at increased risk of infection, but current treatments involve the use of cortical steroids, which can repress the immune system and lower resistance to infection. Dyah hopes to relate the deposition patterns of immunoglobuline in the skin of pemphigus patients to the pemphigus pathogenesis in the hope that this will lead to the invention of new drugs and treatments that can help patients control the disease and receive a better prognosis.

She finished her studies in December 2010 and has returned to the Faculty of Medicine of Gadjah Mada University, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Yasaman SHADROKH

Home CountryIran

DegreePhD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering


Research FocusComputer-Based Simulations in Nanotechnology



Yasaman Shadrokh was born and grew up in Tehran, Iran. She says that throughout her studies she was a demanding and challenging student who never let obstacles get in the way of what she wanted.

Yasaman obtained her BSc degree in electronic and electrical engineering at Tehran Azad University in 1988 and her MSc degree from Glasgow University in the United Kingdom in 2006, graduating with distinction for her final project. She obtained her PhD in micro- and nano-technology from Imperial College London in 2010.

With rapidly improving technological capabilities and new physical transport processes, interest in nano-sized devices has increased dramatically over the last decade. The size of the control contact in these devices has been reduced to sub-100nm dimensions.

This influences some of the device performance parameters and requires a search for new materials and geometries.

Yasaman’s research uses different device simulators and analysers along with three-dimensional software to study the robustness of device structures to downscaling within the field of digital applications. Her research focus has already turned toward fabrication of the simulated device to evaluate the simulation results. She is also working on nanowires, especially the fabrication process and applications that can be used in making FET transistors.

Yasaman has published widely and presented the results of her work at several conferences. Highlights of her work published in the International Journal of High Speed Electronics received a best-paper award. She has also been teaching subjects such as mathematics and electronics and has given lectures on using the TCAD simulator to third-year undergraduate students.


Sindhu SURESH

Home CountryIndia


ExpertiseElectrical and Electronics Engineering

Research FocusRadio Frequency Power Amplifiers

Host UniversityPolytechnic University, United States


Sindhu Suresh was born in a village in the Kollam district of Kerala, India. She was the first graduate of a technical school in her village, although she was followed by her younger brother. She and her husband have one daughter.

Sindhu earned her Bachelor of Technology degree in electrical and electronics engineering in 1996 at Kerala University and her master’s degree in electrical engineering at IIT Madras in India in 1999. She is pursuing her PhD at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York as well as teaching courses there. She finished her PhD at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York with a minor in financial engineering.

Her research focuses on the design and implementation of a digitally controlled polar envelope modulator for radio frequency power amplifiers using a switch mode power supply running at switching frequencies of 100 MHz and above. Her objective is to develop a micro-meter square chip that makes wireless devices more efficient by enhancing battery life.

Switch mode power converters provide one of the most efficient methods to regulate analog and digital supplies for battery-powered radio frequency transceivers, but the conflicting requirements of higher linearity and increased power efficiency pose an enormous challenge for designers of power amplifiers.

Sindhu overcame this challenge by designing and fabricating a Buck converter with a one-cycle controller as the inner loop and a error compensator as the outer loop. The feedback\ controller is fabricated using a current conveyor model, which is a major breakthrough in electronics. Energy-efficient radio frequency power amplifiers are critical to achieving longer battery life because they dominate power consumption in wireless devices.

Sindhu says that teaching is her passion, and she is teaching in India.

Nangula Paulina UUSIKU

Home CountryNamibia

DegreePhD in Nutrition

ExpertiseNutrition

Research FocusAntioxidant Properties of African Leafy Vegetables

Host UniversityUniversity of Pretoria, South Africa


Nangula Paulina Uusiku was born and raised in Ongwediva, Namibia. She is married with one daughter.

Nangula obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture with a specialization in food science and technology from the University of Namibia in 2000, and in 2003 she graduated with a master’s degree in food science from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. She joined the University of Namibia as a lecturer in January 2003.

Currently, she has submitted her PhD thesis in nutrition at the Centre for Nutrition, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Nangula’s research focused on the antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of African leafy vegetables (ALVs), and their effects on cellular oxidative damage. Oxidative stress, which is induced by reactive oxygen species, is known to be an underlying factor in a number of chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL) such as cancers and cardiovascular diseases. Dietary antioxidants protect against free radicals in the human body, and leafy vegetables have been shown to contain antioxidant properties.

This research is important because incidences of CDL are increasing in the communities that traditionally consume ALVs. In her research, Nangula showed that traditional and indigenous ALVs have as much or more antioxidant properties than exotic vegetables; and that people in Africa, especially those from poor communities, can rely on local vegetables to improve their health.

Nangula plans to resume lecturing at the University of Namibia when she completes her studies.


Parinda VASA

Home Country India

DegreePost-Doctorate in Ultrafast Nano-Optics and Physics

ExpertisePhysics

Research FocusNano-Optics and Exciton-Plasmon Interactions in Metal Hybrid Structures

Host UniversityCarl von Ossietzky University, Germany


Parinda Vasa was born in India. Her research focus is on very small metal structures that show the remarkable property of concentrating light over extremely small regions of space. The light energy is stored in a new form of excitation known as Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs).

Plasmonics is a field in which novel devices based on SPPs are designed and investigated. It is challenging due to the extremely short SPP lifetimes and the small (nanometer) spatial scale of SPP localization. Plasmonic devices have tremendous advantages in comparison with conventional optical devices. They offer miniaturization similar to that in electronics and the potential of parallel ultrafast processing. Terabit processing rates, as compared to the conventional gigabit rates of today’s electronics, seem within reach.

However, the metal structures have high losses and hence SPPs cannot propagate through them over long distances. A possible way to overcome losses is to amplify SPPs in a gain medium similar to the method used for light in lasers. SPP Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (SPASE R) in metal-semiconductor hybrid structures is very promising. Semiconductor nanostructures (e.g. quantum wells) offer very high gain coefficients and may thus serve as SPP amplifiers. So far, such a device is only theoretically predicted.

Parinda is investigating metal-semiconductor hybrid structures for the possibility of SPP amplification and lasing. She and her colleagues have successfully observed and theoretically modeled the interaction between SPPs excited on a metal grating with excitons in a semiconductor quantum well. The possibility of forming different active and passive optical elements using such hybrid structures is also being explored.

Since 2011, she’s been an assistant professor at Institute of Technology Bombay, working on Ultrafast Nano-optics/plasmonics.


Faculty for the Future Fellows at the Forum held in Boston in 2011


FELLOWS2007


Swathi ADINDLA

Home CountryIndia

DegreePhD in Bioinformatics


Research FocusDesign of Efficient Enzymes with Novel Functions

Host UniversityYale University, United States


Swathi Adindla was born and raised in the small village of Nalgonda, India. She has two sisters and comes from a conservative family in which her father encouraged her to take up higher studies. She is married and has two daughters.

Swathi obtained her B.Sc degree with distinction in 1997 from Osmania University and then joined the University of Hyderabad, where she obtained her master’s degree in 1999, her Master of Philosophy degree in chemistry in 2001, and her PhD in bioinformatics in 2006. During her doctoral studies she was awarded junior and senior research fellowships by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a prominent scientific agency of the government of India. She also qualified for the National Eligibility Test (NET), a prerequisite for a faculty position in Indian universities.

Soon after her doctoral studies she had a brief stint as an exchange researcher in chemo-informatics at the Centre for Medical Studies and Research in Normandy (CERMN), France. In 2008 she moved to the California Institute of Technology in the United States where her research focuses on designer enzymes with novel functions. It involves the design of stable and efficient enzymes with new catalytic activities to carry out novel but desired chemical transformations of practical interest, that will have potential applications in biotechnology, biomedicine and in eco-friendly industrial processes.

While at Caltech, Swathi became involved in a research collaboration project at Yale University, where she is engineering lac repressor proteins to respond to orthogonal ligands and also designing new variants of lac repressor proteins that could be used as biosensors. Swathi is working toward her research goals at Yale using both computational and experimental approaches. When she finishes her postdoctoral studies Swathi plans to teach in her home country.

So-Hye CHO

Home CountryRepublic of Korea (South Korea)

DegreePost-Doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry

Expertise Chemistry

Research FocusElectron-Dense Labels for Use in Electron Microscope Imaging

Host UniversityThe Scripps Research Institute, United States


So-Hye Cho was born and raised in Pusan, South Korea. She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry in 1998 from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, where in 2000 she also obtained her graduate degree in organic chemistry. In 2006 she completed her doctoral studies in inorganic chemistry at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in the United States.

During her academic studies So-Hye received numerous grants and awards including a Korean-American Scientists & Engineers Association San Diego Chapter Service Award; a BP Chemicals graduate student award for excellence in environmental molecular science; Ewha alumnae award for Best Master’s Thesis in Science; and Best Graduate Student award from the Basic Science Institute at Ewha Womans University.

In her post-doctoral studies at The Scripps Research Institute in California, So-Hye worked on the development of electron dense labels for use in the electron microscopic imaging of biomolecules such as proteins. This work provides insights into the enzyme functions and molecular mechanisms of biology.

In 2009, So-Hye started her career in South Korea at Korea Institute of Science and Technoolgy (KIST) as senior researcher. There, she researches nano-particle synthesis and their photocatalytic activities.

So-Hye is active in encouraging the participation of women in science. As executive director of the national Korean-American Women in Science and Engineering (KWiSE) organization, she plans career development seminars and forums through which she encourages the participation of women professionals and female undergraduates. She has also mentored numerous undergraduate researchers and is supervising several graduate students.

So-Hye is currently a member of WISE and continues to promote science and engineering to young female students.


Maryam EIDINI-NEZHAD

Home CountryIran

Degree PhD in Civil Engineering

ExpertiseStructural Engineering

Research FocusCollapse Analysis of Structures

Host UniversityUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States


Maryam Eidini-Nezhad became interested in civil engineering while attending high school in Tehran, Iran. She has worked in an R&D institute in Tehran as a senior research engineer in the field of seismic vulnerability assessment and rehabilitation of industrial structures, and she has taught at the university level which led to her current interest in a teaching career at a university.

Maryam earned her Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic). After working for a time as a structural designer she decided to continue her studies and subsequently received her master’s degree in civil engineering with a specialization in earthquake engineering from the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES).

Maryam is pursuing a PhD in civil engineering with a specialization in structural engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States, where her research focus is on seismic response characteristics of a new lateral load resisting system.

This new and innovative concept for improved seismic performance of buildings located in all earthquake-prone areas relies on the stiffness, strength and inelastic deformation capacity of special reinforced concrete masonry panels that are attached to a conventional steel frame via novel steel connectors.

Maryam performs literature reviews and carries out exploratory studies of seismic response characteristics and non-linear dynamic analyses of structures employing different types of this new lateral load resisting system. Her research will advance our understanding of how buildings constructed with these innovative panels respond to earthquakes of varying intensities.

Ilham EL MONIER

Home CountryEgypt

DegreePhD in Petroleum Engineering

ExpertisePetroleum Engineering

Research FocusEnvironmentally Friendly Clay Stabilizers

Host University Texas A&M University, United States


Ilham El Monier was born and raised in Giza, Egypt. Married with one child, she has one sister and four brothers.

After graduating from Cairo University in 2004, Ilham obtained her master’s degree in petroleum engineering and worked as a teaching assistant for three years. She is now a PhD candidate in petroleum engineering at Texas A&M University in the United States. Ilham had four published papers in Tunisia, Qatar, the Netherlands, and Brazil through the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)conferences.

Ilham’s research focus is on clay stabilizers used to prevent fines migration and clay swelling caused by contact with low-salinity or high- pH fluids. Previous clay stabilizers have several drawbacks. Some compounds can be removed by acids, and cationic polymers can cause formation damage. Quaternary amine-based chemicals used for many years as clay stabilizers have a negative environmental profile and in some cases a short lifetime.

Ilham is helping develop new clay stabilizers that can work following acid treatment and are environmentally acceptable. Laboratory studies determined that a new Al-based clay stabilizer is very effective in mitigating fines migration. Coreflood tests showed that this new chemical, unlike previous Al-based stabilizers (hydroxy aluminum solutions), did not dissolve in acids. It worked well at high temperatures and proved to be as good as, or better than, commercial stabilizers. In addition, the new stabilizer is an inorganic-based, environmentally friendly fluid and does not have a bad odor.

When she completes her PhD, Ilham plans to teach at the University of Cairo in the Faculty of Engineering. While there are currently no female faculty members in the petroleum department at the University of Cairo, Ilham hopes to help other women obtain academic positions in petroleum-related fields.


Mayrina FIRDAYATI


DegreePhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering

ExpertiseWaste Water Treatment Systems

Research FocusRe-Use of Grey Water for Urban Agriculture

Host UniversityTechnical University of Hamburg-Harburg, Germany


Mayrina Firdayati was born in Aceh, Indonesia and now lives in Bandung. She has three brothers and is married to an entrepreneur, and they have three sons.

May, as she is known, is researching the re-use of wastewater in urban agriculture or aquaculture. She is especially interested in the potential re-use of grey water—wastewater derived from showering or washing clothes and dishes.

With human populations increasing in all parts of the world, there is rising demand for water. There is also significantly more wastewater. In developing and emerging economies such as Indonesia, where water consumption is increasing along with the amount of wastewater, May’s research is helping to extend the amount of arable land in urban settings and to provide new sources of water for agriculture.

One solution being viewed by May has the potential to help overcome the challenge of limited space in urban areas by increasing the amount of urban agriculture. She is looking at ways to treat grey water to remove potentially dangerous detergents and chemicals so that the water may be re-used for agricultural purposes in urban settings, particularly in populous urban areas such as Java Island that have problems with overcrowding and sanitation. Known as sustainable sanitation or resource-oriented sanitation, her research is intended to help poor people living in urban settings produce additional food.

May is studying for a PhD in civil and environmental engineering at Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg in Germany, a leading institution in the field of wastewater management, where she is researching water treatment systems that may be appropriate for use in Indonesia.

Following her studies, May plans to teach at the Institute of Technology Bandung in Indonesia.

Rabia HUNKY

Home CountryLibya



Research FocusEnhanced Heavy Oil Recovery

Host UniversityMissouri University of Science and Technology, United States


Rabia Hunky is married and has two children, both born in Rolla, Missouri while she was studying at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T) for her master’s degree in petroleum engineering, which she received in December 2007. Her husband, a student in the Department of Applied and Environmental Biology at MS&T, is a great supporter and strongly believes in what she wants to accomplish.

Rabia is working toward her doctorate in petroleum engineering at MS&T, where she is studying a new technology using surfactant and alkaline chemicals to improve heavy oil recovery from reservoirs in western Missouri. This non-thermal technology for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or improved oil recovery (IOR) can increase current heavy oil recovery by water flooding from 5 to 15% of original oil in place to between 20 and 30% at a lower cost and with reduced carbon dioxide emissions compared to thermal technologies such as cyclic steam stimulation or steam-assisted gravity drainage.

Rabia has studied the mechanisms responsible for the formation of water-in-oil and oil-in-water micro-emulsions, and reduction of interfacial tension at the oil/water interface. She has conducted sandpack core flooding tests to evaluate the performance of alkali-surfactant systems in heavy EOR under different conditions. She has also conducted a comprehensive literature review of surfactant and alkaline flooding in heavy oil.

In addition, she will be modeling these effects to predict her experimental results. Such applications have been well established in the United States and may be applied to some crude oil fields in Libya.

After completing her doctoral research, Rabia plans to apply for a post-doctoral position or teach in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Al Fateh University in Tripoli, Libya.


Laveeta JOSEPH

Home CountryIndia


ExpertiseNeuroengineering

Research FocusNeural Electrophysiology



Laveeta Joseph lived most of her life in Hyderabad, known as the pearl city of India. She owes her academic success to her parents and her husband, who has been extremely instrumental in helping her balance her personal and professional life.

During high school Laveeta was judged Best All-Rounder,Best Athlete and Most Cooperative Outgoing Student, and she received a gold medal for academic excellence in mathematics and computer science.

During her undergraduate years at Osmania University inHyderabad, Laveeta consistently obtained top rank among biomedical engineering students and she received a certificate of excellence in 2004 for obtaining first rank in her graduating class. She recently completed her PhD in bioengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States.

Laveeta’s primary research is in neural electrophysiology. Nerves transmit information through electrical activity that propagates along the nerve like traveling waves. For her PhD, Laveeta looked at blocking this propagation using high-frequency currents for clinical pathologies involving unwanted neural activity. She studied the effect of reversible conduction block induced by high-frequency waveforms on different nerves, specifically the differences in the response of myelinated and unmyelinated nerves at frequencies in the range of 5 to 50 kilohertz.

Preventing neural conduction in specific fibers can also be used as a method for achieving selective stimulation. Her work is helping to improve our understanding of techniques used to stimulate specific nerves and has wide applications in the fields of pain management and neural prostheses.

Laveeta plans to continue her research in the field of neuroscience before accepting a faculty position in her home country.

Christianah Olakitan IJAGBEMI

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePhD in Energy and Environmental Engineering

ExpertiseMechanical, Energy and Environmental Engineering

Research FocusEco-Efficient Technology for Energy Optimization and Human Environment

Host UniversityEwha Womans University, Republic of Korea (South Korea)


Christianah Ijagbemi is a member of the engineering faculty at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. She obtained her PhD in Energy and Environmental Engineering in 2010 from Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Christianah’s research focus is on green engineering technologies. She seeks to bring `the gown’ to `the town’ by providing specific solutions to human environment problems. Her PhD studies focused on the development of an eco-efficient material in place of costly activated carbon used in the removal of toxic heavy metal ions from industrial effluents. She designed, evaluated and optimized a field application unit to employ the developed material for effective removal of heavy metal ions from industrial wastewater. Her research findings have been presented in conferences, workshops and published in several international peer reviewed journals.

As an academic with interest in renewable energy, chemical and thermal systems, engineering infrastructure development, pollution, natural and man-made hazard mitigation and sustainable development, she is actively involved in the teaching and research supervision of both undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University.

She is an internationally registered professional engineer who has served in various capacities within and outside Nigeria. Her career objective is to develop a teaching and research centre geared towards in-depth studies on renewable energies and pollution remediation. She is passionate about empowering women to achieve their engineering career goals and to reach their full potentials in every area of life.


Elham MOHAMMED KHAIR




Research FocusModeling of Hydraulic Fracturing

Host UniversityChina University of Petroleum, China


Elham Mohammed M. Khair was born and grew up in Khartoum, Sudan. Her parents strongly supported her academic aspirations.

After obtaining a diploma in petroleum engineering in 1995 from Sudan University of Science and Technology, she went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1999. In 2003, she obtained a master’s degree in petroleum production engineering at China University of Petroleum. She then returned to Sudan to work as a lecturer in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Science and Technology and to be the first lecturer women in the area of petroleum Engineering. She graduated from China University of Petroleum, and became the first PhD in petroleum production in Sudan.

Her research focused on the modeling of hydraulic fracturing. The production of oil sands has historically posed problems associated with poorly consolidated and unconsolidated formations, often with lost production due to formation failure and fine plugging of the production line or tools. Sand production may also cause environmental pollution due to the large amount of produced sand, which causes handling problems. She has built a sand production model for Fula North oilfield in Sudan through the combination of rock mechanical theories with the characterization of Fula North oilfield. She performed a correlation between Poisson’s Ratio and shale index for Fula North oilfield based on Anderson’s method for Gulf of Mexico. She is attempting to reduce matrix velocity in reservoirs by performing a fracture inside the formation. She addressed the properties of gum Arabic with respect to fracturing fluid for the first time. She also developed fracturing fluid for the field using the local guar gum. She optimized the treatment parameters through the combination of reservoir model with fracture model and tip screen-out (TSO) concept.

After completing her PhD, Elham plans to return to work at the College of Petroleum Engineering and Technology in Sudan University of Science and Technology.

Paytsar MURADYAN

Home CountryArmenia

DegreePhD in Atmospheric Sciences

ExpertisePhysics

Research FocusAtmospheric Profiling Using Airborne Radio Signals

Host UniversityPurdue University, United States


Paytsar Muradyan was brought up in Armenia in a family of scientists and exposed to mathematics and physics at a young age. She has two sisters and a brother and believes that the family unit is the first and most important environmental influence. She and her husband, a doctoral student in physics at Purdue University in Indiana, United States, have one daughter.

As a doctoral student in atmospheric sciences at Purdue, Paytsar’s research is focused on profiling the atmosphere with a Radio Occultation (RO) technique using an airborne GPS receiver on board a research aircraft.

In this technique the GPS radio signals are recorded at a moving receiver as it sets behind the horizon. The GPS signal is refracted passing through the atmosphere and its travel time is delayed due to variations of atmospheric refractivity. The magnitude of the signal’s refraction depends on the temperature and concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere and provides an almost instantaneous depiction of the atmospheric state.

Because the relative position between the GPS satellite and the airborne receiver changes over time, a vertical scanning of successive layers of the atmosphere is accomplished. These high-vertical-resolution temperature and humidity measurements are useful for understanding the large-scale dynamics of weather systems and air-surface interactions.

Current meteorological observation systems under-sample humidity fields over oceans using low-vertical-resolution space-borne sounders, infrequent drop-sondes, and ship-launched radiosondes. Airborne RO has the potential to provide humidity data from the surface to the mid-troposphere, and may be a valuable tool for improving precise weather prediction globally and regionally.

Paytsar plans to teach at Yerevan State University in Armenia.


Maryia NUDNOVA

Home CountryRepublic of Belarus

DegreePhD in Plasma Physics

ExpertisePhysics

Research Focus3D Investigations of Pulsed Discharge for Ultra-Fast Plasma Control

Host UniversityThe Ohio State University, United States


Maryia Nudnova was born in Minsk, capital of the Republic of Belarus, where at an early age she became interested in science. She eventually landed a job working in the Department of Physics and Cosmic Research at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

While studying for her PhD in plasma physics at The Ohio State University in the United States, Maryia has co-authored numerous academic papers and regularly attends international conferences. In her research on plasma physics, she works with nanosecond pulse discharges and does experimental investigations of streamer discharge and sliding DBD discharge.

In her current research Maryia is using three-dimensional numerical and experimental investigations of pulse discharges for ultra-fast plasma control of boundary layer separation in aerodynamic applications. When air flows over the wing of an aircraft, a thin layer of undisturbed air called the boundary layer flows smoothly across much of the wing’s surface. At the separation point, however, the boundary layer breaks away from the surface of the wing, creating additional drag. This abrupt flow separation can have disastrous effects on the aerodynamic characteristics of an aircraft wing. Maryia is working to develop devices that can rapidly change the position of the separation point. If she is successful, her research will result in more efficient airplane wings.

After she obtains her PhD, Maryia plans to teach and to continue with her first love, research, at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Rebecca NAKATUDDE

Home CountryUganda

DegreeMSc in Medical Physics

ExpertisePhysics

Research Focus3D Manual Missing Tissue Compensator Cutter



Rebecca Nakatudde is Ugandan by birth and the third of seven children. During the 1979–1985 wars in Uganda her family fled the Luwero district where she was born and moved to the Mukono district, where she grew up. She is married with one girl and one boy.

Rebecca obtained her Bachelor of Science honors degree (second upper division) in 2000 in physics, mathematics and education at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and in 2007 began work on her Master of Science degree in medical physics at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Medical physics is an applied branch of physics concerned with the application of concepts and methods of physics to the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. In her research, Rebecca is helping in the design and commissioning of a 3D manual missing tissue compensator cutter. Many cancer patients who require external beams in radiotherapy (such as breast cancer patients) present irregular surface topographies and tissue inhomogeneities during treatment, and this can lead to non-uniformity of the radiation dose in the treatment field. The use of missing tissue compensators during such treatments is therefore of great importance to achieve proper dose distribution. One-dimension and two-dimension missing tissue compensators can be used but they have limitations, while 3D compensators are the most effective but are currently fabricated using expensive automated systems. The objective of Rebecca’s research was to commission a 3D manual missing tissue compensator cutter to be used to cheaply and manually fabricate 3D missing tissue compensators to be used during external beam radiotherapy to optimize radiation dosages in such irregular surface topographies.

After completing her Master in 2009, she went back to Uganda and is currently working as an assistant lecturer at the department of Radiology in Makerere University.


Maria Laura PEDANO

Home CountryArgentina

DegreePost-Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Chemical Sciences

ExpertiseBiosensors and Nanotechnology

Research FocusUsing Biosensors to Detect Chagas’ Disease

Host UniversityNorthwestern University, United States


Maria Laura Pedano was born in San Salvador de Jujuy in Argentina. She grew up in the bosom of a large family as the eldest of her two sisters and brother.

She attended the National University of Córdoba, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in chemical sciences in 2000 and her doctorate in 2006, and where she also worked as a teaching assistant throughout her studies.

In 2006 she won the Enrique Herrero Doucloux Award from the Argentinean Chemical Association for best doctoral thesis in physical chemistry. She was offered a post-doctoral position at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France in 2007. In 2008 she was able to carry out post-doctoral research under Prof. Chad Mirkin, the most-cited scientist in nanotechnology, at Northwestern University in the United States.

Her post-doctoral research focused on developing DNA-based biosensors to detect Chagas’ disease in its early stages. Her innovation was to use gapped metallic nanorods as Raman scattering “hot spots” and nanoelectrodes attached to microchips for simultaneous spectroscopic and electrical detection. These nanorods enabled her to study different ways to modify the gap with a probe sequence that allows selective binding of the analyte to achieve more sensitive detection limits. Her research is helping to develop biosensors with enough sensitivity to detect the presence of an infectious agent in the latency stage of Chagas’ disease, which will improve the efficiency of therapeutic treatments and quality of life for patients. Chagas’ disease affects 13 million people and causes 500,000 deaths annually.

She has returned to Argentina and is teaching at the National University of Córdoba. She has also been admitted to the National Council of Scientific and Technologic Research (CONICET) as Associated Researcher.

Sujata RAY

Home CountryIndia

DegreePost-Doctorate in Earth Sciences

ExpertiseCivil and Environmental Engineering

Research FocusCarbon Dioxide Storage in Deep Saline Aquifers



Sujata Ray was born and raised in Kolkata, India, where she met her husband as an undergraduate student. She loves mountains, particularly the Himalayas.

Sujata completed her PhD in the Department of Civil Engineering at Princeton University and worked as a post-doctoral researcher in the BP Institute at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. She was then appointed assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati before joining the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata.

During her post-doctoral studies she worked on the sequestration of carbon dioxide in deep saline aquifers and the possibility of injecting carbon dioxide into the subsurface as a supercritical fluid. The capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide in underground aquifers is a possible means of mitigating climate change due to anthropogenic emissions. However, a risk assessment is necessary to determine whether the injected carbon dioxide will remain in the subsurface or if it will find its way out through fractures in the underground rock. Sujata conducted experiments and mathematical analysis to determine the possible flow rates of the injected fluid and the likelihood of its escape through fractures in the subsurface.

Sujata is interested in studying the potential impact of climate change in developing and emerging economies where few studies have been carried out to date. She plans to investigate the effect of climate change on water resources in India, where the source glaciers of its freshwater rivers are steadily receding. As India is vulnerable to fluctuations in its water resources, Sujata believes that further research in this area is key to helping the country adapt to a changing climate.

Sujata is now an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata.


Anna Petrovna SEMIENOVA

Home CountryRussian Federation

DegreePost-Doctorate in Petroleum Engineering


Research Focus Mathematical Model of Compositional Multi- Segment Wells

Host UniversityStanford University, United States


Anna Semenova was born in a small mountain village in Russia but moved to Moscow after her father died. The oldest child in her family, she has one brother and one sister.

In 2001, she graduated from the Russian State Geological Prospecting University in Moscow with a Master of Science degree in applied mathematics in geophysics. In 2006 she obtained her PhD in mathematics and physics from the same institution. While still a student, Anna began working in 1998 as a researcher in the Laboratory of Geothermic Problems of her home university, and then as an assistant lecturer.

At the end of 2007 she joined the Department of Energy Resources Engineering at Stanford University in the United States as a postdoctoral scholar. At Stanford she is developing a compositional model for multi-segment wells. Her model is helpful for understanding processes that exist in oil, gas and water reservoirs and wells, particularly in the presence of multi-phase, multi-compositional fluid flow. Her research focus includes mathematical modeling of heat and mass transfer processes in production and injection wells, oil and gas reservoirs, drilling in permafrost areas, and applied geothermics.

Since oil and gas are the most important sources of energy in the modern world, and resources are limited, it is important to develop better extraction methods. Anna’s work will lead to optimization of oil and gas production, decreasing expenses for oil and gas production, and development of new types of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs such as gas hydrates and heavy oil.

Her mathematical models are also applicable for modeling of geothermal wells, and they could be used for the development of other alternative sources of energy.

When she returns to her home country, Anna plans to teach at the Russian State Geological Prospecting University in Moscow.

Maria Isabel ROCHA GASO

Home CountryMexico

DegreePhD in Bioelectronics Engineering

ExpertiseElectronics Engineering

Research FocusSurface Acoustic Wave Microsensors for Biosensing

Host UniversityPolytechnic University of Valencia, Spain


Maria Isabel Rocha Gaso comes from a family of scientists. Her mother has a PhD in biology, her father is a nuclear physicist, and her younger brother is pursuing a PhD in cosmology at the University of California in the United States. Maribel, as everyone calls her, says family influence is probably the reason why she is extremely interested in science and research.

Maribel obtained her Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies (DEA) in June 2009 at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) in Spain, and she is currently working on her PhD thesis at the same university. Her work in bioelectronics at UPV is focusing on the application of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices as biosensors.

SAW devices work with the perturbation of an acoustic wave as the detection mechanism. Biosensors are a subgroup of chemical sensors in which a biological base mechanism is used for detection of a specific analyte. Thus, biosensors require multidisciplinary knowledge in a diverse range of subjects such as physics, biochemistry, materials science and electronics.

These days, biosensors are generating a great deal of attention because they are specific, fast, reliable, easy to use and sensitive when it comes to measuring environmental values. It is expected that in the future the demand for this kind of device will increase, mostly in the medical and health industries.

When she finishes her studies, she plans to be a teacher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.


Olga SHAMARDINA

Home CountryRussian Federation

DegreePhD in Polymer Physics


Research FocusComputer Models for High- Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Host UniversityCentre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, Baden-Würt-temberg, Germany and Institute of Energy Research IEF-3 – Fuel Cells Research Centre, Jülich, Germany


Olga Shamardina was born in Uzhhorod, Ukraine and spent her childhood in Elektrostal, near Moscow. She is married to a research associate Dr. Lev Shamardin whose specialization is high energy physics and GRID computing.

Olga graduated magna cum laude with MSc in condensed matter physics from Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) in 2006. A PhD student and engineer at MSU, Olga has completed a training program at the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg in Ulm, Germany and Institute of Energy Research in the Fuel Cells Research Centre in Jülich, Germany. Her research interests include statistical physics of macromolecules, computer simulations of polymer systems, proton exchange membrane fuel cells, numerical methods, algorithms and hydrogen energetics. She is studying fuel cell theory and creating computer models for high-temperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells.

Fuel cells as electrochemical current generators attract increasing attention of scientific community, industry and consumers, because fuel cell power generators are considered to be environmental friendly, with only water vapor emissions, and the efficiency of fuel-cell-driven power plants is higher compared to power plants driven by combustion engines. Moreover, many fuel-cell systems are almost silent. High-temperature PEM fuel cells have certain advantages over conventional PEM fuel cells, including their tolerance to impurities in hydrogen fuel and unnecessary water management. At the same time, there are still several unsolved engineering problems, including a lack of models for high-temperature PEM fuel cells. Olga’s computer simulations may help our understanding of the processes occurring at different stages of the fuel cell operation and eventually may help overcome these engineering challenges.

Olga plans to continue teaching and research at Lomonosov Moscow State University as she does now.

Banafsheh ZAHRAIE

Home CountryIran

DegreePost-Doctorate in Operation Optimization of Multi-Reservoir Systems

ExpertiseWater Resources Engineering and Management

Research FocusEvolutionary Computing in Water Engineering

Host UniversityUniversity of Tehran, Iran


Banafsheh Zahraie lives in Tehran, Iran. Her parents motivated and fully supported her educational aspirations. She is married and also receives a great deal of support from her husband.

Banafsheh received her undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in civil engineering from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic). Since 2002 she has been teaching in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Tehran. An expert in water resources planning and management, during the past 15 years she has been involved in more than 25 applied research projects related to water resources planning and management.

In 2007 Banafsheh began a one-year post-doctoral research program at the University of Tehran. She has developed a methodology for applying an Adaptive Management (AM) approach to reservoir operation management. For this work she used a Varying Chromosome Length Genetic Algorithm (VLGA) model. In the AM approach she developed, the initial solutions for each year of the planning horizon were selected based on the similarity in hydrologic characteristics of different years. Application of this methodology to three case studies in Iran has shown a significant improvement in reduction of computation efforts of the GA model. In her post-doctoral research, this model was further developed to be stochastic. Also, the search and selection methods for the initial solutions were developed to increase the convergence speed of the model.

After finishing her post-doctorate, Banafsheh began teaching in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Tehran. She was promoted to associate professor in 2008. In 2009 she took a sabbatical leave as a visiting professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she developed a fast genetic algorithm model for shared memory parallel computing with applications for reservoir operation management.


FELLOWS2006


Zakia ABIDI

Home CountryAlgeria

DegreePhD in Magnetic Resonance Imaging


Research FocusDevelopment of Antennas in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Host UniversityUniversity of Paris Sud, France


Zakia Abidi is the fourth child in her family and the second girl. She is married to a professor of bioengineering with whom she has published a number of papers at international conferences, and they have one child.

Her PhD research on numerical modeling of surface antennas used in magnetic resonance imaging is in joint cooperation with the Medical Magnetic Resonance Research Unit at Paris XI University and the National Polytechnic School of Algiers (ENP). Her work is helping define ways to make medical images more perfect.

Using mathematical models of magnetic resonance medical imagery, Zakia hopes to come up with a more realistic way to deliver signals during the relaxation phase of MRI scanning. After conducting analytical calculations on the capacitive and inductive effects between a toric antenna and a spherical body, she became interested in numerical modeling utilizing physical and space data systems—the geometry of the body. She explores dimensions, geometrical form and electromagnetic characteristics of the reception antenna—the distance between the antenna and the body to be explored. Among the issues she is working to address, the problem of the signal/noise ratio as interpreted by curves and layout of the lines in an electromagnetic field is of pressing concern. The antenna that catches the signal and sends the image introduces this digital noise. Her work helps to show the share of influence of each electromagnetic and geometrical parameter of the system. She is building an experimental device that attempts to use different antenna shapes to compare experimental measurements with results obtained using numerical computations. These results will ultimately, she hopes, improve the quality of the image by optimizing physical and space data systems, thus reducing the digital noise.

Zakia plans to teach at the University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene in Algiers. Her dream is to combine research and teaching.

Ifeyinwa Eucharia ACHUMBA

Home Country Nigeria

DegreePhD in Electronic and Computer Engineering


Research FocusVirtual Laboratory and Applied Artificial Intelligence

Host UniversityUniversity of Portsmouth, United Kingdom


Dr. Ifeyinwa Eucharia Achumba is a tenured academic staff member in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) in Nigeria and a member of the Institute of Electrical/ Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

At the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, where she studied for her PhD degree in electronic and computer engineering, her research focus was on the development of virtual laboratories and applied artificial Intelligence, with preference for probabilistic graphical models and their applications in reasoning and learning.

Ifeyinwa’s goals include becoming a professor of computer engineering. She hopes to contribute to producing graduate entrepreneurs and industry-ready graduates, and she is interested in promoting a workable industry/academia partnership in Nigeria. Ifeyinwa also contributes positively toward promoting and encouraging female enrolment and participation in science and engineering education and practice.


Ova CANDRA DEWI



ExpertiseSolid Waste and Urban Management

Research FocusMunicipal Solid Waste Management

Host UniversityHamburg University of Technology, Germany


Ova Candra Dewi is a scholar, planner, environmental activist, wife and mother.

Ova has been studying urban and environmental issues since she began her academic career at the University of Indonesia (UI). She received her undergraduate degree in architecture from the Faculty of Engineering Department of Architecture in 2003. From 2003 to 2007 she was a member of the junior teaching staff in the Department of Architecture.

Ova finished her master’s degree at Urban Management TU-Berlin, Germany in 2009. During her studies she did practical research concerning waste management with Berlin City Cleansing and GTZ southeast Asia division by conducting an impact assessment of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of a waste management scheme in Semarang, Indonesia.

Following this work she is now focusing on solid waste management in developing countries, especially her home country, Indonesia. She is developing a low-carbon eco-city model specifically from the contribution of the waste sector, or the so called Low Carbon Eco City Development—Sustainable Regional Decision Support Model on Waste Management. An integrated study coupling various disciplines (waste management, urban management and environmental policy), in this study she is focusing on waste as a resource material, including waste-to-energy and the potential of waste in adapting to climate change.

Ova feels lucky to have another opportunity to continue her studies in this field, and she believes that there is the potential for her research to help in making a better world. She hopes to form a research group for women on the topic of municipal solid waste in Indonesia, and to create a waste museum for children. Moreover, she intends to arrange an introductory waste separation course for primary schools in Indonesia.

Marcia BRAGATO

Home CountryBrazil

DegreePost-Doctorate in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

ExpertiseMaterials Engineering

Research FocusHazardous Waste Treatment and Management

Host UniversityNortheastern University, United States


Marcia Bragato was born in a small Brazilian city, Arco-Iris, which means “rainbow.” An only child, she and her cousin were the first in her family to attend university. After moving to Sao Paulo in Brazil she became environmentally aware while witnessing first-hand the pollution in nearby Cubatao, which at that time was considered to be one of the most polluted cities in the world.

Marcia graduated from the University of Sao Paulo with her master’s degree in organic chemistry in 2000 and her PhD in materials engineering in 2006, then entered a post-doctoral program in metallurgical and materials engineering at Northeastern University in the United States.

She began her research career in a multidisciplinary group looking at hazardous waste treatment and management. She developed methods to remediate soil contaminated by hydrocarbons and metals using the conceptual limitation that these methods could not leave harmful residues or use harmful chemicals in the process. Her post-doctoral research focus was also on hazardous waste management. She looked at ways of developing low-cost techniques to transform waste in products into energy and other useful products. She also studied the use of green chemistry principles to develop less-harmful processes for producing materials (everything from chemicals to new industrial or consumer products). In addition, because gaseous emissions are a difficult-to-control byproduct of almost every waste treatment system, she investigated ways to better control biomass combustion emissions.

Marcia is now investigating ways to reduce or reuse residues at a government technological center, Instituto Federal de Ensino Superior do Espirito Santo (IFES) in Vitoria, Brazil. Vitoria has a strong mining and metallurgical industry and is suffering environmental impacts. She is also looking for a permanent position at colleges or universities located in Vitoria or nearby.


Carina COLOMBI


DegreePost-Doctorate in Geology and Paleontology

ExpertiseGeology

Research FocusPast Climate Change in Continental Basins

Host UniversityUniversity of California Davis, United States


Carina Colombi was born the youngest of three siblings in Mendoza Province, Argentina. Her family always provided unconditional support and inspired her love of the Andes Mountains.

After earning an undergraduate degree in geology at San JuanUniversity in Argentina, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2001, earning a First Honor award and special distinction as the best student in the geology department. She obtained her PhD in geology in 2007.

After finishing her post-doctorate project with researchers at the University of California Davis, Carina joined the research staff at Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de Argentina (CONICET). In addition, she is advising two PhD students and working to develop a museum in San Juan province. Carina is the mother of an infant daughter who is already out enjoying geological fieldwork.

Her research focuses on sedimentology, stratigraphy, geochemistry and paleo-vertebrate and plant taphonomy of continental basins. She is attempting to interpret past environmental, ecological and climatic changes. Her research efforts have involved early-Mesozoic basins in South America. By comparing stable isotope values of the paleoatmosphere preserved in fossils, she is seeking to understand how past climatic changes might have consequences for life on Earth today.

Carina is currently working on a new exhibit for the Museum of Natural Science of San Juan and is organizing the “IV Congreso Latinoamericano de Paleontología de Vertebrados”, particularly one of the Symposiums called “Vertebrate Taphonomy: Methods and Applications”. Carina besides is proceeding publishing the results of many years of research. Among the most highlight is one in Science Magazine about one new Triassic dinosaurs and the paleofaunistic change along the Ischigualasto Formation.

Alia DAMAYANTI


Degree PhD in Environmental Engineering

ExpertiseEnvironmental Engineering

Research FocusWastewater Treatment

Host University Technological University of Malaysia


Alia Damayanti was born in Jombang and grew up in Surabaya,Indonesia. The youngest in her family, she has two brothers and one sister. She lists her hobbies as reading and listening to music. Alia and her husband have one daughter.

Alia’s parents supported her studies—her mother taught her to read when she was only five years old and maintained a rigorous study and work ethic. After graduating in 2000 with an undergraduate degree in environmental engineering from the Technology Institute of Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in Surabaya, Alia obtained her master’s degree in environmental engineering at ITS in 2003. In December 2006 she became a PhD student conducting full-time doctoral research at the Technological University Malaysia (UTM) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Her research focus is on wastewater treatment. She has studied the feasibility of using water lettuce for the management of tofu wastewater, the environmental impacts of closing a landfill site, and the influence on tiger shrimp and milk fish of using mangrove density to reduce heavy metals in wastewater. She is currently interested in developing a Hybrid Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) for biotransformation of palm oil mill effluent (POME).

POME has highly organic wastewater (up to 40 gL-1 compared to sewage which has 2 gL-1) and it contributes significantly to the generation of wastewater in Indonesia and Malaysia. Membrane bioreactor technology is considered essential for treating POME, and systems based on membrane technology show high potential for eliminating many environmental problems. In addition, membrane bioreactor technology proved useful as an alternative treatment system for water recycling with up to 99% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency.

When she completes her studies, Alia plans to return home to teach at the Technology Institute of Sepuluh Nopember in Surabaya, Indonesia.


María Verónica D’ANGELO


Degree Post-Doctorate in Transport of Particles and Fibers in Porous Media

Expertise Physics

Research FocusTransport of Particles and Fibers in Porous and Fractured Media

Host UniversityUniversity of Paris Sud II, France


María Verónica D’Angelo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and grew up in Bolivia and Peru before returning with her family to Argentina, where she graduated from high school. Married with a child, she enjoys cooking and travelling (especially hiking and trekking) and fly fishing in the awesome Patagonia.

Now a full-time faculty member at the University of Buenos Aires, she also teaches in the Master of Reservoir Engineering (Instituto del Gas y del Petróleo-UBA). She is also a researcher of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Research in Argentina, and a member of the International Laboratory (LIA) Fluid Mechanics Laboratory (Argentina-France)

While pursuing her Licenciatura degree (similar to a master’s degree) in physics at the University of Buenos Aires, she wrote her thesis on reaction-diffusion systems, focusing in particular on the coexistence of patterns in different toy models. She worked for two years on electro-deposition in planar cells under AC voltage, and her doctoral thesis, entitled “Flow of Macromolecular Solutions in Porous Structures,” dealt with particular retention phenomena in porous media and the effect of the rheology of polymer solutions on flow in a 2D porous medium.

After receiving her PhD in physics in 2005 from the University of Buenos Aires, in 2006 María Verónica began post-doctoral research on the transport of particles and fibers in porous and fractured media in the Laboratory of Fluids in Automatic and Thermal Systems (FAST) at the University of Paris Sud II.

Working in the FAST laboratory, she studied the effect of structural features of fluid and media, and the properties of the pore surface on the pore-fluid interactions. She was also interested in the transport of contaminants in heterogeneous systems, and in the development and evaluation of remediation technologies.

Dyah Ekashanti Octorina DEWI


DegreePhD in Biomedical Engineering

ExpertiseImage Processing and Analysis

Research Focus3D Ultrasound Imaging



Dyah Ekashanti Octorina Dewi was born and raised in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Shanti studied informatics at STT Telkom in Bandung, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree, followed by a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Indonesia. Biomedical imaging application has been her research interest and it is inspired by her previous projects on osteoporosis screening and MRI Phase Unwrapping. Then she obtained a PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Groningen in The Netherlands in June 2011. She was working on optimizing positioning and ultrasound imaging for monitoring scoliosis progression on young scoliotic girls.

Scoliosis is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine. When the degree of spinal curvature increases to extreme levels it can significantly decrease the quality of life. The use of 3D ultrasound imaging is considered to be promising as an alternative to monitor scoliosis progression in the phase to define a treatment. Shanti improved a framework for a safe, accurate, and frequent monitoring of scoliosis progression by means of 3D ultrasound imaging by designing a postural reproducibility and improving the quality of the 3D ultrasound images of scoliotic patients. She concentrated on defining a reproducible posture during 3D ultrasound imaging by introducing a device, named ‘the BalancAid’ and improving the 3D ultrasound imaging framework in a clinical study to young scoliotic girls. This approach has opened the opportunity to follow the scoliosis progression in a safer way, so that the measurement can be performed more frequently, resulting in a punctual treatment decision. Shanti hopes her research will help orthopedic surgeons monitoring the progression of scoliotic patients.

On completion of her studies, Shanti came back to Indonesia to work as an academic assistant at the Biomedical Engineering Research Division, School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics at Bandung Institute of Technology.


Maria Jose FIGUEROA


DegreePhD in Science Education

ExpertiseScience Teaching and Assessment, Educational Assessment

Research FocusScience Assessment of Students ́Learning

Host UniversityStanford University, United States


Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Maria Figueroa obtained her undergraduate degree in biology from University of the Andes in 2000 and her master’s degree in science education from Columbia University in New York, United States in 2004.

She then worked for five years with Pequeños Científicos, an inquiry-based science education program that trains teachers in methodologies for teaching science in public schools. She also taught a course in science education at the University of the Andes in Bogotá for several semesters.

Maria finished her PhD in science education at StanfordUniversity in June 2011. Her research interest during the PhD lies in science assessment of students’ learning. In her dissertation she assessed students’ science achievement using different measures and found an effect of inquiry-based science teaching when compared to a more traditional teaching approach. Through this work, she gained knowledge about the best methodologies to teach science and to inspire children in scientific realms.Maria is currently in Colombia teaching at the University of the Andes. She teaches a Foundations of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics course, as well as an educational assessment course.

María also works with the Government School of the university, where she is helping in the creation of a Global Health course. She is also advising the Colombian Assessment Institute on how best to modify science assessment and educational assessment in her country.

Ibiyinka FUWAPE

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePost-Doctorate in Physics

ExpertisePhysics

Research FocusMechanisms of Information Encoding in Oscillatory Sensory Cells

Host UniversityOhio University, United States


Ibiyinka Fuwape has a doctorate in physics and was the first female to obtain a first-class degree in physics from any university in her home country, Nigeria. Married with three children, she has three sisters and loves to bake and decorate cakes, sing, teach and spend time with her family.

After obtaining all her degrees from the University of Ibadan in Ibadan, Nigeria, she became a faculty member at The Federal University of Technology, Akure and served on many university committees.

Ibiyinka recently concluded post-doctoral research in physics at Ohio University in the United States, where she focused her research on oscillations and noise in information processing in sensory nervous systems using the electro-receptors of the paddlefish. The electro-receptors of some aquatic animals, including the paddlefish, sharks and rays, possess spontaneous active noisy quasi-periodic oscillations, but the function of the spontaneous oscillations in these aquatic animals is not yet understood. However, the morphology of these electro-receptors is similar to the senses of balance and sound in humans.

Ibiyinka’s goal is to understand the mechanisms of information encoding in the oscillatory sensory cells she is studying. The results of her research will provide insight into the mechanisms of encoding information in the auditory and vestibular sensory receptors of vertebrates including human beings.

After concluding her post-doctoral studies Ibiyinka returned to her faculty position at The Federal University of Technology, Akure in Nigeria, where she is actively participating in mentoring young women in science.


Jane GORE


DegreePost-Doctorate in Seismology

ExpertiseGeophysics

Research Focus3D Mapping of Crustal Discontinuities Under the Zimbabwe Craton



Jane Gore was born in Goromonzi, Zimbabwe and attended high school in the eastern city of Mutare. Her family includes one sister and four brothers.

Jane obtained her physics degree with honors from the University of Zimbabwe in 1994 and her master’s degree in exploration geophysics in 1997. She obtained her PhD in seismology from the University of Zimbabwe and Carnegie Institution of Washington in the United States in 2005.

Jane’s post-doctoral research focus is on the crustal and uppermost mantle crustal structures of the Earth’s surface in Zimbabwe. She is looking at the craton and Limpopo Belt using tele-seismic receiver function and Raiylegh surface wave analyses. The aims of her PhD research were to obtain a three-dimensional “map” of the depth and character of the Moho and any other major crustal discontinuities beneath the Limpopo Belt and the Zimbabwe craton. This map was intended to determine crustal and uppermost mantle velocities.

Mapping the deep crustal and uppermost mantle configuration ofthe Zimbabwe craton and its contact with the Northern MarginalZone sheds light on the movements between the craton and theNorthern Marginal Zone.

Jane also used Poisson’s ratio to estimate the average rock composition of the crust beneath the different geologic terrains.This structural and compositional information may benefit the mining sector as this craton may be rich in kimberlite-borne diamonds, The full interpretation of the seismic data has the potential to reveal much about Archaean, Proterozoic and Phanerozoic tectonics in southern Zimbabwe and may help in our understanding of the evolution of the Earth.

Jane is currently working as a lead analyst at the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) in Vienna, Austria.

Ismudiati Puri HANDAYANI


DegreePhD in Optical Condensed Matter Physics

ExpertisePhysics

Research FocusSpin and Polarization Dynamics in Multiferroics and Frustrated Systems



Ismudiati Puri Handayani was born a first child in Magelang, Indonesia. After spending her childhood in a small village, her mother, an elementary school principal in the region, sent her to the city for a better education.

After finishing high school she moved to Yogyakarta to study at Gadjah Mada University, where she earned a scholarship that enabled her to continue studying after her mother passed away. Upon finishing her undergraduate degree in physics in 1999, she moved to Bandung and began working as a physics teacher in Telkom Institute of Technology. In 2004 she obtained a master’s degree at Groningen University in The Netherlands, where she is currently a PhD student in the Zernike Institute of Advanced Materials.

Working as a member of the Optical Condensed Matter Physics Group, Puri is seeking to understand the interaction of light with matter in complex oxide. Currently she is focusing on frustrated and multiferroic systems and on charge-orbital order systems. Her aim is to understand and control the state of these systems including magnetization and polarization under conditions of photoexcitation disturbance. In systems where the interplay between charge, spin, and lattice is strong, we may expect to understand the dynamics of each degree of freedom as well as the coupling between them by disturbing one of them. This property has triggered much scientific interest in the reasons behind the phenomena and its potential application for magneto-electric based devices. Puri is working to understand the fundamental aspects of these intriguing phenomena. To do this she deploys optical spectroscopy and, particularly, time-resolved spectroscopy.

Currently in the final stages of her PhD studies, Puri plans to teach at Telkom Institute of Technology in Bandung and to continue her work in optical condensed matter.


Chieze IBENECHE

Home CountryNigeria


ExpertiseBiophysics

Research FocusOrganization of Cytoplasm in Cells



Chieze Ibeneche was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She and her two brothers and two sisters spent much of their childhood in The Netherlands before returning to Nigeria, where she graduated from high school. She says this varied upbringing gave her an appreciation for other cultures, as well as for her own heritage.

Her father, an electrical engineer, encouraged her interest in science. As a child she played with microscopes, chemistry sets and circuit boards, and the family engaged in scientific discourse at the dinner table. She enrolled in physics after an online career search and received her Bachelor of Science degree in 2003 and her master’s in physics in 2007, both from The University of Texas at Austin, where she is also enrolled in doctoral studies.

Her research focuses on the organization of cytoplasm in cells. Cytoplasm mediates important cellular functions such as intracellular transport, cell communication and cell motility. Using fission yeast as a model for human cells, Chieze has discovered that the cytoplasm of these cells undergoes a phase transition that may have important implications for cancer research.

Depending on external control parameters, the cytoplasm can be in a fluid-like state or, when grown in nutrient-deficient conditions, it can enter a solid-like state and may even be completely immobilized. She believes that in response to extreme conditions of nutrient deficiency the cell may reorganize its cytoplasm to place itself in a state of dormancy. The results of her experiments are of particular interest in the field of cancer research, since it suggests that cells may have a self-programmed mechanism to prevent them from completing a cycle—and this may be a way of controlling the rate of cell reproduction.

When she completes her studies in the United States, Chieze plans to teach at the African University of Science and Technology in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

Hilda ISMAIL


DegreePhD in Organic Chemistry

ExpertiseChemistry

Research FocusEnzymatic Resolution of Chiral Amines

Host UniversityDelft University of Technology, The Netherlands


Hilda Ismail was born in and raised in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where she obtained her undergraduate and graduate degrees in pharmacy from Gadjah Mada University. From 1993 until now she is lecture in the Department of Pharmacochemistry at Gadjah Mada University, with her subject on Organic Chemistry and Drug synthesis. She is also a member of the Indonesian Pharmacist Association (IPA).

During her undergraduate studies Hilda’s research interest involved in the biosynthesis of erytrhomycine, and her master’s thesis focused on the synthesis of theobromine derivatives and their activities as tracheal smooth muscle relaxation. In 2007 she completed her PhD at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, where her research was about enzymatic synthesis and focused on the enzymatic resolution of chiral amines.

Amines are organic compounds that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair, and they are derivatives of ammonia. Important amines includes amino acids, biogenic amines, and many other basic compounds that are important as building blocks in chemical industries. Chiral amines are amines that have chiral centre in the molecule, and accordingly have some stereoisomers of their molecules. When used in the context of chemistry, chirality refers to two mirror images of a molecule (stereoisomers) that cannot be superposed onto each other. Hilda’s work with enzymes is to resolve chiral amines, that may have important applications in organic chemistry, drug synthesis, physical chemistry, biochemistry, and pharmaceutical chemistry.

Hilda is now conducting research on enzymatic reactions for drug synthesis, as well as teaching organic chemistry, drug synthesis and pharmacochemistry in the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She is also leading a group of Curcumin Research Centre in her faculty, which focused on the synthesis of curcumin analogues and studies on their pharmacological activities and formulation developments.


Lindsay LINZER

Home CountrySouth Africa

DegreePost-Doctorate in Geophysics

ExpertiseGeophysics

Research FocusHow Rock Fractures Around Underground Excavations



Lindsay Linzer was born in Windhoek, Namibia as the eldest of four children. Her father worked as an exploration geologist and her mother trained as a nurse. Lindsay is married to an Austrian from South Africa who she thanks for her rhyming name.

A geophysicist with 15 years of experience, Lindsay is a proficient Delphi programmer with well-developed English-language technical reporting and research project management skills. She is also a guest lecturer in mining seismology in the School of Geosciences at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Recently, Lindsay has been co-supervising MSc and PhD candidates in geophysics.

Lindsay’s doctoral research was focused on developing a robust method to calculate from wave recordings how rock fractures around underground excavations. To achieve this, she wrote a computer program to compute a quantity called the seismic moment tensor. The program analyzes recordings of vibrations (seismic waves) generated when rock rips or tears apart as a result of mining-induced stresses. The main aim of this work was to gain insight into the source mechanisms of seismic events recorded underground, thus enabling mining engineers to design safer excavations. In 2003 her PhD thesis was awarded the Rocha Medal for outstanding doctoral thesis worldwide by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM). As well, she was awarded the Salamon Award for the best rock engineering paper authored by a member of the South African Institute of Rock Engineering (SANIRE).

In 2007, Lindsay co-founded a geophysical consultancy specializing in the interpretation of seismic reflection data recorded in the hard rock environment. She also works in the field with seismic acquisition crews, helping with preliminary data processing. In 2008 she was a finalist for the Shoprite-Checkers Woman of the Year science and technology award.

Erees Queen MACABEBE

Home CountryPhilippines


ExpertisePhotovoltaics

Research FocusSolar Cells and Photovoltaic Modules

Host UniversityNelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa


Erees Queen Macabebe, known as Reese, is the youngest of three children. She grew up in Iloilo City in the Philippines.

Reese studied at the Ateneo de Manila University, earning Bachelor of Science degrees in physics and computer engineering. While at the Ateneo she joined a scholar’s organization where she visited public schools and gave classes in math and English. This outreach effort sparked her passion for teaching. She then became a full-time faculty member in the Department of Physics while pursuing her master’s degree in physics education.

In 2006, Reese pursued her PhD in physics at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa. Her work focused on photovoltaic devices, particularly on performance parameters of solar cells and photovoltaic modules. Solar cells are prone to parasitic resistance that can degrade device performance, as can low-shunt resistance. Series resistance losses are largely due to bulk resistance of the semiconductor material, metallic contacts and interconnect.

Reese’s research involved numerical simulation and optimization. Employing well-known solar cell models, she developed a method using Particle Swarm Optimization that allows rapid parameter extraction from current-voltage measurements taken under operating conditions and under standard testing conditions. These parameters provide information about device properties and can be related to its performance. Her photovoltaic research is valuable in device fabrication and analysis of performance losses, which also has potential in developing clean energy systems that can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Reese completed her doctoral studies in 2009 and returned to the Philippines where she rejoined the School of Science and Engineering at Ateneo de Manila University. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Electronics, Computer and Communications Engineering.


Radhika MADHAVAN

Home CountryIndia



Research FocusHow Learning Modifies Neuronal Connections in the Brain



Radhika Madhavan was born the second of two daughters in New Delhi, India. She did most of her schooling in Baroda, India and finished her undergraduate degree in electronics engineering from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, securing two gold medals for academic excellence.

She followed up with a Master in Technology degree in biomedical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, where she worked on a project funded by the Government of India to design an artificial hand for below-elbow amputees. In 2007 she obtained her PhD in bioengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States. Radhika then began a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Center for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, in Bangalore, India.

In Bangalore, her research on learning and memory draws on engineering rules, enabling her to bridge the gap between engineering and biology. Exploring the relationship between structure and function in the brain, Radhika is helping develop techniques to measure large-scale individual synaptic weights in hippocampal circuits using electrophysiology and optical imaging techniques.

The ultimate goal of her project is to map a functional wiring diagram of the brain. Specifically, she is looking at how learning modifies neuronal connections in the brain, and attempting to better understand the rules of information coding in brain networks. Her work will help answer key questions about how the brain works, and it may enable us to devise new treatments for disorders in learning and memory.

After three years in India, Radhika is now pursuing her second post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University in the United States. Her work deals with studying learning and memory in humans using electrophysiology and psychophysics tools.

Dewi MAIRIZA



ExpertiseSoftware Engineering

Research FocusInvestigating Conflicts Among Non-Functional Requirements

Host UniversityUniversity of Technology Sydney, Australia


Dewi Mairiza was born and grew up in Padang,Indonesia. She is married with one daughter, Amare, which means love.

After graduating from high school in Padang, Dewi was invited to enroll in the computer science program in the Faculty of Computer Science at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree and graduated cum laude. During this time she won an education scholarship from German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a one-year period of study. She was then offered a position at the University of Indonesia and joined the computer science faculty as a junior lecturer. In 2005 she obtained her Master of Science degree, and continued to conduct research in the Centre of Artificial Intelligence (CENTRIA) at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal. In 2008 she began studying for her doctorate in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Technology Sydney, where by then she won a UTS International Research Scholarship Award 2009 and obtained Research Training Scheme Fellowship 2010.

Her research is focused on investigating conflicts among software Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs). NFRs are recognized as a critical factor to the success of software projects. They address the essential issue of the quality of the systems. One of the characteristics of NFRs is interacting, which means NFRs tend to interfere, conflict and contradict with one other. Unlike functional requirements, this inevitable conflict arises as a result of inherent contradiction among NFRs. Certain combinations of NFRs in the software system may affect the inescapable trade-offs.

Her research will develop a framework to manage the conflicts among NFRs. Such a framework should be able to identify not only the existence of conflicts, but also the type and significance of conflicts, as well as the appropriate strategy to resolve the conflicts. Her research may benefit the software engineering research community as well as practitioners in the industry.


Olive Modestine MAKAM KOM

Home CountryCameroon

DegreePhD in Medical Physics

ExpertiseMedical Physics in Radiation Therapy

Research FocusRadiotherapy and Treatment Planning Systems

Host UniversitySaarland University Hospital, Germany


Olive Makam Kom was born the second child in a family of six in Bafoussam, Cameroon. She grew up with her grandmother in a small village where she attended primary and high school.

She moved to Dschang to attend university in 1997, and obtained her bachelor’s degree in physics in 2001. At the University of Yaounde she earned her master’s degree in physics in 2002. After teaching general physics for one year in high school, she moved to Douala to study in the Centre for Atomic Molecular Physics and Quantum Optics (CEPAMOQ), where she earned a master’s degree in medical physics in 2005. CEPAMOQ is a centre of excellence affiliated with the International Centre of Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. She is conducting part of her PhD research at the Saarland University Hospital in Germany. Currently, and she is preparing in parallel a medical physics certification in Munich.

Her research focuses on radiotherapy, one of the most important modes of cancer treatment. It involves radiation-based treatment using sophisticated technology. She is interested in helping develop a quality management program for Treatment Planning Systems (TPS).

A TPS is a computer dedicated to planning the radiation dose received by a patient. Most accidental exposures occur due to improper planning or to lack of commissioning or quality assurance procedures. Commissioning (initial testing) means all procedures, data input and verification checks that are needed to get the system ready for clinical use. It is also essential to maintain an ongoing quality management program which must not impose an unrealistic commitment on resources and time. Quality assurance procedures can prevent treatment errors and exposure of staff and can help ensure accuracy in the radiation therapy process.

She would like to take up academic position at the University of Douala and to work as medical physicist after completion of her PhD and clinical certification.

Nur Ulfa MAULIDEVI



ExpertiseArtificial Intelligence as an Imitation of Human Cognition Systems

Research FocusMulti-Agents in Collaborative Knowledge Building

Host UniversityInstitute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia


Nur Ulfa Maulidevi was born and raised in Kediri, a small town in an East Java province in Indonesia. Her parents encouraged their five daughters academically and supported Nur Ulfa in her decision to move to Bandung to study informatics engineering at the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB).

After obtaining her undergraduate degree in informatics engineering, she joined the Informatics Engineering Department of ITB as a junior assistant. She married her husband after obtaining her master’s degree, and her son was born a year later. She started pursuing her doctorate in August 2004, and received her PhD in electrical engineering in June 2008, one month after she delivered her second child, a girl.

Working in the Artificial Intelligence Lab at ITB, Nur Ulfa is developing an engineering model of collaborative knowledge building that imitates the human cognition process. Based on the academic disciplines of cognitive psychology and computational science, her research is aimed at finding mechanisms to solve complex problems using computer resources. In cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence is studied as a model of the human cognition process. In computation science, artificial intelligence developed to imitate human intelligence is intended to support next-generation computing. When distributed in several computer processors, collaborative knowledge-building produces a collaborative computation that can help solve complex problems such as airport scheduling, job-shop scheduling in industries, and traffic light controllers to minimize traffic jams. It can also be implemented in systems that are designed to help cognitively impaired persons. Her work is contributing to the design of multi-agents in collaborative knowledge building that imitate the human cognition process, in that each agent has reasoning and learning capabilities.

As a junior lecturer and researcher at ITB, Nur Ulfa hopes that she will help attract more women into informatics engineering.


Lena Dzifa MENSAH

Home CountryGhana

DegreePhD in Engineering and Manage-ment of Manufacturing Systems


Research FocusMoving up the Value Chain in Ghana

Host UniversityCranfield University, United Kingdom


Lena Dzifa Mensah was born in Ghana to a family of six; of her three siblings, she is the second born. She has a degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in manufacturing engineering and management. She served as a teaching assistant for a year in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and also worked briefly for a construction company as a maintenance engineer.

In her first research project, Lena used Failure Modes and EffectsAnalysis (FMEA) methodology to investigate risks during new product introduction. Lena has worked with Hallmark Cards Inc in the United Kingdom to analyze and improve greeting card production processes, and with Marshall Amplification to develop a strategy to maintain production in the United Kingdom and reduce costs by improving the efficiency of their supply chain.

She is currently working on the topic “Moving Up the Value Chain in Ghana.” The practice of moving up the value chain involves the physical transformation of raw materials into manufactured goods as well as improvements in the quality and safety of raw and manufactured goods, and the management of the afterlife of the product. Preliminary investigation in Ghana shows that the requisite knowledge and skills, institutional structures, resources and technology to move up the value chain, while incorporating the basic requirements for accessing global value chains (GVCs) is not evident. Hence, Lena aims to develop a roadmap for enhancing compliance of the Ghanaian food manufacturing sector with the basic requirements for accessing GVCs.

Lena believes that in the longer term a synergy between academia and industry will ensure that education, training and technology are tailored to the needs of the Ghanaian manufacturing industry.

Lena plans to teach in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology.

Zohra MOKEDDEM

Home CountryAlgeria

DegreePost-Doctorate in Sedimentology and Climate Change

ExpertisePaleoclimatolgy

Research FocusSahara Advance Linked to Global Climate Change

Host UniversityUniversity of Columbia, United States


Zohra Mokeddem was born in Algeria not far from the Mediterranean Sea. She continues to be fascinated by the coast and wants to improve her expertise in the coastal domain and in the deep ocean floor. After obtaining her undergraduate degree in Algiers as an engineer for coastal gestion and protection, she obtained her master’s degree in coastal geomorphology as well as her doctorate in geology and sedimentology at the University of Caen in France. She is now pursuing a post-doctoral degree in paleoclimatology at Columbia University in New York.

Zohra is attempting to reconstruct the mechanisms of past climate change. Her main focuses are on sedimentary records of climate change and the role of ocean circulation in amplifying and transmitting these past changes to the whole Northern Hemisphere.

Ocean currents transport warm water to the north Atlantic which returns cold, deep water to the south Atlantic. Several recent studies have shown that a reduction in the strength of ocean circulation and in particular the Atlantic overturning circulation may cause millennial climate crises.

Zohra is seeking to establish the rate of natural climate variability that occurred in past epochs comparable to the current era. A specific goal of such studies is to understand the mode and tempo of natural environmental variability during similar warm period but without an anthropogenic interference in order to identify where the global climate might be, in the context of a natural progression of the current warm period and the onset of the `next glacial’ period might be expected in the absence of human activity.

Zohra plans to pursue her academic career as a researcher and lecturer in her home country, Algeria.


Aicha MOUSSAOUI

Home CountryAlgeria

DegreePhD in Electronics and Magnetic Resonance


Research FocusMedical Image Processing

Host UniversityCentrale Graduate School, Marseille, France


Aicha Moussaoui received a master’s degree in 1999 in electronics at National Polytechnic Institute in Algeria. She became a professor and researcher in the electronics department at that institution teaching on the subjects of microwaves, digital electronics (numeric) and microprocessors. She also held the position of head of academic affairs. In her research she was part of the signal and communications laboratory, where her main interest was and continues to be image processing and analysis.

In February 2006, on behalf of the Algerian National Polytechnic, Aicha received a secondment to pursue her doctorate degree at the Multidimentional Signals Laboratory, which is part of the Institute Fresnel at the Central Graduate School in Marseille, France.

Aicha’s research involves developing a tool that would allow coronarographic examinations of arterial networks to determine relevant anatomic parameters such as narrowing, thickness or obstructions that characterize the state of the artery and help detect damage or the possible presence of atheroma plates. The results of her research will help doctors diagnose coronary diseases including stenosis and aneurysms, and will aid decision-making in such matters as whether to provide treatment with medicines or surgery.

When she finishes her studies in Marseille, Aicha plans return to Algeria to resume teaching at the National Polytechnic Institute.

Folasade Mayowa OLAJUYIGBE

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePost-Doctorate in Biochemistry

ExpertiseProtein Structure and Function

Research FocusDrug Discovery against Infectious Organisms



Folasade Mayowa Olajuyigbe earned her PhD in Biochemistry in 2009 as part of a sandwich program of the Centre of Excellence in Biocrystallography, University of Trieste, Italy and the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. Folasade is happily married to a Software Engineer and they have four children.

Her PhD research focused on the long-term success of anti-retroviral therapies. She investigated the molecular basis of drug resistance with ritonavir, a US Food and Drug Administration approved inhibitor, along with a newly designed small inhibitor, FP3, and an irreversible covalent binding HIV protease inhibitor, EPX. She presented the results of her PhD research at Trends in Enzymology 2008, an international conference held in Saint Malo, France, and won Best Poster and Young Investigator awards. The first paper from her PhD thesis was published in ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters on modification of HIV-1 protease through carbamylation. Her second paper on Investigation of twofold disorder of inhibitors and relative potency by crystallizations of HIV-1 protease in ritonavir and saquinavir mixtures has just been published in Crystal Growth and Design journal

Her post-doctoral research is focused on a series of enzymes from malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, as target for drug discovery and optimization. The goal is to investigate the thermodynamic signatures of inhibitors that are potent against all isoforms of plasmepsins with the aim of using the obtained data to specify a compound that endows the correct thermodynamic signature to achieve broad-band inhibitory potency and escape rapid resistance development. It is expected that structural and thermodynamics data will provide unique insights into specificity, selectivity and resistance of each inhibitor, to move forward in antimalarial drug discovery.

After completing her post-doctoral studies, she plans to return to teach in the Department of Biochemistry at Federal University of Technology, Akure and mentor young women in science.


Ran QI

Home CountryChina



Research FocusModeling and Designing of Carbon Dioxide Storage in Aquifers



Ran Qi was born near the Shengli Oilfield, the second-largest oilfield in China. Her father is a professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Petroleum China (UPC), and she says that the strong influence of her family led to her interest in petroleum engineering.

Ran chose to study at the University of Petroleum (Beijing), one of the campuses of UPC, where she obtained her undergraduate degree with first-class honors in oil and gas storage and transportation engineering. She obtained her MSc in petroleum engineering at Imperial College London in 2005, and later that year began work on her PhD in petroleum engineering under the supervision of Professor Martin Blunt.

Ran’s research interest focused on the simulation of geological carbon dioxide (CO2) storage. It includes the modeling and designing of carbon dioxide storage in aquifers to maximize carbon dioxide storage and in oil reservoirs to maximize both carbon dioxide storage and oil recovery. Ran obtained her PhD in 2008.

Ran is currently working in an energy technology company in Aberdeen, United Kingdom as a reservoir simulation engineer, where she has worked on a variety of projects to provide simulation support to business units across Chevron, including history matching projects for mature oilfields, greenfield development, business development studies, experimental design and chemical/carbon dioxide EOR studies.

Hauwa Onize RAJI

Home CountryNigeria

DegreePhD in Offshore Engineering


Research FocusStrength and Fatigue Analysis Of Deep Water Offshore Platforms

Host UniversityUniversity of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom


Hauwa Onize Raji is an avid reader who loves visiting new places and listening to music. She comes from a large family and says it is always chaotic but fun when the family members get together.

A lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at Ahmadu BelloUniversity in Zaria, Nigeria, Hauwa has recently completed her PhD in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

Her research was focused on studying low-cycle fatigue in Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading Platforms (FPSOs). It is an important safety issue—in a number of instances, fatigue damage has occurred in FPSOs due to low-cycle fatigue.

FPSO hulls are normally similar in configuration to that of conventional tankers, but several differences between tankers and FPSOs can have an impact on the fatigue design. One of these differences is that tankers operate at defined drafts on each voyage—either fully loaded or with ballast, with a cycle time of about 60 days.

FPSOs, however, operate at more frequently changing drafts, and their cycle time is every 10 to 14 days. This large draft variation can result in low-cycle fatigue which, when added to the high-cycle fatigue from wave loading, requires the development of a new fatigue analysis procedure and tools.

Hauwa’s research succeeded in developing tools to predict low cycle fatigue failure and identified critical locations where low cycle fatigue occurs in FPSOs. The research also recommends design solutions to avoid fatigue damage and failure.


Irma Yolanda SANCHEZ CHAVEZ

Home CountryMexico

DegreePhD in Engineering Sciences


Research FocusSystems to Deliver Insulin to Diabetic Patients



Irma Yolanda Sanchez Chavez was born in Aguascalientes, a city in central Mexico, where she grew up with her parents, brother, sister and an extended family that included many cousins, uncles and aunts. She now lives in Monterrey with her husband and her daughter.

After graduating from Tecnológico de Monterrey as a chemical engineer in 1993, Irma Yolanda went on to obtain her Master of Science degree in 1996 with a specialty in control engineering. She obtained her doctorate in engineering sciences in 2008. Since 2002 she has been a full-time professor in the Mechatronics and Automation Department at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Irma Yolanda’s research goal is to combine biomaterials, modeling and control engineering to propose closed-loop systems for the restitution of diminished or lost physiological functions. For her doctoral thesis she worked on systems to deliver insulin to diabetic patients based on two approaches.

In the first approach she used separate controller, actuator and sensor units, and in the second approach she used glucose-sensitive hydrogels as smart materials that integrate the controller, actuator and sensor-unit functions within a single device.

Engineering science has contributed to modern medicine through the development of better equipment for monitoring health conditions and for low-invasive surgical procedures. Automation engineering can enhance medical treatment through continuous administration of drugs in precise doses in response to patient requirements. Irma Yolanda’s research efforts in this area are intended to improve quality of life and comfort for patients.

After completing her doctorate in January 2008, Irma Yolanda returned to Monterrey to continue teaching at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Chavalmane Subbenaik SANMATHI

Home CountryIndia

DegreePost-Doctorate in Polymer Chemistry

ExpertiseChemistry

Research Focus Ceramic Dense Nano-Powders of Thermoelectric Oxides

Host UniversityNational Graduate School of Engineering and Research Center, France


Chavalmane Sanmathi was born in India and received her undergraduate degree in physics, chemistry and mathematics in 1999 from Kuvempu University, Karnataka. She earned her graduate degree in industrial chemistry from that institution in 2001, along with her PhD in polymer chemistry in 2004.

As a post-doctoral fellow at the National Graduate School of Engineering and Research Center (ENSICAEN) and Crystallography and Materials Sciences Laboratory (CRISMAT) in Caen, France, Chavalmane is focusing her research on helping to find alternative and environmentally friendly energy sources.

Thermoelectric materials that offer the potential to convert waste heat energy into electrical energy are widely recognized as having promise for power generation and for cooling of electronic devices used in advanced technology. Various materials can be employed as thermoelectrics including TE-oxides, which are regarded as superior candidates because they are chemically and thermally stable at high temperatures and can be used without deterioration of their performance due to oxidation.

Chavalmane is working to resolve the two most important challenges in the area of TE-oxides—thermal conductivity and energy conversion efficiency—by synthesizing the nano-powders of selected cobaltites and manganites using the sol-gel method and hydrothermal processes. By varying the sizes of crystallites, she is hoping to devise a mechanism for controlling electrical and thermal conductivity. If successful, her work may lead to critical advances in a host of technological applications.

When she completes her post-doctorate studies, Chavalmane intends to return to teach at Kuvempu University in India. She feels that science is not only a career, but also a way of life, full of fun and excitement, and she believes that it is important for women entering scientific careers to receive the encouragement of family and friends.


Shirin SHARIFI KHOBDEH

Home CountryIran



Research FocusDrop Deformation and Breakup in Two-Phase Systems



Shirin Sharifi Khobdeh was born in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. She is married and has two younger brothers, both of whom are pursuing engineering careers. She says her parents fully supported her own career aspirations to be an engineer.

Shirin received her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology in Iran. She did her graduate studies at the Isfahan University of Technology, also in Iran, where she earned her master’s degree and graduated with a grade point average of A. She then worked for a few years before joining the doctoral program in chemical engineering at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in 2006.

Shirin is working on drop deformation and breakup in pressure-driven flows within viscoelastic two-phase systems. She is examining the effects of confinement geometry on deformation of viscoelastic drops, mechanisms of drop breakup and critical conditions for drop breakup where the drop and often the suspending fluid consist of a viscoelastic polymer solution. Her experimental observations of drop shape at various concentrations of the polymer solution are intended to provide insight into the role of elasticity in drop dynamics. As the strength of the imposed flow increases, large drops eventually become unstable and break up. Fluid elasticity has a significant effect on the breakup behavior of drops, and different modes of drop breakup may be observed depending on the polymer concentrations in the interior and exterior phases. Her research is finding that the critical capillary number for the onset of drop breakup is a decreasing function of drop size. The ability to predict drop deformation and breakup has important implications for a number of industrial applications including tertiary oil recovery processes; polymer processing operations; production of foams, cosmetics and various food products; motion of blood cells through vessels and pore-scale models for two-phase flow through porous media.

Pinyu WU

Home CountryChina


ExpertiseBiopolymer Networks

Research Focus3D Thermal Noise Imaging



Pinyu Wu is the second of three daughters born to cotton farmers in a small village in central China. While most young girls in the area discontinued their education after middle school, Pinyu’s parents worked hard on the farm to support their three daughters and thanks to their efforts all three have now graduated from college.

Pinyu obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in the Department of Modern Physics in 2003 at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei. She then entered The University of Texas at Austin in the United States where she graduated with her master’s degree in physics in 2007 and where she has been a PhD candidate in physics since early 2008.

In Texas, Pinyu works with a biophysics group in the physics department. Her first project was measuring the non-conservative forces in optical tweezers. Optical tweezers, also called single beam gradient traps, are produced by a focused laser beam and are widely used by physicists and biologists to manipulate nanoparticles, as well as to measure the force generated in cellular processes. In this project, she developed a new method to calculate the force field in an optical trap without conventional assumptions. She applied this method to both experimental and simulated data. This work has been published in Physical Review Letters.

In the summer of 2008 she started a new project called three dimensional thermal noise imaging. Using an optically trapped nanoparticle as a probe, this imaging technique explores the 3D structure of biopolymers such as actin networks and microtubule networks. Force distribution in each network can also be mapped by studying the fluctuation of individual filaments.

Pinyu plans to graduate in December 2011 and is open to different research opportunities.


Min YU

Home CountryChina

DegreePhD in Computational Condensed Matter Physics

ExpertisePhysics

Research FocusElectronic Structure of Condensed Matter

Host UniversityUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States


Min Yu was born in Jiangxi. Her family moved to Fujian where she completed her secondary education. Min’s high school physics teachers had a huge impact on her interest in science.

Min obtained her Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2002, then pursued research and received her PhD degree in physics in 2010 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States. Her PhD research focused on developing new theoretical methods to describe the electronic structure of crystalline solids, and applying them to calculate the materials properties for surfaces, interfaces and point defects.

The advent of powerful computers has enabled more and more atomic models to examine materials properties. Min’s work was based on the Density Functional Theory, a quantum mechanical theory which has achieved great success since the 1980s in predicting the electronic and optical properties of many-body systems in physics and chemistry, particularly in atoms, molecules and the condensed phases. The Density Functional calculation gives excellent results for the ground state total energy of atomic systems. The obtained stable geometries, charge densities and phonon spectra are comparable to experimental results.

However, the energy density distribution, unlike charge density distribution, is not experimentally measurable. It is, a gauge-dependent quantity. Min proposed a method to decompose the total energy in a material into the contribution associated with each of the atoms. It is useful to at precise energies of material surfaces, interfaces or point defects by integrating the energy density distribution around the regions of interest. These methods have applications for metals and semiconductors, and are important both in physics and in materials science.

Min completed her PhD and is a postdoctoral fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Mahnaz ZAKERI

Home CountryIran



Research FocusFracture Mechanics, Composite Materials

Host UniversityPolytechnic University of Milan, Italy


Mahnaz Zakeri was born and raised in West Azarbayjan, Iran. Both she and her husband work in the mechanical engineering field.

After high school, she moved to Tehran, and completed her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology, and her master’s degree in aerospace structures at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). She began doctoral studies in mechanical engineering at IUST, and in 2006 she went to Polytechnic University of Milan for a research period. She obtained her PhD in 2008.

During her doctoral studies Mahnaz was interested in the presence and propagation of cracks in structures, which are among the main causes of unexpected breakage. Because of the paramount importance of safety and reliability in many fields of engineering, the crack problem has been of interest to a large number of researchers.

The issue becomes more serious for brittle materials. The specification of stress field around the crack tip has an important role in prediction of fracture load in cracked specimens. She worked to investigate the elastic stress field around the crack tips in pure mode I, pure mode II and mixed mode I/II loading conditions. She was particularly interested in investigating the presence of T–stress and its role in the elastic stress field around a mode II crack tip using a photo-elasticity method, an optical technique used to visualize the stress field. Her thesis involved analytical solutions, laboratory experiments and some numerical modeling of the experimental specimens.

After completing her PhD studies, she began working as a faculty member of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Urmia University in Iran. After two years she moved to Tehran to work as a faculty member of Aerospace Engineering Department at Khaje Nasir Toosi University of Technology (KNTU).


Poster Session at the Faculty for the Future Forum held in Boston in 2011.

Faculty for the Future Fellows at the Forum held in Boston in 2011.


FELLOWS2005


Sumitha BHANDARKAR

Home CountryIndia

DegreePhD in Computer Engineering

ExpertiseNetwork Protocols

Research FocusTransmission Control Protocol in Emerging Networks



Sumitha Bhandarkar was born and raised in Karnataka, India.Both her mother and her grandfather were teachers, so education was highly encouraged in her family. She and her two sisters acquired a love for learning and went on to pursue degrees in medicine and engineering. She is now married with one daughter and hopes to instill the thirst for knowledge in her daughter as well.

After completing her undergraduate degree in electronics and communication engineering, Sumitha worked for two years to support her ambition to continue higher education in the United States. She pursued her MS and PhD degrees in computer engineering at Texas A&M University, where she worked as a teaching and research assistant, published several papers, co-authored a Request For Comments memorandum and contributed a chapter to a book.

Sumitha’s research at Texas A&M University focused on improving the performance of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) in emerging networks. One of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite, TCP provides reliable, ordered delivery of databytes. However, as the Internet evolves, several issues with TCP have come to light. Sumitha investigated these scalability issues, specifically in wireless networks, high-speed networks and networks with long-delay bandwidth products, and proposed solutions for improving their performance.

Sumitha now specializes in designing and implementing emerging telecommunications protocol stacks for use in future smart phones.

Camila Ribeiro CARDOSO ZIES

Home CountryBrazil



Research FocusNanoparticle Transport Through Porous Media



Camila Cardoso Zies was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her parents were her biggest supporters and greatly influenced her and her younger sister, both of whom chose careers in science. She is married and has one child, a boy. Among her hobbies she lists painting, running and tango dancing along with languages—she speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and some German.

After graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Camila went on to pursue a doctorate in mechanical engineering in the United States at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

At Rice her thesis topic is on the transport of nanoparticles through porous media. Camila is focusing her research on the study of the mobility of nanoparticles for oil field mapping and enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

The research literature of the last decade has demonstrated a vivid and growing interest in the study of nanoparticle transport, both through experimental and analytical approaches. All such analysis is restricted to certain situations, since the characterization and engineering of the physical and chemical properties of these particles are still a challenge. Nevertheless, the transport phenomenon in applications with nanoparticles is extremely promising.

Along with her research activities, Camila has been working as a teaching assistant and says that she is delighted with the opportunity to teach and share insights with her students.

When she finishes her degree at Rice, Camila plans to return to Brazil to teach at the university level.


Novi Ineke CEMPAKA WANGI



ExpertiseCivil and Electrical Engineering

Research Focus Wireless Telecommunication Networking

Host UniversityDelft Institute of Technology, The Netherlands


Novi Ineke Cempaka Wangi was born and raised in a small town in Central Java, Indonesia. She moved to Bandung city in West Java while in high school and obtained her bachelor’s degree at Bandung Institute of Technology. Married with two children, she has two older sisters and one younger brother.

In 2002 Novi went to The Netherlands to study at the Delft Institute of Technology, where she is now working to obtain her doctorate in electrical engineering.

At Delft, Novi’s research topic is Federation of Personal Networks.It is envisaged that almost every artifact will eventually be equipped with digital computing, storage and communication capabilities.

At the same time, similar developments have taken place in communications technology. A range of wireless technologies that cover virtually the whole spectrum of potential user needs will reach the market in the coming decade. Further miniaturization and provision of self-powering capabilities to wireless sensors and actuators together with inexpensive processing devices are providing a basis to create environments that are smart and reactive.

A Personal Network (PN) is a person-centric network connecting various personal devices and artifacts regardless of geographical location. The resources that can become part of a PN will be very diverse. For example, one could think of computers, PDAs, phones, headsets, displays, cameras, Internet-enabled appliances, sensors and actuators. A PN is very much centered on the person and his or her needs. While improving the quality of life, this technology will accommodate future communication, which is more about adapting to the needs of individuals.

On completion of her studies, Novi plans to teach at Bandung Institute of Technology.

Maryam GOLABCHI

Home CountryIran

DegreePhD in Materials Science


Research FocusCarbon Nanotubes and Aluminum-Carbon Composites

Host University Colorado School of Mines, United States


Maryam Golabchi was born and educated in Iran. Her five brothers are engineers and her sister is a teacher.

After graduating from high school Maryam became interested in chemical engineering and enrolled at Tehran Polytechnics University.

While pursuing her master’s degree, she also began working as a process engineer at Namvaran, one of the best consulting engineering companies in Iran.

Three years later she decided to return to research and enrolled at Colorado School of Mines in the United States, where she began pursuing a doctorate in nanotechnology specializing in computational materials science. In Colorado her thesis is titled “Morphology and Mechanics of Graphene-Based Nanostructures: Atomic-Scale Simulations.”

Maryam married an Iranian scientist in 2007 and God gifted her a baby boy in October 2008. She was babysitting while working on her thesis and investigating the feasibility of forming composites using computational techniques. Graphitic structures are often touted as the building blocks of nanotechnology due to their special mechanical and electrical properties. Graphene and carbon nanotubes can increase the toughness and hardness of aluminum, the most plentiful metal on Earth, which is remarkable for its low density and its ability to resist corrosion and erosion.

Maryam’s work on aluminum reinforced with carbon nanocomposites may lead to numerous industrial applications including new high-performance alloys and composites for a variety of structural applications in the construction, fabrication, automotive and aerospace industries.

After completing her doctorate Maryam plans to return to Iran with her family to teach at the university level.


Nur HIDAYATI




Research FocusFuel Cell Science

Host UniversityNewcastle University, United Kingdom


Nur Hidayati is a lecturer in the department of chemical engineering Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, Indonesia where she came back to teach on completion of her studies. She and her husband have three children, one boy and two girls.

Nur was a PhD student in chemical engineering at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom; she finished her studies in June 2010. Her research focus was on direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) technology and particularly in proton exchange membrane fuel cells which can be fed directly by ethanol.

Among the different cell technologies, polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) operating at low temperature (60-100oC) can be used for a large range of power applications. The choice of fuel is still difficult and depends on the field of applications. Hydrogen or hydrogen rich gases are the best choice for stationary application but not for residential use. For mobile purposes, the difficulties and hazards associated with handling, storage, transportation and distribution of hydrogen are problems for commercial applications. The use of liquid fuels, such as alcohols for a PEFC is attractive to avoid these difficulties. Methanol is the favourite alcohol among all the investigated liquid fuels because of its high electrochemical activity compared to other alcohols. However, methanol presents a problem because it is not a primary fuel. Ethanol as a bio-fuel has a strong future as an alternative fuel for fuel cells because it is “renewable”. It can make important energy and environmental contributions. Moreover it can open up new markets in distributed generation, and advanced transportation applications and create new investment.

Her research focuses ethanol electro-oxidation. She hoped to provide insights into catalyst design for direct ethanol fuel cell technology. Her research has the following objectives: examine alternative electro-catalysts for ethanol oxidation, evaluate new membrane materials that allow operation at higher temperatures and perform experimental tests on novel direct ethanol cells.

Cecilia KORBER GONCALVES

Home CountryBrazil

DegreeMSc in Materials Engineering

ExpertiseSustainability

Research FocusPollutant Emissions of Plastics Combustion

Host UniversityNortheastern University, United States


Cecilia Korber Goncalves was born and raised in Santo Andre, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Cecilia began taking chemistry courses in technical high school and she continued studying chemical engineering during her undergraduate years. In 2005 and 2006 she was a visiting scholar at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, after which she graduated in 2007 with a Master of Science degree in materials engineering at the University of Sao Paulo. Then she pursued a MBA in sustainability, at Fundação Getulio Vargas, a preeminent Brazilian school of administration.

Cecilia’s research focuses on solid waste treatment. She started on batteries recycling through leaching and solvent extraction, and continued her research on the pollutant emissions of plastics waste combustion, which are widely used in developed countries such as the United States and Japan to “dispose” of solid waste. She studied the poliaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions of polyethylene and polystyrene during several different conditions of pyrolysis and combustion. Her research findings were published in the ACS Journal of Energy and Fuels, and were presented at the EPD Congress of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. She delivered three other presentations in Brazilian congresses. Her work to determine which conditions have fewer emissions of soot and heavy PAH, some of which are known to be carcinogenic, could lead to lowered emissions of PAH.

Recently, she has studied the differences of the forestry management certifications available in Brazil, specifically the FSC and Cerflor, when applied to the eucalyptus plantations. The purpose is to bring social and environmental benefits and to promote the responsible management of the forests.

She is working on Strategy in Sustainability at a pulp and paper company in Sao Paulo. She hopes to become a consultant in environmental sciences and teach at a university in Brazil.


MEGAWATI


DegreeMSc in Electrical Engineering


Research FocusGroundwater Flow and Petrophysical Analysis Using Back-Propagation Network

Host UniversityTechnical University of Denmark


Megawati was born in Indonesia. She received her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 2002. Prior to that she studied computational intelligence and systems science at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, where she obtained a GPA of 3.9.

In Tokyo she developed a new neural network called Self-Organized Network Inspired by Immune Algorithm (SONIA) and applied it to pattern recognition and clustering analysis. One of her papers based on this work earned an Excellent Presentation Award at the First International Conference on Soft Computing and Intelligent Systems in 2002 in Tsukuba, Japan.

Megawati began studying for her MSc in electrical engineering at the Technical University of Denmark in 2005, where her research into signal processing in the oil and gas industry focused on groundwater flow and petrophysical analysis using the back-propagation network method, a mathematical model of underground water flow used to identify the permeability coefficients of rock formations and to predict such aspects as seepage rates.

Signal processing techniques and algorithms can help determine the presence of oil and gas deposits in rock layers. As well, they can help in seismic data analysis, in perforating operations and, particularly, in intelligent wells where downhole sensors made from optical fiber provide information about such things as water content in the oil. This information enables workers to make choke valve and injection sleeve changes. However, currently available optical fiber sensors are sensitive to changes in temperature and only work well under constant temperature conditions. Megawati’s work may help overcome these challenges in signal processing techniques and algorithms.

Megawati plans to return to Indonesia to join the Bandung Institute of Technology as a member of the teaching staff.

Patricia MUÑOZ-ESCALONA

Home CountryVenezuela

DegreePhD in Manufacturing Engineering

ExpertiseManufacturing Engineering

Research FocusTool Wear and Workpiece Surface Roughness

Host UniversityUniversity of Bath, United Kingdom


Patricia Muñoz-Escalona is married with two teenagers (14 and 16 years old). She obtained her undergraduate degree in materials engineering and her master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, Venezuela.

Patricia started a part-time PhD in manufacturing engineering at the University of Bath in England in 2005, and she graduated in July 2010. She is a full professor at Simón Bolívar University where she started lecturing and researching on manufacturing processes (welding and machining) in 1992.

She also makes reviews of papers related to her field and has become member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing.

Patricia’s research focus on the prediction of surface roughness prior to a machining process has attracted a great deal of attention, since the geometric structure of rough surfaces influences a multitude of physical phenomena such as contact resistance friction, wear and lubrication—all of which is relevant to many engineering applications.

The evaluation of surface quality based on surface roughness, which generally plays an important role in such things as wear resistance and ductility as well as tensile and fatigue strength for machined parts, cannot be neglected in design. To be able to select an appropriate combination of parameters that provide desired surface quality, it is important to ascertain the influence of different factors involved in the cutting process. These factors depend on the properties of the workpiece material, on the cutting tool, and on the cutting conditions and process phenomena.


Janine NUNES

Home CountryTrinidad and Tobago


ExpertiseChemistry

Research Focus Particle Replication in Non-Wetting Templates

Host University University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States


Janine Nunes was born in Trinidad and Tobago. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemistry at Morgan State University in Maryland in the United States, where she graduated in 2005 with a MSc.

Janine is interested in physical chemistry, particularly the characterization of novel polymeric materials as well as a number of interdisciplinary projects where physical chemistry can be applied. At Morgan State she was a teaching assistant and active at the board level in three student organizations—Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society, National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, and Beta Kappa Chi National Scientific Honor Society.

While pursuing her PhD in chemistry at the University of North Carolina she focused on nanotechnology. She became interested in investigating a new technology designed to create well-defined nanoparticles of one size, shape and exact chemical composition. Designed for use in biomedical applications, this new approach to nanoparticle synthesis, named Particle Replication in Non-Wetting Templates (PRINT), not only affords absolute control over particle size, shape and chemical makeup, but also allows biomolecules to be incorporated into the particles during their creation.

PRINT utilizes a stamping mold made of a novel polymer that does not allow liquids to spread across its surface and this property, known as non-wetting, enables the mold to produce discrete particles with the exact shape and size of any feature etched in the polymer, in much the same way that a rubber stamp coated with ink recreates the design etched on the stamp’s surface. The technology may eventually be useful in making nanoparticles intended as drug delivery vehicles and biocompatible nanoparticles containing anti-cancer and other drugs.

After completing her studies, Janine intends to continue working in the academic field both as a professor and as a researcher.

Princess NWANKWO BROWN

Home CountryNigeria



Research FocusCondensate Reservoir Studies



Princess Nwankwo Brown comes from a family of teachers— both of her parents worked at some point in their careers at university faculties within and outside Nigeria. Princess is married with two children. Her hobbies are debating and writing.

After completing her Master of Science degree in petroleum engineering at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria in 2003, Princess became a lecturer there. Pursuing a PhD in petroleum engineering at The Pennsylvania State University in the United States, her research focuses on condensate reservoir studies using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to predict the wax precipitation temperature from gas condensate fluids.

Most world oil reservoirs contain waxes, which are heavy molecular weight organic fractions containing C18–C36 (paraffinic) and C30-C60 (naphthenic) aromatics. The light fractions of petroleum are more expensive and therefore more desired in the petroleum industry. Waxes, which are petroleum byproducts, may crystallize at any stage if temperatures fall below the wax appearance temperature (or cloud point). Due to an increase in viscosity of the resulting fluid by several orders of magnitude, this often results in wellbore plugging and pipeline deposition, limiting the oil’s ability to effectively flow to the surface.

Deposition of wax in the formation or production facilities may, and often does, lead to stoppages or blockages of free fluid flow, limiting efficient production rates. Minimizing disruptions to production and maximizing throughput efficiencies are a major challenge and are even more relevant as production shifts to cold off-shore locations. Her research addresses this challenge.

Princess was lecturing at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria before commencing her PhD program, and she hopes to return home and improve on her teaching and research skills after completion.


Dupe Nihinlola SAKA

Home CountryNigeria


ExpertiseFlood Modeling, Remote Sensing and Fluid Dynamics

Research FocusFlood Modeling in Niger Delta

Host UniversityLancaster University, United Kingdom


Dupe Nihinlola Saka is the ninth child in a family of 25 in Nigeria. A registered surveyor, she is married with two children and enjoys travelling, meeting people and cooking.

Dupe obtained her Bachelor of Science (First Class) in 1998, and in 2002 she received a Master of Science (Distinction) from the Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics at the University of Lagos in Nigeria. In July 2003 she joined the University of Lagos as an assistant lecturer, and in 2005 she began pursuing her PhD in the Department of Environmental Science at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.

Among her many academic achievements she counts the 1998 Vice Chancellor Prize for best overall performance, along with a National School Fund Prize for best all-round performance. In addition, she is the recipient of a University of Lagos Scholarship Award for best graduating student, and she received a Best Poster award in the first year of her PhD studies.

Dupe’s research focus includes remote sensing, geographical information systems and flood modelling in the Niger Delta. She is particularly interested in the investigation of flooding caused or induced by anthropogenic subsidence as a result of fluid (oil, gas and water) withdrawal. Her work involves developing a numerical model for flooding due to artificial reservoir (dam) impoundments by analyzing pre- and post-dam inflow of water and sediment (recharge from the River Niger and its tributaries) into the Niger Delta.

Due to concerns about rising sea levels and tidal forcing in the Niger Delta, she hopes to develop a predictive flood model for an early warning system that would help protect lives and save properties.

On completion of her studies, Dupe plans to return to the University of Lagos in her home country, Nigeria.

Xiuhua SI

Home CountryChina

DegreePhD in Aerospace Engineering

ExpertiseContinuum Mechanics; Materials Science; Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Research FocusInterface of Crystallines; Mechanical Behavior of Ferromagnetic Materials; Reduce Fouling Deposition



Xiuhua Si was born and raised in Shandong Province, China. The fourth of five children, three of whom have earned master’s degrees or higher, she is married with one son.

Xiuhua obtained her bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering and her master’s in chemical engineering at Dalian University of Technology in the small coastal city of Dalian, China, where she developed her research interest in several engineering fields. As a PhD student in aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University, where she graduated in 2005, she had a diverse range of research interests.

Currently teaching in Calvin College, Michigan, she is working on three different research projects.

Her first project is the theoretical study of surface tension on the interface of crystallines. Xiuhua and her colleagues have developed a model that allows them to predict the interfacial energy of metal and metal oxide interface, particularly for silicon and silicon dioxide interface, which is one of the most important materials in the semiconductor industry.

A second project involves the mechanical behavior of ferromagnetic materials under stress and electro-magnetic fields. Based on a theory she helped develop, she and her university colleagues are designing a single-crystal actuator. This will save time and energy along with the materials used to calibrate multi-crystalline actuators.

Her third project is to develop different physical methods to reduce fouling deposition and enhance heat transfer.


Carolina SOTO



ExpertiseElectrical Engineering and Signal Processing

Research FocusHyper-Spectral Images

Host University University of California Irvine, United States


Carolina Soto was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. As the oldest in her family she wanted to set a good example for her three brothers and her sister, and that motivated her to become successful.

After graduating from electrical engineering she began working full time as a teacher at Javeriana University in Bogota. After obtaining a master’s degree, she moved to California in 2005 to begin PhD studies in electrical engineering working with leading researchers on images with multiple spectral bands. Carolina and her husband are both studying at University of California, Irvine (UCI) in the United States.

Working in the Computer Vision Laboratory at UCI, Carolina is helping develop new algorithms and applications related to hyper-spectral images. Specifically, she has been working on the use of hyper-spectral images to analyze the human skin.

These hyper-spectral algorithms have been successfully used for decades in military applications, but the use of this technology in biomedical applications is still in its infancy. These algorithms and applications will eventually help detect cancer and other abnormalities of the skin using non-invasive methods such as the detection of changes in temperature or abnormalities of the vascular tissue.

Carolina hopes her work will contribute to the development of new techniques used in the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease.

Carolina actively encourages women to pursue technical careers and plans to go back to the Javeriana University in Bogota, Colombia to work as a teacher.

Margarita VARON


DegreePhD in Optoelectronics


Research FocusHyperfrequency Signal Generation by Optoelectronic Oscillators

Host UniversitySUPAERO Institute of Aeronautics and Space Technology, France


Margarita Varón Durán was born in Cartagena, Colombia. After living for most of her life with her parents and sister, she obtained her undergraduate degree in electronics engineering at Javeriana University in Bogota, where she married her husband, an electrical engineer, in 2006.

Following her undergraduate degree, she travelled to Turin, Italy to obtain her master’s degree in optoelectronics. Subsequently she returned to Colombia to work at the university and also in a telecommunications company.

In 2005 Margarita began studying for a PhD in optoelectronics at the SUPAERO Institute of Aeronautics and Space Technology in Toulouse, France, where she obtained her doctorate in 2008.

Margarita’s research focus at SUPAERO was on optoelectronic oscillators, which are used in telecommunication systems to synchronize the transmission and reception of data.

Optoelectronic oscillators are the focus of a great deal of research around the world. The oscillator that Margarita proposed in her doctoral thesis was particularly interesting for its onboard systems components, and because it is small and lightweight it has numerous applications in airplanes, satellites, spacecraft and other vehicles.

Constructed with mostly optical components, these oscillators offer many advantages in addition to light weight and small size. For example, they are not expensive to build, and they have few problems with electronic interference.

Upon completion of her studies at SUPAERO Margarita returned to Colombia and began working at the National University of Colombia as a researcher and professor in the fields of electronics and telecommunications.

FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2005–2011 FELLOWS DIRECTORY 118

NameCountry of Citizen-ship

Degree Expertise Research Focus Host University Fellowship Awarded Page

ABIDI DJENNAH, Zakia Algeria

PhD in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Bioengineering

Development of Antennas in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

University of Paris Sud, France 2006 93

ABUHAFEETHA, Maha Palestine

PhD in Environmental Design

Environmental Design, Project Management, Architectural Engineering

Green Building Design, Indoor Air Quality

University of Calgary, Canada 2009 57

ACHUMBA, Ifeyinwa Eucharia Nigeria

PhD in Electronic and Computer Engineering

Computer Engineering

Virtual Laboratory and Applied Artificial Intelligence

University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom

2006 93

ADDO NTIM, Susana Ghana

PhD in Environmental Science

Environmental Science

Nanotechnology Methods for Water Treatment

New Jersey Institute of Technology, United States

2009 57

ADINDLA, Suma India PhD in Computer

ScienceComputer Engineering

Information Retrieval in Natural Language Processing

University of Essex, United Kingdom 2008 67

ADINDLA, Swathi India PhD in

Bioinformatics BioengineeringDesign of Efficient Enzymes with Novel Functions

Yale University, United States 2007 83

AFADZI, Mercy Ghana PhD in Medical

TechnologyBiophysics and Medical Physics

Combining Ultrasound with Drug Delivery

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

2009 58

AHMED, Marwa Egypt PhD in Chemistry Organic Chemistry Chiral Synthesis

and AnalysisUniversity of Canberra, Australia 2011 11

AJAYI, Deborah Nigeria Post-Doctorate

in Mathematics MathematicsInteractions of Combinatorics and Algebraic Topology

The Pennsylvania State University, United States

2010 39

AKBULUT HALATCI, Ozge Turkey

Post-Doctorate in Material Engineering

Material Engineering

Diagnostic Devices and Nanofabrication

Harvard University, United States 2011 11

AKINSANMI, Eyiwunmi Nigeria PhD in Electrical

EngineeringEngineering and Public Policy

Optoelectronics-Based Solar Applications

Carnegie Mellon University, United States

2010 39

AKINTAYO, Cecilia Olufunke Nigeria Post-Doctorate in

Chemistry Industrial Chemistry

Synthesizing Polymeric Resins for the Paint and Coating Industries from Renewable Resources

Syracuse University, United States 2011 12

ALAYAKI, Funmilayo Modupe Nigeria

PhD in Geotechnical Engineering

Geotechnical Engineering

Stabilization of Problematic Laterite Soils

University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

2011 12

FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE COMMUNITY

2005–2011 Fellows

118 FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2005–2011 FELLOWS DIRECTORY 119



ALBUNNI, Nada

Syrian Arab Republic

PhD in Web Science Informatics

Evaluation of the Role of Trust in Establishing On-Line Social Networks

University of Southampton, United Kingdom

2011 13

ALVAREZ ELIZONDO, Martha Beatriz Mexico Post-Doctorate in

Biophysical Optics Optics

Use of Optical Tweezers to Measure Cell Viscoelasticity

University of California Irvine, United States

2008 67

AMUTA AISABOKHAE, Ruth

Nigeria PhD in Agricultural Economics Agriculture

West African Agricultural Trade and Competitiveness

Texas A&M University, United States

2008 68

ANAND, Suman India Post-Doctorate

in PhysicsOptical Coherence, Laser Tweezers

Optical Trapping of Aerosol Particles

University of Dundee, United Kingdom 2010 40

ANDRES, Jeanne Therese Hilario Philippines PhD in Chemical

EngineeringChemical Engineering

Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage


2008 68

APRILIA, Aretha Indonesia PhD in Energy

ScienceEnvironmental Management

Household Solid Waste Management

Kyoto University, Japan 2011 13

ARCOT DESAI, Sharanya India PhD in

Bioengineering

Electrophysiology and Signal Processing

Neuroengineering and Epilepsy

Georgia Institute of Technology, United States

2011 14

ARDEKANI, Arezoo Iran

Post-Doctorate in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Fluid MechanicsMultiphase Fluid Mechanics, Complex Fluids

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States

2009 58

ARIF, Shehla Pakistan

Post-Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering

Soft Matter, Fluid Mechanics

Advanced Composite Materials

McGill University, Canada 2010 40

ARUMUGAM, Arul Mani Shanthi Malaysia

PhD in Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering

GeologySubduction Zone Earthquake-Triggered Tremors

Imperial College, London, United Kingdom

2008 69

ASAD, Zakia Pakistan

PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Algorithmic and Information- Theoretic Aspects of Networking, Reliable and Fault-Tolerant Systems Design


2011 14

AYRANCI KILINÇ, Isil Turkey

Post-Doctorate in Combustion Diagnostics

Chemical Engineering

Combustion Characteristics of Liquid Fuel Injectors


2008 69

BAGHERIFARD, Sara Iran

Post-Doctorate in Surface Treatments


Surface Nanocrystallization Induced by Shot Peening

Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy

2011 15

BARIMALALA, Rondrotiana Madagascar Post-Doctorate

in OceanographyPhysical Oceanography

Indian Ocean variability


2011 15

BENEGAS, Laura Paraguay PhD in Soil Science

Agronomy Sciences and IntegratedWatershed Management

The Role of Trees and Hydrology in Watershed Management

Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Sweden

2011 16

BHANDARKAR, Sumitha India PhD in Computer

Engineering Network ProtocolsTransmission Control Protocol in Emerging Networks


2005 111




BILBEISI, Rana Jordan PhD in Chemistry Chemistry

Synthesis and Application of Container Molecules

Cambridge University, United Kingdom

2010 41

BRAGATO, Marcia Brazil

Post-Doctorate in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

Materials Engineering

Hazardous Waste Treatment and Management

Northeastern University, United States

2006 94

BROWNE, Nana Ama Kum Ghana

PhD in Environmental and Geographical Science

Physics Climate Prediction Systems

University of Cape Town, South Africa 2008 70

BUDHIJANTO, Wiratni Indonesia Post-Doctorate in

EngineeringBioprocess Engineering

Small-Scale Continuous Bio-Digesters

Cornell University, United States 2009 59

CALDERON-PALMA, Heyddy Nicaragua PhD in Hydrology

Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions

Water Resources and Availability

UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, The Netherlands

2010 41

CANDARLIOGLU, Pelin Turkey PhD in Materials

Science Bioengineering

Bone Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Imperial College, London, United Kingdom

2010 42

CANDRA DEWI, Ova Indonesia


Solid Waste and Urban Management

Municipal Solid Waste Management

Hamburg University of Technology, Germany

2006 94

CARDOSO ZIES, Camila Ribeiro Brazil PhD in Mechanical

EngineeringMechanical Engineering

Nanoparticle Transport Through Porous Media

Rice University, United States 2005 111

CASTILLO, Charlotte Kendra Gotangco Philippines

PhD in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Climate and Tropical Deforestation

Purdue University, United States 2009 59

CEMPAKA WANGI, Novi Ineke Indonesia PhD in Electrical

EngineeringCivil and Electrical Engineering

Wireless Telecommunication Networking

Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

2005 112

CHO, So-Hye

Republic of Korea (South Korea)

Post-Doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry

Chemistry

Electron-Dense Labels for Use in Electron Microscope Imaging

The Scripps Research Institute, United States

2007 83

CHOUDHURY, Charisma Bangladesh

Post-Doctorate in Transportation Engineering

Mobility Modeling Transportation Engineering


2011 16

CHUKUALIM, Bridget Sierra Leone PhD in Medical

Informatics Sleeping Sickness

Comparative Genomic Analysis of Kinetoplastid Protozoa


2010 42

COLLEPARDO-GUEVARA, Rosana

MexicoPost-Doctorate in Biomolecular Simulations

Theorical Chemistry Biomolecular Simulations

New York University, United States 2010 43

COLOMBI, Carina Argentina

Post-Doctorate in Geology and Paleontology

GeologyPast Climate Change in Continental Basins

University of California Davis, United States

2006 95

DAHUNSI, Folasade Mojisola Nigeria PhD in Electrical

EngineeringElectrical Engineering

Accuracy of Location-Based Services

University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

2008 70




DAMAYANTI, Alia Indonesia

PhD in Environmental Engineering

Environmental Engineering

Wastewater Treatment

Technological University of Malaysia

2006 95

D’ANGELO, Maria Veronica Argentina

Post-Doctorate in Transport of Particles and Fibers in Porous Media

Physics

Transport of Particles and Fibers in Porous and Fractured Media

University of Paris Sud, France 2006 96

DEMARCHI AIELLO, Clarice Brazil

PhD in Nuclear Science and Engineering

Experimental Physics

Quantum Computing


2011 17

DEWI, Dyah Ekashanti Octorina

Indonesia PhD in Biomedical Engineering

Image Processing and Analysis

3D Ultrasound Imaging

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

2006 96

DJANALI, Vivien Suphandani Indonesia PhD in Mechanical

EngineeringComputational Fluid Dynamics

Preconditioning in the Factional-Step Methods of Navier-Strokes Equations

The University of Sydney, Australia 2009 60

DONMEZER, Fatma Nazli Turkey PhD in Mechanical


Thermal Engineering of Electronic Devices


2009 60

DUDCHENKO, Olga Ukraine PhD in Biophysics Biophysics

Fluid Flow in Deformable Vessels, Hydrodynamic Aspects of Blood Coagulation

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Russian Federation

2009 61

DWIVANY, Fenny Indonesia Post-Doctorate in

Molecular Biology Molecular BiologyGenetic Improvement of Bananas

Queensland University of Technology, Australia

2011 17

EIDINI-NEZHAD, Maryam Iran PhD in Civil

EngineeringStructural Engineering

Collapse Analysis of Structures

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States

2007 84

EL MONIER, Ilham Egypt PhD in Petroleum

EngineeringPetroleum Engineering

Environmentally Friendly Clay Stabilizers


2007 84

EL TAHIR AHMED, Nada Bushra Sudan PhD in Seismology Seismology

Seismic Velocity Structure of the Crust and Upper Mantle in Sudan

University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and The Pennsylvania State University, United states

2009 61

EPOSSI NTAH, Zoila Luz Cameroon PhD in

Archaeometry Chemistry

Production Techniques and Provenance of Ancient Ceramics from Cameroon

University of Leipzig, Germany 2008 71

FALCONI, Stefanie Maria Ecuador

PhD in Environmental Engineering

Human-Environmental Systems Interactions, System Analysis, Decision and Policy Making

Water Resource Management

Johns Hopkins University, United States

2011 18




FIGUEROA, Maria Jose Colombia PhD in Science

Education

Science Teaching and Assessment, Educational Assessment

Science Assessment of Students´ Learning

Stanford University, United States 2006 97

FIRDAYATI, Mayrina Indonesia

PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Waste Water Treatment Systems

Re-Use of Grey Water for Urban Agriculture

Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg, Germany

2007 85

FOX, Dawn Guyana PhD in Chemical


Environmentally Friendly Water Filters Using Cactus Mucilage

University of South Florida, United States 2008 71

FUWAPE, Ibiyinka Nigeria Post-Doctorate

in Physics Physics

Mechanisms of Information Encoding in Oscillatory Sensory Cells

Ohio University, United States 2006 97

GADZIKWA, Tendai Zimbabwe Post-Doctorate

in Chemistry Chemistry

Design and Synthesis of Supramolecular Catalysts

University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2008 72

GHARAEI, Masoumeh Iran PhD in

Mathematics MathematicsMathematical Theory of Random Dynamical Systems

University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2010 43

GOLABCHI, Maryam Iran PhD in Materials

ScienceChemical Engineering

Carbon Nanotubes and Aluminum-Carbon Composites

Colorado School of Mines, Colorado, United States

2005 112

GOMORA-FIGUEROA, Ana Paulina Mexico Post-Doctorate

in Chemistry ChemistryPorous Metal-Organic Frameworks

University of California Berkeley, United States

2010 44

GONZALEZ PECH, Natalia Mexico PhD in Chemistry Nanotechnology

Synthesis and Characterization of Nanomaterials and their Application in Water Processes


GORE, Jane Zimbabwe Post-Doctorate

in Seismology Geophysics

3D Mapping of Crustal Discontinuities Under the Zimbabwe Craton


2006 98

GORRET NANTONGO, Mary Uganda

PhD in Development Studies

Development and Agricultural/ Resource Economics

Climate ChangeNorwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway

2011 19

GOU, Si China PhD in Water

ResourcesWater Resources Engineering Ecohydrology


2011 19

GRYGOR’YEVA, Lyudmyla Ukraine

Post-Doctorate in Applied Mathematics

Applied Mathematics

Stability and Dynamics of Hamiltonian Systems

University of Franche-Comté, France

2011 20

HANDAYANI, Ismudiati Puri Indonesia

PhD in Optical Condensed Matter Physics

Physics

Spin and Polarization Dynamics in Multiferroics and Frustrated Systems


2006 98




HASHIM, Saima Pakistan Post-Doctorate in

Weed Genomics

Molecular Mechanism of Herbicide Resistance in Weeds

Mode of Action of Allelochemical Compoundsv

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan

2010 44

HASHMI, Basma Pakistan PhD in

Bioengineering BioengineeringReprogramming Adult Bone Marrow Stem Cells


HASHMI, Nada Pakistan

PhD in Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Healthcare Information and Communication Technologies

Technologies for Remote Health Care


2008 72

HASHMI, Saira Pakistan Doctor of Design

(DDes) Water Resources

Designing Water Infrastructure and Water Policy Resource Management Issues in United Arab Emirates


HIDAYATI, Nur Indonesia PhD in Chemical

EngineeringChemical Engineering Fuel Cell Science

Newcastle University, United Kingdom

2005 113

HO, Jenny Malaysia Post-Doctorate in

Bioengineering

Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering

Genetic Therapeutics

Monash University, Australia 2008 73

HUAMAN QUISPE, Ana Peru PhD in Robotics Mechatronics

Engineering

Planning Algorithms for Robotics


2011 20

HUNKY, Rabia Libya PhD in Petroleum


Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery

Missouri University of Science and Technology, United States

2007 85

IBENECHE, Chieze Nigeria PhD in Physics Biophysics Organization of

Cytoplasm in Cells

The University of Texas at Austin, United States

2006 99

IJAGBEMI, Christianah Olakitan Nigeria

PhD in Energy and Environmental Engineering

Mechanical, Energy and Environmental Engineering

Eco-Efficient Technology for Energy Optimization and Human Environment

Ewha Womans University, Republic of Korea (South Korea)

2007 86

ILLOLDI-RANGEL, Patricia Mexico Post-Doctorate

in BiodiversityEmergent Diseases and Conservation Lyme Disease


2009 62

INAM, Edu Nigeria Post-Doctorate

in ChemistryGroundwater Monitoring

Environmental Monitoring and Risk Assessment

Gwanju Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea (South Korea)

2008 74

IQBAL, Sehar Pakistan PhD in

Mathematics

Mathematical Modeling and Applied Analysis

Applied Mathematics (Non-Linear PDEs)

University of Twente, The Netherlands 2011 21

ISMAIL, Hilda Indonesia PhD in Organic

Chemistry ChemistryEnzymatic Resolution of Chiral Amines


2006 99

JABEEN, Farhana Pakistan

PhD in Distributed and Adaptive Systems

Computer Science Ad-Hoc Wireless Sensor Networks

University of Manchester, United Kingdom

2009 62




JAGADEVAN, Sheeja India PhD in Engineering

ScienceEnvironmental Engineering

Remediation of Toxic Metalworking Fluid Wastewater

University of Oxford, United Kingdom 2010 45

JALLAH, Zegbeh Liberia PhD in

BioengineeringFemale Pelvic Floor Disorders

Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Urinary Incontinence

University of Pittsburgh, United States

2010 46

JOSEPH, Laveeta India PhD in

Bioengineering Neuroengineering Neural Electrophysiology


2007 86

JOSHI, Gauri India PhD in Wireless

Communications

Communications and Signal Processing

Wireless Communications


2011 21

KANG, Xiaoxu China PhD in

Bioengineering Neuroscience

Neural Signal Processing, Instrumentation, Clinical Neuroscience

Johns Hopkins University, United States

2010 46

KARNA, Nishu Nepal PhD in Space

Physics Physics Polar Coronal HoleGeorge Mason University, United States

2011 22

KEMEI, Moureen Kenya PhD in Material

Science Materials Science

Magneto-Electric Materials and Frustrated Magnetism

University of California Santa Barbara, United States

2011 22

KORBER GONCALVES, Cecilia Brazil MSc in Materials

Engineering SustainabilityPollutant Emissions of Plastics Combustion

Northwestern University, United States

2005 113

KULWA, Kissa Tanzania PhD in Applied

Biological Sciences

Consumer Sciences and Human Nutrition

Infant and Young Child Growth and Micronutrient Intake

Ghent University, Belgium 2008 74

KURIA, Emily Benice Ngubia Kenya PhD in Medical

Sciences

Gender Studies Research, Neuroscience Research, Science and Technology Studies

Evaluation of the Mental Rotation Task in its Role in Establishing Cognitive Gender/Sex Differences in Intellectual Capacity

Charité-Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany

2008 75

KURUPPU, Anchala Sri Lanka PhD in Molecular

BiologyThe Molecular Biology of Cancer

Breast Cancer Biology

University of Nottingham, United Kingdom

2011 23

LESTARI, Witri Wahyu Indonesia PhD in Science Chemistry

Organometallic Co-ordination Chemistry

University of Leipzig, Germany 2010 47

LINZER, Lindsay South Africa Post-Doctorate

in Geophysics Geophysics

How Rock Fractures Around Underground Excavations


2006 100

LORITE, Gabriela Simone Brazil Post-Doctorate in

Applied Physics BiophysicsAtomic Force Microscopy and Biofilms

University of Oulu, Finland 2011 23

MACABEBE, Erees Queen Philippines PhD in Physics Photovoltaics

Solar Cells and Photovoltaic Modules

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa

2006 100




MADHAVAN, Radhika India PhD in

Bioengineering Bioengineering

How Learning Modifies Neuronal Connections in the Brain


2006 101

MAGOHA, Happy Tanzania PhD in Applied

Biological Sciences Food Chemistry

Mycotoxin Exposure Assessment in Children

Ghent University, Belgium 2011 24

MAHMOUD, Indira Abdel Rahman Mohamed

SudanPhD in Environmental Engineering

Geology

Groundwater Pollution Assessment for Environmental Management

University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

2010 47

MAIRIZA, Dewi Indonesia PhD in Computing

ScienceSoftware Engineering

Investigating Conflicts Among Non-Functional Requirement

University of Technology Sydney, Australia

2006 101

MAKAM KOM, Olive Modestine Cameroon PhD in Medical

PhysicsMedical Physics in Radiation Therapy

Radiotherapy and Treatment Planning Systems

Saarland University Hospital, Germany 2006 102

MARTÍNEZ GÓMEZ, Elizabeth Mexico Post-Doctorate in

Astrostatistics Astronomy

Planetary Sciences and Application of Statistics to Astronomy and Astrophysics


2008 75

MATERU, Silvia Tanzania

PhD in Environmental Toxicology

Science Education

Potential Impact of Toxic Chemicals from Sugar and Rice Plantations on the Environmental Quality of Freshwater Wetland Ecosystems

Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany

2011 24

MAULIDEVI, Nur Ulfa Indonesia PhD in Electrical

Engineering

Artificial Intelligence as an Imitation of Human Cognition Systems

Multi-Agents in Collaborative Knowledge Building

Institute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia

2006 102

MEGAWATI Indonesia MSc in Electrical Engineering

Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Groundwater Flow and Petrophysical Analysis Using Back-Propagation Network

Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

2005 114

MEJIA VELASQUEZ, Paula Colombia PhD in Botany

and Geology Botany

Diversification and Radiation of Flowering Plants in Lower Cretaceous Period

University of Florida, United States 2008 76

MENSAH, Lena Dzifa Ghana

PhD in Engineering and Management of Manufacturing Systems


Moving Up the Value Chain in Ghana

Cranfield University, United Kingdom 2006 103

MOHAMED, Nahla


Post-Doctorate in Clinical Virology and Molecular Biology

Clinical Virology and Molecular Biology

RVFV Zoonosis Umea University, Sweden 2011 25

MOHAMMED KHAIR, Elham


PhD in Petroleum Engineering

Petroleum Engineering

Modeling of Hydraulic Fracturing

China University of Petroleum, China 2007 87




MOKEDDEM, Zohra Algeria

Post-Doctorate in Sedimentology and Climate Change

PaleoclimatologySahara Advance Linked to Global Climate Change

University of Columbia, United States

2006 103

MONKO, Rehema Tanzania PhD in Engineering

Science

Construction Cost Estimating, Project Management and Procurement of Works

Adopting BIM Technology in Tanzania/Africa

Louisiana State University, United States

2011 25

MORRIS, Taryn South Africa PhD in Ecology Ecology and

Invasion Biology

Introduction of Invasive Alien Species

University of Colorado at Boulder, United States

2010 48

MOUSSAOUI, Aicha Algeria

PhD in Electronics and Magnetic Resonance

Bioengineering Medical Image Processing

Centrale Graduate School, Marseille, France

2006 104

MUNOZ-ESCALONA, Patricia Venezuela

PhD in Manufacturing Engineering

Manufacturing Engineering

Tool Wear and Workpiece Surface Roughness

University of Bath, United Kingdom 2005 114

MURADYAN, Paytsar Armenia

PhD in Atmospheric Sciences

Physics

Atmospheric Profiling Using Airborne Radio Signals

Purdue University, United States 2007 87

MURCHIKOVA, Elena

Russian Federation

PhD in Theoretical Physics Theoretical Physics String Theory

Imperial College London, United Kingdom

2011 26

MUSTAFFA, Zahiraniza Malaysia PhD in Civil

Engineering

Hydraulics, Hydrology, Probabilistic and Corrosions in Pipeline

System Reliability Assessment of Offshore Pipelines


2008 76

MWAMPAMBA, Tuyeni Heita Tanzania Post-Doctorate

in Ecology

Tropical Forest Ecology and Conservation Management

Community Forests and Payment for Ecosystem Services

National Autonomous University of Mexico. 2010 48

NAIM, Sidrotun Indonesia

MS-PhD in Soil, Water, and Environmental Science MS in Microbiology and Pathobiology

Aquaculture Shrimp and Fish Diseases

University of Arizona, United States 2010 49

NAKATUDDE, Rebecca Uganda MSc in Medical

Physics Physics

3D Manual Missing Tissue Compensator Cutter


2007 88

NANTEZA, Jamiat Uganda PhD in Earth

System Sciences Meteorology

Remote Sensing Application to Hydro-disaster Monitoring and Management

University of California, Irvine, United States

2011 26

NGUMBI, Esther Kenya PhD in Entomology Chemical Ecology

Alternative Strategies for Controlling Insect Pests

Auburn University, United States 2010 49

NOVANDA, Happy Primita Indonesia

PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering


Power Quality Monitoring in Wind Farms


2008 77

NUDNOVA, Maryia

Republic of Belarus

PhD in Plasma Physics Physics

3D Investigations of Pulsed Discharge for Ultra-Fast Plasma Control

The Ohio State University, United States

2007 88




NUNES, Janine

Trinidad and Tobago PhD in Chemistry Chemistry

Particle Replication in Non-Wetting Templates

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, United States

2005 115

NURJANAH, Dade Indonesia PhD in Computer

ScienceComputer Engineering

Collaborative Authoring for Adaptive Learning


2008 77

NWANKWO BROWN, Princess Nigeria PhD in Petroleum


Condensate Reservoir Studies


2005 115

OBINAJU, Blessing Nigeria PhD in Biological

Sciences

Environmental and Biochemical Toxicology

Environmental Xenobiotics

Lancaster University, United Kingdom 2011 27

OFORI-SARPONG, Grace Ghana

PhD in Energy and Mineral Engineering

Biohydrometallurgy and Environmental Biotechnology

Enhancing Gold Extraction from Refractory Gold Ores


2009 63

OHENE-AGYEI, Thelma Ghana PhD in

Pharmacology Pharmacology

Multidrug Resistance of Bacterial Pathogens


2011 27

OKE, Oluwabukola Abiodun Nigeria

PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Renewable Energy

Statistical Load Flow for Energy Distribution Systems

University of Nottingham, United Kingdom

2010 50

OKTARINA, Dyah Ayu Mira Indonesia PhD in

Dermatology Medicine Pemphigus Pathogenesis


2008 78

OLAJUYIGBE, Folasade Mayowa Nigeria Post-Doctorate

in BiochemistryProtein Structure and Function

Drug Discovery against Infectious Organisms

University of Florida Gainesville, United States

2006 104

OSMAN, Rasha Sudan

Post-Doctorate in Performance Engineering

Software Performance Engineering

Self-Managing Database Systems


2011 28

PEDANO, Maria Laura Argentina

Post-Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Chemical Sciences

Biosensors and Nanotechnology

Using Biosensors to Detect Chagas’ Disease


2007 89

PERERA, Nimalika Sri Lanka PhD in Physics Bio Fuel Cells

Efficient and Cost-Effective Membrane— Electrode Assemblies for Bio Fuel Cells


2010 50

PODDUTOORI, Premaladha India

Post-Doctorate in Organic Chemistry and Materials Science

Organic Chemistry and Materials Science

Highly Efficient Systems for Solar Fuel Generation


2009 63

PURWANDARI, Betty Indonesia PhD in Web

Science Web ScienceImpact of Mobile Web on Emerging Economies


2009 64

QAZI, Sobia Anwar Pakistan PhD in Civil

Engineering

Material and Structural Aspect of Concrete

Development of Advanced Materials for Enhancing the Fire Endurance of Structural Members

University of Technology Mara, Malaysia

2010 51




QI, Ran China PhD in Petroleum


Modeling and Designing of Carbon Dioxide Storage in Aquifers


2006 105

QUAIN, Marian D. Ghana Post-Doctorate

in Biotechnology BiotechnologyThe Effects of Drought on Soybean Plants

University of Leeds, United Kingdom 2011 28

RAJI, Hauwa Onize Nigeria PhD in Offshore


Strength and Fatigue Analysis of Deep Water Offshore Platforms

University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom

2006 105

RAMIREZ CARVALHO, Monica Colombia PhD in Plant

Sciences Plant Systematics Evolution of Tropical Vegetation

Cornell University, United States 2011 29

RAY, Sujata India Post-Doctorate in

Earth Sciences


Carbon Dioxide Storage in Deep Saline Aquifers


2007 89

RAZAFINDRATSIMA, Onja Madagascar PhD in Ecology Ecology

Ecology and Conservation Biology


RIAZ, Maria Pakistan PhD in Computer

ScienceInformation Security

Privacy and Access Control

North-Carolina State University, United States

2011 30

ROCHA GASO, Maria Isabel Mexico

PhD in Bioelectronics Egineering

Electronics Engineering

Surface Acoustic Wave Microsensors for Biosensing

Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain

2007 90

RODRIGUEZ-VALLARTE, Maria Del Carmen

Mexico Post-Doctorate in Mathematics

Lie Algebras and Lie Superalgebras

Natural Generalizations of Heisenberg Lie Algebra


2009 64

ROSEMARY BASTIAN, Arangassery India PhD in Biomedical

EngineeringBiomedical Engineering

HIV-1 Drug Development

Drexel University, United States 2011 30

SAKA, Dupe Nihinlola Nigeria


Flood Modeling, Remote Sensing and Fluid Dynamics

Flood Modeling in Niger Delta

Lancaster University, United Kingdom 2005 116

SANCHEZ CHAVEZ, Irma Yolanda Mexico PhD in Engineering

SciencesChemical Engineering

Systems to Deliver Insulin to Diabetic Patients

University of Texas at Austin, United States 2006 106

SANMATHI, Chavalmane Subbenaik

India Post-Doctorate in Polymer Chemistry Chemistry

Ceramic Dense Nano-Powders of Thermoelectric 0xides

National Graduate School of Engineering and Research Center, France

2006 106

SARYBAEVA, Asel Kyrgyzstan PhD in

Microbiology Medical Business

Tuberculosis Infection, Reactivation and Transmission

University of Leicester, United Kingdom

2011 31

SEGOVIA-SALCEDO, Maria Ecuador PhD in Molecular

Systematics Botany

Conservation Genetics and Molecular Systematics

University of Florida, United States 2010 51

SEMIENOVA, Anna Petrovna

Russian Federation

Post-Doctorate in Petroleum Engineering

Petroleum Engineering

Mathematical Model of Compositional Multi-Segment Wells

Stanford University, United States 2007 90

SHADROKH, Yasaman Iran

PhD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering


Computer-Based Simulations in Nanotechnology

Imperial College, United Kingdom 2008 78




SHAH, Sitara Parveen Pakistan PhD in Geography Geography

Impact of Climate Change on Rural Populations

University of Bonn, Germany 2010 52

SHAMARDINA, Olga

Russian Federation

PhD in Polymer Physics

Computer Engineering

Computer Models for High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg, Germany and Institute of Energy Research IEF-3—Fuel Cells Research Center, Julich, Germany

2007 91

SHARIFI KHOBDEH, Shirin Iran PhD in Chemical


Drop Deformation and Breakup in Two-Phase Systems


2006 107

SHILLA, Dativa Tanzania


Environmental Science

Organic Geochemistry in Marine Environments

University of the Ryukyus, Japan 2011 31

SI, Xiuhua China PhD in Aerospace

Engineering

Continuum Mechanics, Materials Science, Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Interface of Crystallines, Mechanical Behavior of Ferromagnetic Materials, Reduce Fouling Deposition


2005 116

SIAD, Sadiyo Somalia

PhD in Infectious Diseases and Immunology

Medical Research Role of Properdin in Infectious Diseases

University of Leicester, United Kingdom

2010 52

SOMBATMANKHONG, Korakot Thailand PhD in Chemical

Engineering Fuel CellsMicro-Fabrication Techniques for Micro-Fuel Cells


2009 65

SOTO, Carolina Colombia PhD in Electrical

Engineering

Electrical Engineering and Signal Processing

Hyper-Spectral Images

University of California Irvine, United States

2005 117

SURESH, Sindhu India PhD in Electrical

Engineering

Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Radio Frequency Power Amplifiers

Polytechnic University of New York, United States

2008 79

TEKLU, Tsega Ethiopia PhD in Nuclear

Geosciences PhysicsApplication of Nuclear Radiation (Optimization)

University of Vienna, Austria 2011 32

TIRIVAROMBO, Sithabile Zimbabwe PhD in Water

Resource ScienceAquatic Chemistry and Hydrology

Climate Change and Variability Impacts on Water Resources Management of the Zambezi River Basin

Rhodes University, South Africa 2010 53

TUDEVDAGVA, Uranchimeg Mongolia Post-Doctorate in

Computer science Computer Science

Man-Machine Systems, E-Learning and Virtual Laboratories

Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany

2011 32

TUMUSHIME, Ignacie Rwanda PhD in Forest

Science Soil Science

Impact of nitrogen and other fertilizer inputs on carbon dynamics in managed pine forests of Southeastern United States


2011 33




UGBI, Blessing Nigeria PhD in Mechanical

Engineering

Manufacturing Technology and Systems Management

Simulation and Optimization of Emergency Treatment in Nigerian Hospitals


2011 33

UNACHUKWU, Chinazo Nigeria

PhD in Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Signal Processing for Communications

Precoder Design for Interference Alignment

University of Leeds, United Kingdom 2011 34

UUSIKU, Nangula Paulina Namibia PhD in Nutrition Nutrition

Antioxidant Properties of African Leafy Vegetables

University of Pretoria, South Africa 2008 79

VARON, Margarita Colombia PhD in

Optoelectronics


Hyperfrequency Signal Generation by Optoelectronic Oscillators

SUPAERO Institute of Aeronautics and Space Technology, France

2005 117

VASA, Parinda India

Post-Doctorate in Ultrafast Nano-Optics and Physics

Physics

Nano-Optics and Exciton-Plasmon Interactions in Metal Hybrid Structures

Carl von Ossietzky University, Germany 2008 80

VASCO PALACIOS, Aida Marcela Colombia PhD in Ecology of

Fungi

Ethnomycology, Taxonomy, Mycology

Biodiversity of Fungi in Tropical Ecosystems

Utrecht University, The Netherlands and CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre

2011 34

WANG, Shuang China PhD in Civil

EngineeringStructural Engineering Smart Structures

University of Pittsburgh, United States

2011 35

WOROU, Omonlola Nadine Benin PhD in Crop

Modelling Crop ModellingModelling Cropping System on Farm Conditions

University of Bonn, Germany 2011 35

WU, Pinyu China PhD in Physics Biopolymer

Networks3D Thermal Noise Imaging


2006 107

XU, Na China


Hydrology and Biochemistry

Dynamics of Dissolved Organic Matter in Water

Yale University, United States 2010 53

YEE, Moe Swe Myanmar

PhD in Agricultural Sciences (Division of Environmental Science and Technology)

Global Future of Life, Food and the Environment

Advanced Agricultural Technologies for Food Sufficiency, Food Security, Rural Development and Environmental Management

Kyoto University, Japan 2010 54

YESHANEH, Eleni Ethiopia

PhD in Water Resources Engineering


Catchment-Level Environmental Changes Using Remotely Sensed Data

Vienna University of Technology, Austria

2010 54

YU, Min China

PhD in Computational Condensed Matter Physics

PhysicsElectronic Structure of Condensed Matter

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States

2006 108




YUNINGSIH, Euis Tintin Indonesia PhD in Geology Economic Geology

Epithermal Gold, Silver and Base Metal Mineralization in West Java, Indonesia

Hokkaido University, Japan 2009 65

ZAHRAIE, Banafsheh Iran

Post-Doctorate in Operation Optimization of Multi-Reservoir Systems

Water Resources Engineering and Management

Evolutionary Computing in Water Engineering

University of Tehran, Iran

2007 91

ZAKERI, Mahnaz Iran PhD in Mechanical


Fracture Mechanics, Composite Materials

Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy

2006 108

ZENAB, Rida-e- Pakistan PhD in

Mathematics Pure Mathematics Semigroup Theory University of York, United Kingdom 2011 36

ZHANG, Di China PhD in Chemical


Microgrid Optimization

University College London, United Kingdom

2011 36


Schlumberger Stichting Fund:

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Jean-Marc Perraud Jean ChevallierStephanie Cox Sola OyinlolaRanaa Riyamy Tore SandvoldHatem Soliman Officers

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Board of Directors

Jean-Marc Perraud Jean ChevallierStephanie Cox Sola OyinlolaRanaa Riyamy Tore SandvoldHatem Soliman Officers

Jean-Marc Perraud ChairmanSola Oyinlola President and Treasurer Jean Chevallier Vice-PresidentEileen Hardell SecretaryBram Verburg Controller

Details

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132 FACULTY FOR THE FUTURE 2011 BIOGRAPHY BOOKLET 133

© Copyright 2012 Sophia, Unpublished Work. All rights reserved.

Faculty for the Future Empowering Women, Advancing Science

The Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future program, launched in 2004, awards fellowships to women from developing and emerging economies to pursue PhD or post-doctoral studies in the physical sciences and related disciplines at top universities abroad. The program’s long-term goal is to generate conditions that result in more women pursuing academic careers in scientific disciplines. The Faculty for the Future program is growing each year and has become a powerful community that today stands at 194 pioneering women scientists from 54 countries. Ultimately grant recipients are expected to contribute to the socio-economic development of their home countries and regions by strengthening the faculties in their home universities, pursuing relevant research, or using their specific expertise to address policy issues. The end goal is to attract and retain more young women in the sciences. Faculty for the Future grants are in the range of USD 25,000 to 50,000 per year and may be renewed through to completion of studies subject to performance, self-evaluation, and recommendations from supervisors. Final grant amounts are subject to actual costs of study and living in the given location.

All degrees noted are those funded, in whole or in part, by the Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future program. Funding of MSc ended in 2007. Three Faculty for the Future fellows—Lindsay Linzer (2006), Jane Gore (2006) and Nada El Tahir (2009)—are also members of AfricaArray, a program designed to promote, strengthen and maintain a workforce of highly trained African geoscientists and researchers for Africa’s natural resource sector. The Schlumberger Foundation is proud to support this initiative.

Schlumberger FoundationFaculty for the FutureC/o Schlumberger Limited42, rue Saint-Dominique75007 ParisTel: +33 (0) 1 40 62 10 00Fax: +33 (0) 1 40 62 11 04

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