Professor Catherine Ngila is among the five women researchers globally to receive the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards. Catherine Ngila was named the 2021 Laureate for Africa and the Arab states in the award which honours outstanding female scientists in mathematics, astrophysics, chemistry, and informatics.
Catherine is celebrated for introducing and developing nanotechnology-based analytics for monitoring water pollutants in heavily polluted countries. Her work in detecting and removing industrial water pollutants, including trace metals like aluminium, lead, and zinc, as well as toxic chemical substances, has enabled millions to benefit from safer drinking water. Her team’s modelling of wastewater treatment is helping wastewater treatment managers in Johannesburg improve their effluent discharge.
Water research is close to my heart in that, water is life! Nanotechnology can play a vital role in water purification techniques. My dream is to produce a commercially viable water nano-filter that removes contaminants in one filtration cycle, enabling rural African families to install affordable water filters
Professor Catherine Ngila
in their homes.”
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Professor Catherine is the Acting Executive Director of the African Academy of Science, and a visiting Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Johannesburg. She previously served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Riara University and as Deputy Director of Morendat Institute of Oil and Gas at Kenya Pipeline Company. Catherine Ngila has a Bachelors of Education in Science in Chemistry Degree and a Masters in Chemistry in Analytical Environmental Chemistry from Kenyatta University and a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the UNSW School of Chemistry.
The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards is presented each year to outstanding women researchers in mathematics, astrophysics, chemistry, and informatics. The awards select one woman per region from Africa and the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and North America.
Other laureates in this year’s awards include Professor Kyoko Nozaki, Professor Shafi Goldwasser, Professor Françoise Combes, and Professor Alicia Dickenstein.
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