March 28, 2024

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Dr. Myriam Mujawamariya among 2022 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award winners

The 2022 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards have gone to six early-career women scientists in the developing world who have demonstrated research excellence in the area of climate action and the environment. The prize recognizes that these scientists have often overcome great challenges to achieve what they have. The prize also acknowledges the scientists’ commitment to leading and mentoring young scientists, and to improving lives and livelihoods in their communities and regions. One prize is awarded to a scientist in each of OWSD’s four regions, plus one additional prize in any region. In 2022, two additional prizes were given exceptionally. 

The six winners of the 2022 Award are:

  • Abeer Ahmed Qaed Ahmed, of Al-Saeed University; in microbiology (Arab region  Yemen)
  • Heyddy Calderon, of the Instituto de Geología y Geofísica; in hydrology (Latin America & the Caribbean – Nicaragua)
  • Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury, of the University of Dhaka; in aquatic ecology (Asia and the Pacific – Bangladesh)
  • Flor de Mayo González Miranda, of San Carlos University; in environmental engineering (Latin America & the Caribbean – Guatemala)
  • Myriam Mujawamariya, of the University of Rwanda; in tropical forest ecology and ecophysiology (Africa – Rwanda)
  • Ashani Savinda Ranathunga, of University of Moratuwa; in geotechnical engineering (Asia and the Pacific – Sri Lanka

“What our 2022 winners are doing is absolutely outstanding,” said OWSD President Jennifer Thomson. “Climate change is the most pressing challenge of our time, and these women are finding innovative and effective ways to address it in their local contexts. We hope this award is the first of many for them.”Each award winner will receive a prize of USD $5,000. They will have the opportunity to be recognized and participate in several high-profile conferences and events. The first of these will be the the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where they will take part in a panel discussion during the Minority and Women Scientists and Engineers breakfast, February 19. They will also take part in the International Conference on Gender Action and Climate Change at Istanbul Aydın University (IAU) in Turkey, March 24, and in the EuroScience Open Forum in Leiden, the Netherlands, July 13-16 2022.  

Past OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award winners have been received by their country’s presidents and celebrated by local, national and international media. They have received other prestigious awards and fellowships including the L’OREAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowships and the British Council Award.

Read on to learn more about each Award winner; their biographies are also available for download below. 

For information on previous award winners, see: https://owsd.net/awards/past-awardees

A full press release on this year’s awardees is available here.

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