Winners of the 2012 Edition of the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Continental Scientific Awards

Addis Ababa 4 March 2013 - The 2012 edition of the continental awards dubbed “the African Union (AU) Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards program” was launched timely and the Jury met from 3- 7 December 2012 in Addis Ababa Ethiopia to select the winners. They considered some 58 prospective applications received from all over the continent and the Diaspora and identified two winners of the continental award.

They are:

On the Earth and Life Sciences Category, Prof. Michael John Wingfield: University Professor and Director of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute FABI, University of Pretoria South Africa.

On the Basic Sciences, Technology and innovation Category, Prof. Nabil A. Ibrahim: Professor of Textile Chemistry and Technology, National Research Center, Textile research Center, Egypt

These winners will be awarded their prizes during the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the African Union, which will take place from the 19th to the 27th of May 2013.
The Continental Scientific Award is opened to pioneer African scientists. Two awards, one from Life and Earth Sciences; and another from Basic Science, Technology and Innovation are given to outstanding African Scientists. Each winner walks away with a Cash Prize of US 100,000.
Meanwhile, the African Union expressed appreciation to the Jury for their diligence in identifying deserving recipients of this highly esteemed AU Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards.

The African Union (AU) Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards program is one of the several bold steps taken by the AU Commission to boost and popularise Science and Technology in Africa through empowering African scientists, celebrating their achievements and promoting all efforts to transform scientific research into economic growth. Greater investment and funding is needed to build Africa’s capacity and support research and development. If properly harnessed, this can tremendously contribute to poverty reduction, improved human well-being, good governance and economic development and our integration efforts on the continent.

The call for African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards is launched each year on the 9th of September, AU Day.

The program consists of awarding one-time monetary prizes to African scientists excelling in life and earth science and basic science, technology and innovation categories. The programme is organized at three levels in the continent: (1) National level for younger researchers, implemented by Member States; (2) Regional level for woman scientists only, implemented by the RECs and (3) Continental level.

For more information contact:
Dr. Mahama Ouedraogo
Head Science and Technology Division
AUC
Email:OuedraogoM@africa-union.org