2009 Edition of the L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards

The 11th Annual L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards For Women in Science to Honour Five Exceptional Women Scientists (from press release, www.loreal.com)

On 5 March 2009, at UNESCO, five exceptional women scientists from around the world received the 2009 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards. This year, the theme of the awards was “Physical Sciences”, and the Laureates were selected through nominations by a network of nearly 1,000 members of the international scientific community. Diverse in origin, determined in nature and extraordinary in intellect, the 2009 Laureates reflect the programme’s mission: to change the face of science and support the advancement of women in the scientific field. Each Laureate will receive $100,000 in recognition of her contribution to science.

The Laureates for the L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards For Women in Science 2009:

• Africa & the Arab States: Pr. Tebello Nyokong, Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Rhodes University in South Africa, for her work on harnessing light for cancer therapy and for environmental clean-up.

• Asia-Pacific: Pr. Akiko Kobayashi, Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry, College of Humanities and Sciences at Nihon University in Japan, for her contribution to the development of molecular conductors and the design and synthesis of a single-component molecular metal.

• North America: Pr. Eugenia Kumacheva, Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto in Canada, for the design and development of new materials with many applications including targeted drug delivery for cancer treatments and materials for high density optical data storage.

• Europe: Pr. Athene M. Donald, Professor of Experimental Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, for her work in unravelling the mysteries of the physics of messy materials, ranging from cement to starch.

• Latin America: Pr. Beatriz Barbuy, Professor at the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, for her work on the life of stars from the birth of the universe to the present time.

 For more information, visit the programme’s website: www.loreal.com