The Next Einstein Forum—an initiative to showcase and support science in Africa— has announced a second cohort of fellows to serve as its ambassadors over the next two years.
NEF, an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, made the announcement on 13 September.
The 16 fellows will be profiled during the NEF gathering in Rwanda in 2018. They also receive funding to attend events around the world in the lead-up to the event.
The winners are all younger than 42 with a PhD and a strong research record. All are African, but many live and work outside the continent. Ten of the 16 fellows are men.
The 2017-2019 NEF Fellows:
Vinet Coetzee (South Africa), University of Pretoria – non-invasive measures of health
Abdigani Diriye (Somalia), IBM Research Africa – cognitive systems, machine learning, and financial technology
Kevin Dzobo (Zimbabwe), International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and University of Cape Town – stem cell biology and regenerative medicine
Jonathan Esole (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Northwestern University – string geometry
Yabebal Fantaye (Ethiopia), AIMS South Africa – cosmology
Aminata Garba (Niger), Carnegie Mellon University Africa – ICT technology and policy
Mamadou Kaba (Guinea), University of Cape Town – medical microbiology
Rym Kefi (Tunisia), Institut Pasteur in Tunis – human genetics and metabolic diseases
Aku Kwamie (Ghana), consultant – health policy and systems research
Justus Masa (Uganda), Ruhr-University Bochum and Kyambogo University – electrochemistry
Sanushka Naidoo (South Africa), University of Pretoria – plant genetics
Maha Nasr (Egypt), Ain Shams University – nanotechnology for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases
Sidy Ndao (Senegal), University of Nebraska-Lincoln – micro- and nanoscale thermal and fluid science
Peter Ngene (Nigeria), Utrecht University – nanomaterials and nanotechnology
Tolulope Olugboji (Nigeria), University of Maryland – geophysics and seismology
Hamidou Tembine (Mali), New York University – strategic decision-making and game theory