About Elsevier Products & Solutions Services Shop & Discover Elsevier Connect View by community or topic Home Elsevier Connect Meet the winners of the 2021 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award Meet the winners of the 2021 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award Five award-winning women scientists from the developing world will present virtually at AAAS By Alison Bert, DMA - February 4, 2021 - Updated March 4, 2021 Winners of the 2021 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World (clockwise from left): María Eugenia Cabrera Catalán, PhD (Guatemala); Ghada Dushaq, PhD (Palestine); Marian Asantewah Nkansah, PhD (Ghana); Khongorzul Dorjgotov, PhD (Mongolia); and Imalka Munaweera, PhD (Sri Lanka) The winners Watch the AAAS ceremony Winners’ research About the award In the media They come from developing countries around the world, and their research is transforming the world we live in. They are the winners of the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World. This year's researchers are in the physical sciences, and they represent the following regions: Arab Region Central & South Asia East and Southeast Asia & the Pacific Latin America & the Caribbean Sub-Saharan Africa Here you can read about the winners and their research — and register to watch them in the award ceremony at AAAS. The winners Arab Region Researcher stories “My teacher said I asked too many questions”: from curious to award-winning researcher Palestinian photonics researcher honored with OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Women Scientists in the Developing World Alison Bert, DMA February 8, 2021 Ghada Dushaq, PhD — Physics Postdoctoral Associate, NYU Abu Dhabi Dr Ghada Dushaq is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Photonics Research lab of NYU Abu Dhabi. As a researcher in applied physics, she investigates new and innovative materials, structures and process technologies to improve the performance of high-speed optoelectronics, nanoelectronics and photonics devices. Her research on the use of silicon, germanium, III-V compound semiconductors, and other 2D materials is intended to improve the efficiency of current technologies and address their limitations. Read more Central and South Asia Researcher stories Harnessing nanotechnology for cancer drug delivery and ecofriendly fertilizers Deep family loyalty led this Sri Lankan researcher to invent innovative treatments for cancer Liana Cafolla February 11, 2021 Imalka Munaweera, PhD — Synthetic Chemistry Senior Lecturer, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka Dr Imalka Munaweera is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka. Her research focuses on using synthetic chemistry techniques to produce nanoparticles and nanofibre composites that can be applied in a range of functions, from drug delivery to water filtration to minimizing post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables. She has made particular advances in using nanotechnology to produce environmentally-friendly and cost-effective crop fertilizers, and in developing chemoradiotherapeutic formulations and radiotherapeutic bandages for use in lung and skin cancer treatment. Read more East and Southeast Asia & the Pacific Researcher stories Using mathematics to solve practical problems? It’s elementary. Math sleuth Khongorzul Dorjgotov honed her problem-solving skills on Sherlock Holmes Liana Cafolla February 25, 2021 Khongorzul Dorjgotov, PhD — Mathematics Senior Lecturer, National University of Mongolia Dr Khongorzul Dorjgotov is a mathematician whose research focuses on fractional differential equations (FDEs), an emerging field in applied and theoretical mathematics with many applications in science and engineering. FDEs have been recognized as an excellent tool for describing complex systems and processes in many applied sciences, including physics, chemistry, biology and economics. The study of these types of equations is becoming increasingly popular as they can more accurately model a given physical system or process than conventional differential equations. Read more Latin America & the Caribbean Researcher stories Seeking the secrets of the universe in the particle An award-winning particle physicist in Guatemala hopes to convince society that basic science matters too Alison Bert, DMA February 19, 2021 María Eugenia Cabrera Catalán, PhD — Physics Junior Professor, University of San Carlos of Guatemala As a Junior Professor in the School of Physical Sciences and Mathematics at University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC), Dr María Eugenia Cabrera’s Catalán researches the phenomenology of physics. Her work builds on the discovery of the Higgs boson particle in 2012, expanding the knowledge of what we know about the Standard Model of particle physics and the fundamental forces of nature. Read more Sub-Saharan Africa Researcher stories Ghanaian chemist is finding toxic substances in unusual places Through her research and science diplomacy, an environmental chemist is changing the narrative in her native Ghana Alison Bert, DMA March 3, 2021 Marian Asantewah Nkansah, PhD — Environmental Chemistry Associate Professor, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Ghana Dr Marian Asantewah Nkansah is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana, where she teaches Practical Chemistry, Nuclear/Radiochemistry, Chemistry and Society, and Petroleum Chemistry. In her research, she focuses on identifying and characterizing the presence of both inorganic and organic contaminants in water, food, soil, the atmosphere and other environmental matrices, and on developing strategies for environmental remediation. By preparing and analyzing samples from different environments, she can determine the levels and effects of contaminants such as heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are generated by urbanization, industrial activities, artisanal activities and mining. She is striving to make the public aware of the risks of heavy metals, which she has found in unexpected places such as spices, lipstick, edible clay and classroom dust. Read more Watch the AAAS ceremony The virtual ceremony was on February 9. Here's how to watch the recording: Register for a free "Public Event Passport" with AAAS Access the session here Selected research by the awardees These are selections of the award winners' research papers published in Elsevier's journals. Khongorzul Dorjgotov, PhD Lie symmetry analysis of a class of time fractional nonlinear evolution systems, Applied Mathematics and Computation (Jul 2018) Ghada Dushaq, PhD An optimization technique for performance improvement of gap-changeable MEMS accelerometers, Mechatronics (Oct 2018) Low temperature deposition of germanium on silicon using Radio Frequency Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition, Thin Solid Films (Aug 2017) Tuning the optical properties of RF-PECVD grown μc-Si:H thin films using different hydrogen flow rate, Superlattices and Microstructures (Jul 2017) Distribution and coverage of 40nm gold nano-particles on aluminum and hafnium oxide using electrophoretic method and fabricated MOS structures, Materials Research Bulletin (Nov 2016) Imalka Munaweera, PhD Urea–hydroxyapatite-montmorillonite nanohybrid composites as slow release nitrogen compositions, Applied Clay Science (Dec 2017) Radiotherapeutic bandage for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, Nuclear Medicine and Biology (Jun 2016) Localized delivery of low-density lipoprotein docosahexaenoic acid nanoparticles to the rat brain using focused ultrasound, Biomaterials (Mar 2016) Nitric oxide- and cisplatin-releasing silica nanoparticles for use against non-small cell lung cancer, Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry (Dec 2015) Marian Asantewah Nkansah, PhD Chemical (C, N, S, black carbon, soot and char) and stable carbon isotope composition of street dusts from a major West African metropolis: Implications for source apportionment and exposure, Science of The Total Environment (2019) Heavy metal content and potential health risk of geophagic white clay from the Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana, Toxicology Reports (2016) Occurrence, distribution and health risk from polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs, oxygenated-PAHs and azaarenes) in street dust from a major West African Metropolis, Science of The Total Environment (2016) The use of lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) as sorbent for PAHs removal from water, Journal of Hazardous Materials (2012) The use of anthracene as a model compound in a comparative study of hydrous pyrolysis methods for industrial waste remediation, Chemosphere (2011) About the award The 2020 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award winners at the AAAS Meeting in Seattle (Photo by Alison Bert) Since 2012, the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World have recognized the achievements of researchers who have made significant contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge. The program represents a longstanding partnership between the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) (OWSD) and the Elsevier Foundation. Each year, five winners are selected from the following regions: Latin America and the Caribbean; East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific; Central and South Asia; the Arab region; Sub-Saharan Africa. Prizes are awarded annually on a rotating basis among the disciplines of Biological Sciences, Engineering Sciences and Physical Sciences. Each winner is sponsored to attend the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where they present their research at a special networking ceremony. There, they have the opportunity to attend workshops, meet experts in their field and visit local laboratories and institutions, establishing contacts and collaboration networks with colleagues from around the world. With the 2021 winners, the program has awarded 45 scientists from 20 countries. Read their stories. In the media We will continue to post articles about the awardees as they are published. The award Globally diverse winners of the 2021 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards announced, Great British Politics Gender Bias Against Women Career Scientists Upsets UNESCO, InDepthNews UNESCO research shows women career scientists still face gender bias, The Financial María Eugenia Cabrera Catalán, PhD Científica guatemalteca recibe el premio OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award, El País de los Jóvenes) María Eugenia Cabrera, científica guatemalteca recibió el premio 2021 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award, Guatemala.com Científica guatemalteca recibe premio 2021 OWSD- Elsevier, Prensa Libre Guatemala fue galardonada en el Premio 2021 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award, Noticias USAC Khongorzul Dorjgotov, PhD D.Khongorzul becomes winner of award for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World, Montsame Mongolian News Agency (Feb 9, 2021) Ghada Dushaq, PhD Dr. Ghada Dushaq, groundbreaking physics researcher, paves the way for women in science, Birzeit University (Feb 12, 2021) Imalka Munaweera, PhD Dr. Imalka Munaweera awarded for research in nanotechnology, nation.lk (Feb 2021) Marian Asentewah Nkansah, PhD A natural response to my curious mind and quest to know, Research Information (Feb 19, 2021) 2021 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award — Prof Marian Asantewah Nkansah, Ghana Young Academy (Feb 8, 2021) Information for this page was provided by OWSD and the Elsevier Foundation. Contributors Written by Alison Bert, DMA As Executive Editor of Strategic Communications at Elsevier, Dr. Alison Bert works with contributors around the world to publish daily stories for the global science and health communities. Previously, she was Editor-in-Chief of Elsevier Connect, which won the 2016 North American Excellence Award for Science & Education. Alison joined Elsevier in 2007 from the world of journalism, where she was a business reporter and blogger for The Journal News, a Gannett daily newspaper in New York. In the previous century, she was a classical guitarist on the music faculty of Syracuse University. She received a doctorate in music from the University of Arizona, was Fulbright scholar in Spain, and studied in a master class with Andrés Segovia. 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