19th Edition of the L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Awards Honouring Women Who Have the Power to Change the World

FEATURING PROFESSOR NIVEEN KHASHAB FROM THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA AND DR. NAZEK AL ATAB FROM THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AMONG THE WINNERS

Dubai, March 27th 2017:  For the 19th edition of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards Ceremony that was held in Paris this week, the international scientific community gathered to honour and celebrate 5 exceptional women scientists and 15 prominent young researchers for their contribution to the world of science. The event was opened by Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO and Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L’Oréal and Chairman of the L’Oréal Foundation. 

THE 2017 LAUREATES: WOMEN AT THE CUTTING-EDGE
The 2017 Edition of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards Ceremony celebrated 5 eminent women scientists and their excellence, creativity, and intelligence. Each woman received an Award of 100,000 € to commend their scientific contributions in the fields of quantum physics, physical sciences and astrophysics. 

Professor Niveen Khashab was chosen as one of the five Laureates. The Lebanese national, an Associate Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), was recognised for designing novel nanoparticles that could improve early detection of disease. Her work in analytical chemistry could lead to more targeted and personalized medical treatment.

THE 2017 INTERNATIONAL RISING TALENTS
The 2017 Edition of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards, also celebrated the ground-breaking work of 15 promising researchers who are in the early stages of their scientific careers.

UAE resident Nazek El-Atab was one of the 15 recipients of the International Rising Talents Award for her research on Nano-memory Devices. The Lebanese national is a PhD student at the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi. Her work focuses on fabricating novel non-volatile, low-power, charge-trapping memory devices with enhanced performance.

Jean-Paul Agon highlighted the power of these women scientists, as well as all the women scientists who have been celebrated this year, in his opening speech: “Only a shared, controlled science, at the service of the world’s population, is able to meet the major challenges of the twenty-first century, and our researchers are the proof. They are the ones that give science all its greatness”. 

THE 2017 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE AWARDS: 
Since 1998, the L’Oréal Corporate Foundation and UNESCO have been committed to increase the number of women working in scientific research. 150 years after Marie Curie’s birth, only 28%* of researchers are women and only 3% of Scientific Nobel Prizes are awarded to them. That is why, for the past 19 years, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme has worked to honour and accompany women researchers at key moments in their careers. Since the programme began, it has supported more than 2,700 young women from 115 countries and celebrated 97 Laureates, at the peak of their careers, including professors Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Ada Yonath, who went on to win a Nobel Prize.