TWAS-AAS-Microsoft 2011 Award

The award, funded by Microsoft Research, recognizes outstanding research in computer sciences conducted by African scientists that has - or promises to have - an impact in the developing world.

The awards ceremony takes place today at AAS headquarters in Karen, Nairobi, Kenya, during the conference on "Climate Change and Food Security: The Road for Africa" organized by AAS together with the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and TWAS-ROSSA (Regional Office for Sub-Saharan Africa). Each winner receives EUR7,000, of which EUR2,000 may be spent at the recipient's discretion and EUR5,000 shall be earmarked for further research.

This year's winners are:

Mohamad Abou El-Nasr, professor and head of the Computer Engineering Department, Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTMT), Alexandria, Egypt, for his contributions in the field of computer communications and networking, particularly in the area of Body Area Networks and their use in e-Health systems.

Adesina Simon Sodiya, senior lecturer at the Department of Computer Science, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, for his contributions to computer security especially in designing efficient instrusion detection and password-based authentication systems and improving the security of systems in Nigeria.

Hein Venter, head of the Information and Computer Security Architectures (ICSA) Research Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa, for his contributions to the field of digital forensics, particularly in the design, harmonization and standardization of the digital forensic investigation process model.

Speaking prior to the award ceremony, professor Romain Murenzi, TWAS executive director, noted: "Africa is a priority area for TWAS. Thus we are pleased to join with Microsoft Research and AAS in honouring the achievements of these three dynamic young scientists who have succeeded in carrying out excellent research on the continent."

Professor Berhanu Abegaz, AAS executive director, who is hosting the ceremony in Nairobi, said: "Building capacity in ICT is a priority concern of AAS. The TWAS-AAS Microsoft Awards contribute to the achievement of this goal as well as acknowledge scientific excellence among young scientists."

"This award goes to reveal the fact that there are excellent scientists in the continent who are carrying out relevant research that either already have or could contribute to the development of Africa," continued Abegaz. "This will stimulate more interest in the field of computer science in young scientists and hopefully encourage support from policy-makers on the continent. AAS is proud to be part of this initiative."

Dr. Fabrizio Gagliardi, director for Microsoft Research Connections in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, added: "Microsoft Research is pleased to support this initiative which highlights outstanding computer scientists in Africa. Research is a worldwide enterprise for Microsoft and good talent exists everywhere. It is particularly encouraging to see important contributions that have had, or will have, a positive impact in the developing world. I look forward to seeing the outcome of this research and I hope that this initiative encourages more inspirational work of this type in the region. Congratulations to all three winners!"