The early-career AfAS WiA prize to Dr Marie Korsaga
A big congratulations from Astronomy in Colour to Dr Miriam Korsaga who was awarded with the AfAS (African Astronomical Society) early-career researcher prize for African Women in Astronomy in 2022. This is the first of such a prize to be awarded. The African Network of Women in Astronomy selected Dr Korsaga as the recipient of this award based on her scientific achievements and contributions to society. Dr Korsaga is the first PhD in Astrophysics from Burkino Faso and has been invited to speak about on Astronomy at TEDxKoulouba and has been an invited speaker at a meeting for the African Union. Dr Korsaga’s research examines galaxy dynamics with a specific focus on cold baryonic gas and dark-matter haloes of galaxies.
We look forward to seeing more of what Dr Korsaga will achieve for the Astrophysics community and her home country.
The senior AfAS WiA prize to Prof Renee Kraan-Korteweg
A second congratulations to the recipient of the senior prize — the Dutch-South African Astronomer, Prof Renee Kraan-Korteweg, who is the former head of the astronomy department at the University of Cape Town. Prof Kraan-Korteweg is a highly esteemed member of the field who has made significant scientific contributions that have achieved international recognition and awards. She has led over 30 graduate students to success in their postgraduate research work and has been an advocate for growing the body of female researchers in Astronomy within South Africa. Her research has involved a rigorous mapping of galaxies within the Zone of Avoidance (the dusty region along the Milky Way’s disk that reddens and dims light from distant galaxies) which has resulted in an improved understanding of the large-scale structure of the Universe.
We thank Prof Kraan-Korteweg for all she has done and will do in raising the profile of African women in Astronomy.
For more information about the prizes, see this story on the AfAS website’s news section.