User:AwaBDrame/sandbox

Awa Bousso Dramé is a Senegalese, Cape-Verdean and Beninese Researcher working on coastal geomorphology, Earth Observation (GIS and Remote sensing, Artificial intelligence to better understand climate and ocean changes in West Africa. In December 2022, she received one of the 20 L'Oréal/UNESCO Women in Science Award Young Talent (Subsaharan Africa) for the excellence of her research and her capacity to promote gender equality.

Biographie
Awa Bousso Dramé grew up in Dakar, Senegal where she attended Institution Notre Dame de Dakar and successfully got her A-Levels with the 2nd Prize of Geography at the "Concours Général" from the Senegalese Ministry of Education. She completed a BSc in Physical Geography at Sorbonne Université, before pursuing a MRes in Environmental Sciences between Sorbonne University and Columbia University (New York, USA) to deepen her knowlegde in Geomorphology, Geographial Information Systems, Hydrosystems engineering and Earth Sciences. Thanks to Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for Future Fellowship, she started a PhD in Coastal geosciences at the University College London (UK).

To give back and generate impact, Awa founds CoastGIS Research Institute (Senegal) aiming to promote and conduct Coastal/Marine/Ocean/Environmental Research, raise awareness on environmental / climate change impacts while promoting and leading projects in Geospatial sciences, AI (Artificial Intelligence) and associated fields. Furthermore, she particularly seeks to boost Education in STEM through skills and human capital development with a specific focus on girls and women. Her research institute also contributed to science-based entrepreneurship to turn sciences/research into social impact for communities development and resilience in Africa.

In March 2022, Awa has been appointed Secretary of Women in GMES & Africa. (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) by the African Union Commission. GMES & Africa is the geospatial program of the AUC to develop local capacities, institutional, human and technical resources for access to Earth Observation, Space Sciences and Astronomy by focusing on 3 thematic areas Long-Term Management of Natural Resources, Marine and Coastal Areas, and Water Resources Management. To better include gender equality, Women in GMES & Africa supports consortia activities to reinforce women representation in the EO and the geospatial industry.

In December 2022, Awa Bousso received the L'Oréal/UNESCO Women in Science Award, in the Young Talent (Subsaharan Africa) category for her research excellence. At the instigation of the UNESCO and Fondation L'Oréal, this world renowned prize has been created in 1998 to recognize and celebrate 20 African women scientists for their excellence, achievements and capacity to inspire younger generations.

Her research couples geospatial technology (GIS, Geographical Information Systems) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to understand, analyse, model and monitor transboundary coastal and marine systems in West Africa. She would like to develop automated systems to improve floods, erosion, and fisheries management in the Senegal estuary and West Africa. According to Awa, such tech-based projects will help decision-making, strengthen coastal communities’ adaptation capacities and identify the hidden importance of geopolitics in coastal management.

Awa Bousso Dramé puts herself out to:


 * Develop GIS/AI-based solutions to monitor the impact of climate change on coastal and marine (eco)systems in tropical areas
 * Empower girls and women access to STEM and research

Award & Prizes

 * 2022 : L'Oréal/UNESCO Women in Science Award, Young Talent, Subsaharan Africa, 1 December 2022, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
 * 2020: UCL Overseas Research Scholarship, University College London
 * 2020 Faculty for Future Fellowship, Schlumberger Foundation
 * 2019 Emerging Scholar Award, 11th International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Response, Focus on Coastal resilience, Washington DC, USA
 * 2019 Research travel grant, EarthCube and the USA National Science Foundation (NSF)
 * 2019 The Earth Institute Research Support Grant, Columbia University, New York, USA
 * 2019 Research grant from Columbia University (New-York, USA), Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences department, The Earth Institute
 * 2018 Mobility scholarship, The Francophone University Agency (Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie)
 * 2017 Excellence fellowship awarded by Sorbonne University IDEX program (Initiative D’Excellence) and « Investissements d’Avenir » of French Ministry of Higher Education
 * 2014 2nd Prize Senegalese Concours General (National Schools Competition of Geography) Senegalese Ministry of Education, Dakar – Senegal

Notes et références
