African Academy of Sciences
Formation1985 (1985)
Professional title
Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (FAAS)
HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
Coordinates1°18′44″S 36°42′35″E / 1.312136°S 36.709781°E / -1.312136; 36.709781
Region served
Africa
Membership
547
President
Felix Dapare Dakora
Websitewww.aasciences.africa

The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit, pan-African learned society formed in 1985.[1]

The AAS elects fellows (FAAS) and affiliates. The AAS also awards the Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery and Technological Innovation[2] every two years to an outstanding scientist who contributed to the development of the continent.

History

The Academy was founded in 1983 following a proposal presented by entomologist Thomas Odhiambo and Mohamed H.A. Hassan (The World Academy of Sciences president at the time) at the inaugural meeting of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), in Trieste, Italy.

Odhiambo led a taskforce on the creation of The Academy, which presented its recommendations at a meeting convened on 10 December 1985. Participants at the meeting unanimously adopted the recommendations, turned the gathering into a General Assembly, and drafted and adopted the Academy's founding constitution, which has since been updated. The 34 participants who attended the General Assembly also became the founding fellows of the Academy.[3]

The Academy also developed and implemented four strategies between 1989 and 2005 that focused on forestry research, biotechnology, soil and water management, improved food production and policy and advocacy. In 1988 the AAS launched the journal Discovery and Innovation, which focused on all areas of science and ran until 2012.

At first the Academy was largely unfunded and run by volunteers. Between 1993 and 1996 Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Rockefeller Foundation helped the organization establish efficient institutional and financial systems.[4] In May 2005 the Kenyan government gave official recognition to the Academy and extended to it diplomatic privileges given to international non governmental organisations headquartered in Kenya. It also authorized construction of its headquarters on a 2 hectares (4.9 acres) site that it owns in the Karen area of Nairobi. A US$5 million endowment from the Nigerian government was used to cover the cost of construction.[5]

On 28 February 2011 Ahmadou Lamine Ndiaye of Senegal was appointed President of the AAS for a three-year term replacing Mohamed Hassan of Sudan. Ndiaye said he wanted to rejuvenate the AAS, and felt that conditions were favorable. He aimed to open up centers of excellence on the continent where French and English speakers could work on joint research programs.[6]

Felix Dapare Dakora is currently serves as President of the African Academy of Sciences for the 2017–2023 terms.[7][8]

Governance

The AAS is governed by:

  • A general assembly that consists of AAS fellows and is the highest authority of the academy, which determines its general policy and has an oversight of the governing council.[9]
  • A governing council consisting of officers elected by the general assembly. The governing council meets twice a year to create and review the Academy's programmes.[9]

Current members of the Governing Council

As of 2022, the governing council of the academy has the following members:[9]

Previous Presidents

Fellows

The African Academy of Sciences fellows (FAAS) are Africans who may live in or outside the continent and working on science in Africa are elected by previously elected AAS fellows based on achievements that include their publication record, innovations, leadership roles and contribution to policy. Fellows form a community of scientists formed to engage with governments and policy makers to enable wise investment in the future of the continent.

As of November 2022, the AAS has 547 fellows. From which 34 who are founding fellows who were all elected during AAS inception,[3] 17 honorary fellows,[12] 51 associate fellows (i.e., non founding and honorary fellows from outside the continent),[13] and 445 Fellows with 19.3% female fellows.[14]

Founding Fellows

34 fellows, all elected at AAS inception in 1985, organised, by countries, alphabetically below: [3]

Henri Hogbe Nlend, Cameroon Jean Nya-Ngatchou, Cameroon Victor Doulou, DRC Félix Malu wa Kalenga, DRC
Jerome Dinga-Reassi, DRC Mohamed Kamel Mahmoud, Egypt Attia Ashour, Egypt Ebenezer Laing, Ghana
Francis Allotey, Ghana Daniel Adzei Bekoe, Ghana Robert Butler, Ghana Emmanuel Evans-Anfom, Ghana
Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu, Ghana Edward S. Ayensu, Ghana Fred Wangati, Kenya Thomas R. Odhiambo, Kenya
Samson Gombe, Kenya Raoelina Andriambololona, Madagascar Thomas Adeoye Lambo, Madagascar Albert Rakoto Ratsimamanga, Madagascar
Mahdi Elmandjra, Morocco Anthony Youdeowei, Nigeria Donald Efiong Udo Ekong, Nigeria Jibril Aminu, Nigeria
Moctar Toure, Senegal Toure M. Saydil, Senegal Mohamed H.A. Hassan, Sudan Yahia Abdel Mageed, Sudan
Ahmed K. Bashir, Sudan Awadh S. Mawenya, Tanzania L. K. Shayo, Tanzania Djodji Akoly Nyatepe-Coo, Togo
Itai Chiri, Zimbabwe Christopher Magadza, Zimbabwe

Honorary Fellows

As of November 2020, there are 17 honorary fellows which started in 2011, below arranged by year.[12]

Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria (2011) Denis Sassou Nguesso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (2014) Khama Ian Khama, Botswana (2016) Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, South Africa (2018)
Ashraf Mansour, Egypt (2018) Mamphela Aletta Ramphele, South Africa (2018) Khotso David Kenneth Mokhele, South Africa (2018) Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe (2018)
Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Niger (2018) Carlos Lopes, Guinea-Bissau (2018) Meodas Carlos, Mozambique (2018) Eddah Gachukia, Kenya (2018)
Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, (2018) Richard Erskine Leakey, Kenya (2019) Mary Chinery-Hesse, Ghana (2019) Thulisile Madonsela, South Africa (2019)
Graça Machel, Mozambique (2019)

Associate Fellows

As of November 2020, there are 51 Associate Fellows, which are non-founding or honorary fellows from outside the continent).[13]

Giovanni Battista Marini Bettolo Marconi, Italy (1987) Abdus Salam, Pakistan (1987) William A.C Mathieson, United Kingdom (1989) Walter E. Massey, United States (1991)
Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao, India (2001) Govindapillai Achuthan Nair, India (2006) Mortelmans Jos, United Kingdom (2006) Katepalli Raju Sreenivasan, India (2006)
Donald Adams, United States (2009) Erik Thulstrup, Denmark (2009) Cato Thomas Laurencin, United States (2009) Christian Borgemeister, Germany (2011)
Zeyaur Rahman Khan, India (2012) Gerhard Bringmann, Germany (2013) Peter K. Neuenschwander, Switzerland (2013) Joachim von Braun, Germany (2014)
Zhang Linqi, China (2015) Kevin Marsh, United Kingdom (2015) Eleanor N. Fish, Canada (2015) Dorairajan Balasubramanian, India (2015)
Don A. Cowan, New Zealand (2016) Bill S. Hansson, Sweden (2016) Brenda Wingfield, Ireland (2016) Federico Rosei, Italy (2017)
George Fu Gao, China (2017) Alison Elliott, United Kingdom (2017) Bert Klumperman, Netherlands (2017) Marcel Tanner, Switzerland (2018)
Kadambot Siddique, Australia (2018) Snow Robert, United Kingdom (2018) Marleen Temmerman, Belgium (2018) Dumitru Baleanu, Romania (2019)
Jinde Cao, China (2019) Lars Hviid, Denmark (2019) Mark Edward John Woolhouse, United Kingdom (2019) Catherine Molyneux, United Kingdom (2019)
Christian Pirk, Germany (2019) Deji Akinwande, United States (2020) Wu Kongming, China (2020) Fusuo Zhang, China (2020)
Mohamed Henini, United Kingdom (2020) Henry Fadamiro, United States (2020) Newton Lupwayi, Canada (2020) Le Kang, Pakistan (2020)
Jianbo Shen, China (2020) Ann M Moormann, United States (2020) Rodomiro Ortiz, Sweden (2020) Tasawar Hayat, Pakistan (2020)
Kimani Toussaint, United States (2020) Rajeev Kumar Varshney, India (2020) Fengting Li, China (2020)

References

  1. ↑ "Home | The AAS". www.aasciences.africa. Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  2. ↑ "All Prizes | The AAS". www.aasciences.africa. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  3. 1 2 3 "All Fellows | The AAS". www.aasciences.africa. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  4. ↑ "AAS History: Inauguration and establishment: Phase 1 (1985–1988)". AAS. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  5. ↑ David Dickson (13 May 2005). "Kenya boosts outlook for African Academy of Sciences". SciDev. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  6. ↑ Boubacar Kante (8 March 2011). "Ahmadou Lamine Ndiaye veut décloisonner les centres d'excellence du continent". Agence de Presse Sénégalaise. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  7. ↑ "The African Academy of Sciences Inaugurates New President and Governing Council » Africa Oxford Initiative". Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  8. ↑ "Dakora Felix Dapare | The AAS". aasciences.ac.ke. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  9. 1 2 3 "Governing Council". African Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  10. ↑ "African Academy of Science appoints new executive director". Research Professional News. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  11. ↑ "The Governing Council | The AAS". www.aasciences.africa. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  12. 1 2 "All Fellows | The AAS". www.aasciences.africa. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  13. 1 2 "All Fellows | The AAS". www.aasciences.africa. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  14. ↑ "All Fellows | The AAS". www.aasciences.africa. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
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