AMPM Center's Professor Suzana Nunes has received the  Leadership Excellence for Women Awards and Symposium (LEWAS) award for her expertise and outstanding contribution to the Chemical and Environmental Science and Engineering, Polymer and Membrane Science. The winners were announced on Wednesday 28 October during the LEWAS Virtual Awards and Symposium ceremony.

"I am very honored with the LEWAS award. It is a recognition for academic excellence in topics relevant for the industry.  More important than that is the recognition for mentoring and empowering young female scientists and engineers.  The topic of the LEWAS this year is "resilience". Resilience reflects so much what we need to succeed as a female scientist. I am thankful for my students, co-workers and for colleagues who believed in me in all these years. To succeed, you first need the opportunity to demonstrate you can lead, to have a voice, and this does not happen enough," Prof. Nunes says.

LEWAS began in 2013 with the objective to Engage, Empower and Elevate women in energy. Since its inception, it has recognized and honored women who are not only making a mark but are also being an advocate for women empowerment in the Middle East.  The platform celebrates women who have consistently pushed boundaries having shown excellence by producing tangible and path-breaking leadership traits, raised the bar for gender diversity, and finding new avenues to address inclusion issues.

"This is an award particularly relevant for the region. KAUST in Saudi Arabia has been my home for the last 11 years.  It has been amazing to see young female engineers graduating and excelling. We need more chances for them starting from undergrad courses for female engineers in Saudi Arabia and more leadership positions in all levels," Prof. Nunes concludes.  

Prof. Suzana Nunes leads the Nanostructured Polymeric Membrane Laboratory in the Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center at  King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Her work focused on the development of polymeric membranes targeting sustainable applications in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, bioseparation, clean energy and water. 

Congratulations Prof. Nunes!