It was announced earlier this month that Professor Pratbha Gai, the head of the JEOL Nanocentre in York will become the L’Oréal-UNESCO Laureate for Europe in 2013.
Gai will be presented with the award at the 15th annual Women in Science Awards ceremony in Paris in March. She will receive the award alongside four other laureates from different regions, Africa and the Arab States, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Northern America, each winning a prize of $100,000.
Laureates were chosen after a competitive process of nominations and reference with the overall winners finally chosen by a panel of internationally renowned scientists. The award is a career research award after many years of dedicated scientific research and it is based on the nomination and supporting references.
Gai is hugely respected in her field as a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Insitute of Physics, as well as being the winner of the Gabor Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics in 2010. Regardless, speaking to Vision Gai expressed her extreme happiness at being awarded a prize reserved for women: “I would like young women to be successful in science. I would like women to focus on their chosen professions and to be the best they can be.”
Recognised for research that will help scientists in their development of new medicines or new energy sources, Gai plans on continuing her research on a “world stage.” She hopes the international recognition from her award will help her access further funding for this.
Having originally been educated in India, Gai’s studied at Cambridge and Oxford before her work with took her to DuPont, USA and the University of Delaware. She has now been in York since 2007, a move she found hugely fulfilling.
“Working in beautiful York for me has been nice with very good students and colleagues. I am very pleased to bring the award to York and increase its visibility internationally.”