Professor Adams (right) was the winner of the DSI Distinguished Woman Researcher in Natural Science and Engineering and Carla was awarded the DSI-Ndoni Mcunu Fellowship: Doctoral Award.
This year the theme of the 17th edition of the DSI’s South African Women in Science Awards theme was “Harnessing technological change and innovation to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls”.
In celebration of Women’s Month, the DSI hosts these flagship rewards and celebrates excellence among women in science and research as role models to younger women and girls.
Prof Adams holds the DSI/NRF Research Chair for Shallow Water Ecosystems and is the deputy director for the Institute for Coastal and Marine Research. Her research focuses on the conservation and management of estuaries working across the science-policy-practice continuum.
She is an NRF B2-rated researcher, and her ongoing research investigates estuary restoration and the response of blue carbon ecosystems to climate change.
Carla, a doctoral student in Geosciences, focuses on groundwater chemistry and hydrology. Her current research investigates the groundwater cycle in the drought-stricken Nelson Mandela Bay and Kouga municipalities to inform the potential implications of catchment processes, such as ground water abstraction and pollution on coastal ecosystems.
Her research addresses the crucial knowledge gap towards understanding the sustainability of these processes.
Carla also recently received an NRF (National Research Foundation) Research Excellence Award for her pioneering research on groundwater resources.