Call for Nominations: TWAS-Samira Omar Innovation for Sustainability Award 2026 ($4,000 Prize for Women Scientists from Least Developed Countries)

Nominations Deadline: June 30, 2026

About the Award

By TWAS Fellow Samira Omar, this annual award is sponsored, recognizing the significant impact on the environment and biodiversity of scientists from least developed countries, with a monetary award of $4,000. Several challenges are faced by our planet, and therefore our existence: world population, food security, climate change, biodiversity loss, water scarcity/poor sanitation, and energy resources. The relationship between the finite resources of the planet and the way of life adopted by humans is involved in sustainability: in what way can our existence be maintained and at what level? At the international scene, at the forefront of many discussions, sustainability is. As part of the 2030 Agenda in 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals released by the UN underlie that we must become aware of the fact that we are compromising the future of generations to come. The best attempt at addressing sustainability issues at a global scale may well be represented by the SDGs. For their contribution in an area, albeit multidisciplinary, directly relevant to the science of sustainability, scientists will be rewarded by the “Innovation for Sustainability” Award. Note: In Hangzhou, China, on 11 November 2019, during the TWAS Council meeting, the request by UNESCO to change the term ‘prize’ to ‘award’ for all existing and new TWAS distinctions other than medals was approved. ‘Samira Omar Innovation for Sustainability Award’ is therefore now the name of this award scheme.

Award Details

• Monetary Award: $4,000
• Frequency: Exclusively at women scientists, every two years, the award is aimed

Eligibility Criteria

To a woman scientist national of a Least Developed Country (LDC), living and working in an LDC during the last two years immediately prior to her nomination, the 2026 award will be awarded, based on scientific achievements in any of the thematic areas below:

• Clean and renewable energy
• Green chemistry
• Sustainable agriculture and agrobiodiversity
• Plastic: degradation, pollution and microplastics
• Water purification and sanitation
• Climate change: environmental effects, methane contribution, carbon capture
• Transportation technologies: efficiency for smart cities
• Waste management
• Biodiversity: the sixth mass extinction, ecosystem services, habitat recovery and restoration
• Ecological economics and planetary health

Ineligible Candidates:

• Eligible, Fellows of TWAS are not
• To be nominated for Awards named after a different TWAS Fellow, individuals who have previously won a TWAS-named Award are not eligible
• For more than one ‘Fellows of TWAS Awards’ in a given year, the same nominee cannot be nominated
• WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED – self nominations (i.e., applications)
• Considered, nominations from jury members will not be

Note: That the nomination may be suitable for another award, the right to bring to the attention of the relevant nominators is retained by the secretariat, and by the nominators themselves, the final decision whether or not to shift the nomination will be taken.

Who Can Nominate

From all its members as well as science academies, national research councils, universities, and scientific institutions in developing and developed countries, TWAS is inviting nominations for the 2026 Award. Considered, self-nominations will not be.

Thematic Areas

The following thematic areas are included among eligible ones:

• Clean and renewable energy
• Green chemistry
• Sustainable agriculture and agrobiodiversity
• Plastic: degradation, pollution and microplastics
• Water purification and sanitation
• Climate change: environmental effects, methane contribution, carbon capture
• Transportation technologies: efficiency for smart cities
• Waste management
• Biodiversity: the sixth mass extinction, ecosystem services, habitat recovery and restoration
• Ecological economics and planetary health

How to Nominate a Scientist

Only through the online platform by clicking on the “NEW NOMINATION” button at the bottom of the page, the 2026 nominations can be submitted electronically. On saved nominations, to resume working, the “RESUME” button should be clicked.

A nomination is considered complete only if it includes all of the following information/material:

• Nominator contact details
• Nominee contact details and general information on the nominee
• Authorization from the nominee to process personal data for the purposes of the nomination (form available for download; must be filled in, signed by the candidate, and uploaded)
• Suggested citation (15–20 words highlighting the nominee’s scientific achievements)
• Supporting statement regarding the nominee’s contribution (max 10,000 characters) – the work performed and its significance should be explained in detail; considered, vague supporting statements will not be
• Forward-looking project outlining the candidate’s planned future activities (max 10,000 characters)
• Clear and detailed account of any time spent abroad by the nominee in the past two years
• PhD information (subject area, year, and awarding institution)
• Brief information on membership in academies and societies
• Brief information on awards and honours received
• List of 10 most significant publications in an internationally acceptable format
• The nominee’s brief CV
• The nominee’s complete list of publications (to be uploaded separately)
• The nominee’s h-index in Google Scholar, and the associated number of citations

Important Notes:

• Before starting, maximum characters allowed for each field, particular attention should be paid
• While filling in the form, to the requirements for each field (e.g., maximum number of characters, file type, date format, etc.), attention should be paid
• Using the button of the form menu, a check should be run to verify that mandatory fields have been filled in and the data entered are accepted. Your form is also saved by this.
• In RED, after running a check, fields with NOT ACCEPTED OR MISSING DATA will be highlighted. Until you run another check, once you have duly modified the content, the red highlight will not disappear.

For quick tips, on the TWAS website, the tutorial link should be clicked.

Nomination Deadline: June 30, 2026. While for receiving nominations, the deadline is 30 June 2026, it is strongly recommended that you do not wait until the deadline but submit the nomination as early as you can to enable processing as quickly as possible.

Click here to begin a nomination

Previous Winners

• 2025 – Adey Feleke Desta of Ethiopia, for her innovative research in water protection, sustainable wastewater management, and contribution to Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation)
• 2024 – Tista Prasai Joshi of Nepal, for her pioneering work in improving drinking water quality, particularly in addressing arsenic contamination of groundwater in Nepal
• 2022 – Sarobidy O. Rakotonarivo of Madagascar, for her cutting-edge research, and for engaging policy-makers to ensure that interventions with nature and climates in Africa are more effective and equitable
• 2021 – Nigist Asfaw of Ethiopia, for her outstanding work in promoting green chemistry in Ethiopia and across the African continent
• 2020 – Badabate Diwediga of Togo, for promoting sustainable land management towards agricultural innovation, rural transformation, and climate change mitigation in Africa
• 2019 – Etotépé Aïkpémi Sogbohossou of Benin, for her contributions to raise awareness towards large carnivores conservation in West Africa and for inspiring the young generation
• 2018 – Hazir Farouk Abdelraheem Elhaj of Sudan, for her distinguished contribution to national planning, professional training and practical implementation of modern bioenergy technologies in Sudan
• 2017 – Caroline Asiimwe of Uganda, for her influential work to engage Ugandan refugees and poachers with wildlife conservation

Contact Information: Contact email: awards@twas.org

Why This Award Matters

Significant barriers to international recognition are faced by scientists from Least Developed Countries (LDCs): limited access to research funding, isolation from global scientific networks, and lack of visibility in prestigious award systems. Including gender bias and limited mentorship opportunities, additional barriers are faced by women scientists in LDCs. By recognizing scientific excellence in sustainability research from LDCs, focusing on women scientists every two years (addressing gender disparities in scientific recognition), providing monetary support ($4,000) to support continued research, offering international visibility through the TWAS network, and celebrating research that directly addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals, these gaps are addressed by the TWAS-Samira Omar Innovation for Sustainability Award. For women scientists in Least Developed Countries working on sustainability challenges from clean energy and water purification to biodiversity conservation and climate change a rare opportunity for international recognition is offered by this award.

For More Information: Visit the Official TWAS-Samira Omar Innovation for Sustainability Award Page