PROF Philiswa Nosizo Nomngongo
Nominee's Province:
Gauteng
Project Name/Description:
Professor Philiswa Nosizo Nomngongo was born and raised in Flagstaff, Eastern Cape. After completing matric at Jikindaba Senior Secondary School, she completed her BSc in Applied Chemistry (2008), BSc (Hons) in Chemistry (2009) and MSc in Chemistry (2011) at the University of KwaZulu- Natal, followed by a PhD Chemistry (specialising in Analytical Chemistry, 2014) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). In 2014, she served as Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UJ. The following year, she joined UJ as a lecturer and was promoted to associate and full professor in 2017 and 2020, respectively. Nomngongo is currently a tier 1 DST/NRF South African Research Chair in Nanotechnology for water with an NRF Y1 rating. Her scientific career has been dedicated to environmental analytical chemistry and nanotechnology aimed at solving different environmental problems in the field of water quality and environmental protection. Her most important contributions have been particularly in the development of sample preparation methodologies using nanostructured materials as adsorbents for monitoring of inorganic (toxic trace metals and metalloids) and organic pollutants (more specifically emerging pollutants which include pesticides, endocrine disruptors and personal care and pharmaceutical products) in water systems. Her current research includes application of various nanomaterials in fields that are attracting increasing interest, such as wastewater treatment, groundwater remediation, water quality monitoring, development of water quality sensors, treatment and recovery of precious metals, among others. Her research achievements have been recognised through prestigious fellowships and awards such as L’Oreal-UNESCO Sub-Saharan Women in Science Regional fellowship in 2014; South African Women in Science award in the Distinguished Young Women Research in the Natural and Engineering Sciences category in 2017, and Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Award: Most Promising Young Researcher of the Year in 2017. Her other recognition includes African Academy of Science Affiliate, Southern African Women in Leadership trailblazers Award winner (Top 10), NSTF-South23 Award Finalist (Categories: 2019/2020 TW Kambule: Emerging Researcher & Engineering Research Capacity Development; 2020/2021 TW Kambule: Researcher & Engineering Research Capacity Development) and 2019 Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans. During her academic years at UJ (2015-present), Nomngongo has supervised/cosupervised 28 MSc and 13 PhD students. She is currently the supervisor/co-supervisor to several MSc and PhD students, and the author/co-author of 110 peer-reviewed publications, nine book chapters, two peer reviewed conference proceedings and has presented more than 50 keynote and invited contributions at scientific conferences.
