The L’Oreal Foundation and UNESCO announced the five women scientists who will be honored as the 15th L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureates, on March 28th, 2013. The awards ceremony will be held in Paris, and the Laureates will receive $100,000.

“We are very proud to have changed the face of science by supporting women in science,” said Jean-Paul Agon, chairman and CEO of L’Oreal and chairman of L’Oreal Foundation. “We are convinced that science and women bring hope and foster discovery, innovation and excellence. All the best talents must be called upon to accomplish this mission.”

The honorees are:

• Professor Francisca Nneka Okeke, University of Nigeria, for her contributions to the understanding of daily variations of the ion currents in the upper atmosphere which may further our understanding of climate change.


• Professor Pratibha Gai, University of York, UK, for ingeniously modifying her electron microscope so that she was able to observe chemical reactions occurring at surface atoms of catalysts which will help scientists in their development of new medicines or new energy sources.


• Professor Reiko Kuroda, Tokyo University of Science, for discovering the functional importance of the difference between left handed and right handed molecules which has wide applications including research on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.


• Professor Marcia Barbosa, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil, for discovering one of the peculiarities of water which may lead to better understanding of how earthquakes occur and how proteins fold which is important for the treatment of diseases.


• Professor Deborah Jin, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and University of Colorado, for having been the first to cool down molecules so much that she can observe chemical reactions in slow motion which may help further understanding of molecular processes which are important for medicine or new energy sources.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, stated: “These five outstanding women scientists have given the world a better understanding of how nature works. Their pioneering research and discoveries have changed the way we think in various areas of the physical sciences and opened new frontiers in science and technology. Such key developments have the potential to transform our society. Their work, their dedication, serves as an inspiration to us all.”