Graduate Honours

Chimene Daleu, a graduate of ICTP's Postgraduate Diploma Programme (2009), has won a prestigious PhD Research of the Year Award from the University of Reading, UK, Faculty of Sciences, where she has been pursuing doctoral studies in atmospheric physics and meteorology.

She was also named the second best PhD student of the university, which is the UK's top school for meteorology and climate studies.

Coming from a country with less than 500 researchers (only a fraction of whom are women) and scarce research facilities, the Cameroonian had few mentors to encourage her deep curiosity in nature and the environment. Add to that a strong cultural bias against the pursuit of studies in physics or mathematics (especially for women), and one gets a sense of the challenges Daleu has had to overcome to complete her dream of a science education.

Daleu will now pursue postdoctoral studies at Reading, working on modeling the interactions between tropical convection and large-scale dynamics. "This postdoc will be a good opportunity for me to increase my ability to work as an independent research scientist. After completion, my plan is to return to Cameroon to teach and encourage the new scientific generation," she explains.

Teaching and mentoring up-and-coming scientists is one of many goals for Daleu, who is also keen to apply her research experience. "I can use my knowledge to warn others when danger is approaching in the form of tornadoes and hurricanes. I can use the latest tools of modern technology--computers, radar, satellites--to discover how natural processes and human activities affect our atmosphere. I can simulate how pollution is changing the climate and other global systems. I can help make a difference for our planet and for our children and grandchildren."

She concludes, "Being a meteorologist is so exciting!"

As an ICTP Postgraduate Diploma student, Daleu studied Earth System Physics, completing a thesis on thermodynamic variability in cloud-resolving simulations of tropical deep convection under the supervision of ICTP scientist Adrian Tompkins.

"ICTP's Diploma Programme was quite intense," Daleu recalls, adding "It gives students the chance to gain international experience. The training level at ICTP is a pre-PhD level, a level that is not accessible in most developing countries, including Cameroon."

She encourages students from developing countries who want to be scientists to never give up their dreams, and to consider how a science education can benefit their home countries. "Science and technology play a crucial role in national development. Developing countries have their own resources that can be best managed in the long term by a strong base of home-trained labour in science, engineering and mathematics."