Adriana Marais

Adriana Marais is a South African theoretical physicist, technologist and advocate for off-world exploration.[1] She is a director of the Foundation for Space Development Africa,[2] an organisation aiming to send Africa's first mission to the Moon, the Africa2Moon Project. Marais is the founder of Proudly Human,[3] an initiative of which is the Off-World Project, a series of habitation experiments in the most extreme environments on the planet.[4][5]

Adriana Marais
Marais at TEDxCapeTown 2015
Born (1983-08-15) August 15, 1983
King Williams Town, South Africa
Alma materUniversity of Cape Town (BSc Hons) University of KwaZulu-Natal (MSc, PhD)
Known forProjects encouraging STEM and space exploration
Scientific career
FieldsQuantum cryptography
Quantum biology
InstitutionsCentre for Quantum Technologies
SAP Africa
Thesis
WebsiteAdriana Marais
Proudly Human
Foundation for Space Development Africa

For her research in quantum biology and the origins of life, she received awards including the 2015 L'Oreal-UNESCO International Rising Talent Award.[6][7] In 2020, she was among 5 global finalists for Women in Tech's the Most Disruptive Woman in Tech Award.[8]

Education and career

Marais completed a BSc Hons 1st class (theoretical physics) at the University of Cape Town (UCT)[6] in 2004, followed by an MSc summa cum laude (quantum cryptography) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)[6][4] in 2010. She was awarded a PhD (quantum biology) from UKZN in 2015[6] for her research on quantum effects in photosynthesis and her postdoctoral research focused on the origins of prebiotic molecules and life itself.[4][9] She enrolled at UCT in 2019 as a PhD candidate in economics with a focus on economic systems for resource constrained environments.[4][10]

During her postgraduate studies, she lectured at UKZN from 2007 - 2013 and was a visiting researcher at the Centre for Quantum Technologies, Singapore, from 2011 - 2012.[11]

From 2017-2019, she was Head of Innovation at SAP Africa[4] and in 2018 she joined the faculty of Singularity University.[4][10] In 2019, Marais founded Proudly Human, an organisation focusing on building infrastructure and teams in extreme environments in preparation for life on the Moon, Mars and beyond, as well as to provide solutions for those living in harsh conditions here on Earth.[3][5]

She is a member of the South African government advisory task team on the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), the combination of hardware, software, and biology with a focus on communication and connectivity.[4][12][13]

Proudly Human

Proudly Human’s Off-World Project will demonstrate human resilience, sustainability and community spirit in even the most extreme environments through grit, imagination, research and innovation. The project prepares for life on the Moon, Mars and beyond, as well as providing solutions for those living in harsh conditions here on Earth. Over the next few years, Proudly Human will run a series of habitation experiments, building communities and off-grid infrastructure in the most extreme environments on the planet, from the desert, to Antarctica, to under the ocean. Each experiment will last several months, generate exploration-driven innovation and research, and be filmed for a documentary series.[4][5][1]

In 2019, Marais completed location scouts to the Antarctic interior and the Oman desert. On 1 February 2021, a global call for applications for crew for the Off-World Project opened.[5]

Foundation for Space Development

Marais was a special project coordinator of the Foundation for Space Development in 2016,[6] and in 2017, became co-director[4] with Carla Sharpe and Khutšo Ngoasheng. The organisation aims to send Africa's first mission to the Moon with the Africa2Moon Project,[14] as well as driving projects including asteroid mining; disaster management projects based on a geo-magnetic solar climate model; and other uses for big data in space.[15] The Foundation aims to inspire children in developing nations via education and science, and encourages technological research in areas including space research, AI and robotics and open source communication technologies.

Mars One

In 2013, Marais volunteered for the Mars One Project, a private organisation, planning one-way trips to establish the first human settlement on Mars in 2026. Marais was shortlisted as one of 100 astronaut candidates with the project.[6][16][9][17] In February 2019, however, Mars One declared bankruptcy.[3][18][19]

Membership and recognition

Marais has received several awards, including:

Personal life

In 2016, Marais completed the Two Oceans 56km Ultramarathon.[27] In 2017, she summited Uhuru Peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.

References
  1. "Off-World Antarctica: Preparing for Mars. Dr. Adriana Marais. TEDxLuxembourgCityWomen". TEDx Talks YouTube. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  2. "Foundation for Space Development | About us". Foundation for Space Development. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  3. Duncan, Elly (16 August 2019). "Q+A with an expert: when are we really moving to Mars?". SBS The Feed. Australia. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  4. Frost, Sally (8 August 2019). "Data@breakfast Ventures Off-World". Ndaba Online (41). South Africa: University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  5. "Research and technology for a sustainable and #ProudlyHuman future on Earth, above and beyond". Proudly Human. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  6. Abarder, Gasant (19 August 2016). "Adriana is on a mission to Mars". Cape Argus, Independent Online. Cape Town, South Africa. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  7. "2015 International Rising Talents". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  8. "Most Disruptive Women in Tech Award". Women in Tech. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  9. Hartleb, Thomas (3 February 2016). "SA's Mars One hopeful preparing for final test". News24. Cape Town, South Africa. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  10. "Dr Adriana Marais". Faculty. Singularity University. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  11. "Adriana Marais | PhD Physics PhD Candidate Economics | University of Cape Town, Cape Town ..." ResearchGate. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  12. "Let us not forget the rights of poor and rural women with little access to justice". TimesLIVE. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.(subscription required)
  13. "Fourth Industrial Revolution – Keeping people at the core". University World News. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  14. Mngoma, Nosipho (12 June 2015). "Dream big, reach for the stars". Daily News, Independent Online. Durban, South Africa.
  15. "Programs". Foundation for Space Development. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  16. Whitfield, Bruce (21 December 2016). "Adriana Marais may soon leave for Mars (never to return)". Cape Talk 567AM. Cape Town, South Africa. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  17. "Adriana". Mars One Community Platform. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  18. Moseman, Andrew (11 February 2019). "Mars One Mission Is Dead". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  19. Whitfield, Bruce (15 February 2019). "Dr Adriana Marais was on her way to the Red Planet. Then Mars One collapsed". Radio 702. Johannesburg, South Africa. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  20. "Meiring Naude Medal Citation" (PDF). Royal Society of South Africa. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  21. Ndlovu, Sphumelele C.; Marais, Adriana; Shabangu, Promise T.; Noto, Luyanda L.; Greiner, Johannes N.; Engelbrecht, Nicholas E.; Dhunny, Asma Z. (27 March 2018). "Diversity of participant representation within the 66th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting". South African Journal of Science. 114 (3/4): 4. doi:10.17159/sajs.2018/a0263. ISSN 1996-7489. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  22. "Next generation of scientists: Pride of South Africa". Department: Science and Technology. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  23. "Search - Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings". lindau-nobel.org. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  24. "UKZN NdabaOnline". ndabaonline.ukzn.ac.za. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  25. "THE 2016 GLOBAL MEETING RISING TALENTS" (PDF). Women's Forum. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  26. "The South African Women in Science Awards". The M&G Online. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  27. "Search - 2016 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon (2016)". SportSplits. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
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