The L'Or'al Foundation and UNESCO today announced the laureates of the 2017 L'Or'al-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards in the physical sciences. They will receive their awards at a ceremony in Paris on 23 March 2017.

Proposed by an international community of more than 2,000 leading scientists, the five laureates were selected by an independent international jury of 12 renowned scientists presided this year by Professor Christian Amatore, of the French Acad'mie des sciences.

Each laureate will receive a prize of '100,000 to reward for their contribution to science:

Africa amp; Arab States' Professor Niveen KHASHAB (Saudi Arabia), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Asia Pacific"""""""' Professor Michelle SIMMONS (Australia), Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology'University of New South Wales

Europe"""""""""""' Professor Nicola SPALDIN (Switzerland), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich)

Latin America"""""" Professor Maria Teresa RUIZ (Chile), Astronomy Department, Universidad de Chile

North America"""""' Professor Zhenan BAO (United States of America), Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University

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AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES

Professor Niveen KHASHAB

Lebanese

Associate Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), SAUDI ARABIA

Analytical chemistry

'For her contributions to innovative smart hybrid materials aimed at drug delivery and for developing new techniques to monitor intracellular antioxidant activity.'

ASIA PACIFIC

Professor Michelle SIMMONS

Australian

Professor, Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology - University of New South Wales, AUSTRALIA

Quantum physics

'For her pioneering contributions to quantum and atomic electronics, constructing atomic transistors en route to quantum computers.'

EUROPE

Professor Nicola SPALDIN

British

Professor and Chair of Materials Theory, ETH Z'rich, SWITZERLAND

Solid state physics

'For her groundbreaking multidisciplinary work predicting, describing and creating new materials that have switchable magnetic and ferroelectric properties.'

NORTH AMERICA

Professor Zhenan BAO

USA

Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, USA

Material Chemistry

'For her outstanding contribution to and mastery of the development of novel functional polymers for consumer electronics, energy storage and biomedical applications.'

LATIN AMERICA

Professor Maria Teresa RUIZ

Chilean

Professor, Department of Astronomy, Dept. / Universidad de Chile, CHILE

Astrophysics

'For her discovery of the first brown dwarf and her seminal work on understanding the faintest stars, including stars at the final stages of their evolution (white dwarfs)."

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Contacts:

L'Or'al Foundation

Ludivine DESMONTS-MORNET

ludivine.desmonts-mornet(at)loreal.com

33 (0)1 47 56 77 47

UNESCO

George Papagiannis

33 (0)45 68 17 06

Agence MATRIOCHKA for the L'Or'al Foundation

Delphine HILAIRE

100;101;108;112;104;105;110;101;46;104;105;108;97;105;114;101;64;109;116;114;99;104;107;46;99;111;109;

33 (0)6 22 68 29 64

About the L'Or'al Foundation

Accompany. Value. Communicate. Support. Move boundaries. The convictions, the core values which drive the L'Or'al Foundation's commitment to women everyday. A commitment divided into two main areas - science and beauty.

Through its' For Women in Science programme, a worldwide partnership with UNESCO, the L'Or'al Foundation motivates girls in High School to pursue scientific careers, supports women researchers and rewards excellence in a field where women remain underrepresented.

Through its beauty programmes, the Foundation assists women affected by illness, who are economically disadvantaged or isolated, to recover their sense of self-esteem and femininity in order to feel better and to fare better. Its' actions also include providing training programs for beauty industry professions.

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About UNESCO

Since its' creation in 1945, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization has been supporting international scientific cooperation as a catalyst for sustainable development and peace. UNESCO assists countries in the development of public policies and in building capabilities in the fields of science, technology, innovation and scientific education. In addition, UNESCO leads several intergovernmental programmes for the sustainable management of freshwater, ocean and terrestrial resources, the protection of biodiversity and the promotion of the role of science in combating climate change and handling natural disasters. To meet these goals, UNESCO is committed to ending discrimination and promoting equality between women and men.