Adriana Marais

Adriana Marais is a South African theoretical physicist and technologist.[1] She is director of the Foundation for Space Development, South Africa,[3] an organisation that aims to inspire children in developing countries via education and science. Marais is the founder of Proudly Human,[4] an initiative of which is Off-World Antarctica, an off-world settlement simulation experiment to take place over the winter of 2021.[5][6]

Adriana Marais
Marais at TedxCapeTown 2015
Bornc. 1983[1][2]
King Williams Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa
EducationUniversity of Cape Town
Alma materUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal
Known forProjects encouraging STEM
Scientific career
FieldsQuantum cryptography
Quantum biology
InstitutionsCentre for Quantum Technologies
SAP Africa
Thesis
Websitewww.adrianamarais.org
Foundation for Space Development
Proudly Human.com

She was of four South Africans chosen in the third round of astronaut candidate selection for Mars One[7][8] and was awarded the 2015 L'Oreal-UNESCO International Rising Talent Award.[1][9]

Education and career

Marais spent her childhood in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, where she attended St. John's Diocesan School for Girls.[2][10] She completed a BScHons 1@th class (theoretical physics) at the University of Cape Town (UCT)[1][10] in 2004, followed by an MSc summa cum laude (quantum cryptography) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)[1][5][10] in 2010. She was awarded a PhD (quantum biology) from UKZN in 2015[1][10] for her research on quantum effects in photosynthesis and her postdoctoral research focused on the origins of prebiotic molecules and life itself.[5][11] She enrolled at UCT in 2019 as a PhD candidate in economics with a focus on economics in resource constrained environments.[5][12]

In 2005, she spent time as an English teacher in Fukuoka, Japan, followed by lecturing at UKZN from 2007 - 2013. During this time, she was a visiting researcher at the Centre for Quantum Technologies, Singapore, from 2011 - 2012.[13]

From 2017-2019, she was Head of Innovation at SAP South Africa[2][5] and in 2018 she joined the faculty of Singularity University.[5][12] In 2019, Marais founded Proudly Human, an organisation focusing on research and technology for a sustainable future on Earth and beyond.[4][6]

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.[5][14] In 2018, she was the keynote speaker at the South African Technology Network's international conference held in Durban, South Africa, which was focused on the 4IR and where she discussed the ways in which technologies developed for a human settlement on Mars could be applied to help Earth deal with population growth and urbanisation.[15]

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.[1][8][11][16] In January 2019, however, Mars One declared bankruptcy.[4][17][18]

Foundation for Space Development

Marais was a special project coordinator of the Foundation for Space Development in 2016,[1] and in 2017, became co-director[5] with Carla Sharpe and Khutšo Ngoasheng. The organisation aims to inspire children in developing nations via education and science; encourages technological research in areas including space research, AI and robotics and open source communication technologies. Other areas of interest include Africa2Moon, a project aiming to send Africa's first mission to the Moon;[19] Asteroid mining; disaster management projects based on a geo-magnetic solar climate model; and other uses for big data in space.[20]

Proudly Human

The aim of the Proudly Human team is to demonstrate successful community living in harsh environments on Earth as a step towards settlement of other planets. The first phase of the initiative is an off-world settlement simulation experiment called the Antarctic Research Community (ARC), scheduled for 2021. The phase will last almost a year and comprise the building of a functional and sustainable off-grid technology infrastructure (including life support and communications) that will be independent of current infrastructure.[5][6]

The technology used by ARC and subsequent experiments will be prepared in the Off-World Tech Hub in Cape Town. The hub also promotes companies developing sustainable technology and facilitates skills development.[5][6]

Membership and recognition

Marais has received several awards, including:

Personal life

In 2016, Marais participated in the Two Oceans 56km Ultramarathon.[28] In 2017, she summited Uhuru Peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.

gollark: I think most laptops are still using Intel, and most people do not actually care that much about computing hardware.
gollark: They are a MUCH larger company than AMD and also supply tons of non-enthusiast stuff.
gollark: Not really.
gollark: But that was bad and cancelled anyway.
gollark: Except possibly Phi or something?

References
  1. Abarder, Gasant (19 August 2016). "Adriana is on a mission to Mars". Cape Argus, Independent Online. Cape Town, South Africa. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  2. Ntuli, Nokuthula (5 February 2018). "One-way trip into the unknown for SA woman". News24. South Africa. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  3. "Foundation for Space Development | About us". Foundation for Space Development. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  4. 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.
  5. Frost, Sally (8 August 2019). "Data@breakfast Ventures Off-World". Ndaba Online (41). South Africa: University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  6. "Research and technology for a sustainable and #ProudlyHuman future on Earth, above and beyond". Proudly Human. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  7. Wild, Sarah (17 February 2015). "Four South Africans make round three of Mars One mission". Mail & Guardian. Johannesburg, South Africa. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  8. 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.
  9. "2015 International Rising Talents". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  10. Capel, David (8 March 2016). "The greatest trek of all A young South African woman, Adriana Marais, may one day be on a one-way ticket to Mars". Leadership. Cape Town, South Africa: Cape Media. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  11. Hartleb, Thomas (3 February 2016). "SA's Mars One hopeful preparing for final test". News24. Cape Town, South Africa. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  12. "Dr Adriana Marais". Faculty. Singularity University. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  13. "Adriana Marais | PhD Physics PhD Candidate Economics | University of Cape Town, Cape Town ..." ResearchGate. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  14. "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)
  15. "Fourth Industrial Revolution – Keeping people at the core". University World News. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  16. "Adriana". Mars One Community Platform. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  17. Moseman, Andrew (11 February 2019). "Mars One Mission Is Dead". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  18. 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.
  19. Mngoma, Nosipho (12 June 2015). "'Dream big, reach for the stars'". Daily News, Independent Online. Durban, South Africa.
  20. "Programs". Foundation for Space Development. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  21. "Meiring Naude Medal Citation" (PDF). Royal Society of South Africa. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  22. 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): 4–4. doi:10.17159/sajs.2018/a0263. ISSN 1996-7489. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  23. "Next generation of scientists: Pride of South Africa". Department: Science and Technology. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  24. "Search - Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings". lindau-nobel.org. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  25. "UKZN NdabaOnline". ndabaonline.ukzn.ac.za. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  26. "THE 2016 GLOBAL MEETING RISING TALENTS" (PDF). Women's Forum. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  27. "The South African Women in Science Awards". The M&G Online. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  28. "Search - 2016 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon (2016)". SportSplits. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
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