Rose Mutiso is working, amongst different vital challenges, to make sure that everybody in Africa has entry to inexpensive and dependable electrical energy on demand, in methods which might be sustainable and climate-resilient. Her efforts have earned her this 12 months’s Erna Hamburger Award, conferred by the EPFL-WISH (Women In Science and Humanities) Foundation to honor feminine scientists who’re reworking their fields and bringing about constructive change.
“I am honored and humbled to join this distinguished legacy of women scientists who have pushed scientific boundaries to drive societal progress, and this award reaffirms my commitment to elevating African and other underrepresented voices in shaping the future of science and technology,” reacts the winner.
Mutiso’s achievements replicate her ability in pulling collectively ideas from a number of disciplines. She holds a PhD in supplies science, with a thesis on functions in nanotechnology, and has performed analysis on polymer physics. She additionally has a eager curiosity in social points, which stems from her childhood: her father was a geography professor and her mom labored in the public sector. Building on these experiences, she determined early on to focus her efforts on bettering entry to wash vitality.
“I’m trained as a scientist and an engineer, but because of my liberal arts background, I also have a strong interest in society, on making an impact,” she mentioned in an interview for Dartmouth College, the place she earned her bachelor’s diploma. “My job is connecting evidence and research to inform policy and decision-making around energy, energy poverty and energy transitions in poor countries. These are all topics that have strong technical underpinnings.”
Technological leapfrogging
In her acceptance speech for the Erna Hamburger Award, Mutiso can be discussing the idea of technological leapfrogging – the course of by which creating nations skip conventional improvement levels or particular incumbent applied sciences and undertake newer approaches. Yet she believes that leapfrogging narratives are too typically constructed on hype, misdiagnosed issues and a reluctance to face exhausting truths about poverty, infrastructure gaps and structural inequality.
“In this lecture, I’ll draw from my experiences working on energy transitions and innovation policy across the Global North and South to unpack what’s missing in our conversations about technology and development,” writes Mutiso. “Why do promising innovations so often fall short of impact? What makes some succeed against the odds? And what does it take to ensure that new technologies actually serve the people who need them most?”
High-profile profession
Mutiso, now 39, has led a exceptional profession. She is the founder and govt director of the African Tech Futures Lab, a brand new institute that helps decision-makers throughout the continent navigate rising science and expertise throughout vitality, local weather, AI and digital programs.
Previously, she was a analysis director at the Energy for Growth Hub, a worldwide suppose tank exploring challenges related to clear vitality. In this function, she labored to deal with the technological and coverage points associated to vitality, the atmosphere and innovation in North America, southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Mutiso nonetheless contributes to the Energy for Growth Hub as a science advisor.
She can be a co-founder of the Nairobi-based Mawazo Institute, which helps early-career feminine scientists in Africa by offering doctoral analysis funding {and professional} improvement help. The Institute relies on the perception that science and expertise may also help enhance the circumstances for ladies in Africa and promote their function in society.
In the United States, Mutiso is a senior fellow of the Conceptual Investigations Unit at Stanford University. She additionally labored at the Office of International Climate and Clean Energy inside the US Department of Energy in the 2010s.
Her TED talks on the way forward for vitality and the local weather in Africa have been considered over 3.6 million instances, and she or he usually writes articles for Substack.
Giving African individuals a voice
“We are proud to give the 2025 Erna Hamburger Award to Rose Mutiso in recognition of her visionary leadership in promoting equal access to energy and her efforts to ensure African voices feature prominently in scientific efforts and global policies aimed at finding sustainable responses to the most pressing challenges facing our planet,” says Prof. Aleksandra Radenovic, president of the EPFL-WISH Foundation.
Mutiso is the twentieth winner of the Erna Hamburger Award, which was launched in 2006 to differentiate main influential feminine scientists and engineers. The EPFL-WISH Foundation is an unbiased group created by feminine professors at EPFL to encourage girls to pursue careers in scientific and technical fields. The award is known as after Dr. Erna Hamburger, the first feminine full professor at EPFL and an ongoing inspiration for college kids and researchers alike.
The award ceremony and the winner’s lecture will happen on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in room SG 1138.
The occasion is open to the public.
To register, click on HERE.
Programme:
6:30pm – Welcome phrases – Françoise Bommensatt Vice President for Finances
6:35pm – Wish Foundation presentation – Giulia Tagliabue WISH basis Vice President
6:45pm – Introduction of the Laureate – Ginevra Larroux grasp scholar
6:55pm – Lecture by Dr. Rose Mutiso
7:30pm – Q&A session
7:55pm – Closing – Remarks – Prize is awarded
8:00pm – Cocktail