Prof Jane Catherine Ngila is currently the Acting Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) since 17th July 2020- to date. Prof Ngila is the Deputy Vice Chancellor in the Academic and Student Affairs (DVC-AA) since 6th February 2020 at Riara University. Prof Ngila before joining Riara University, was the Deputy Director of the Institute of Oil and Gas (MIOG) under Kenya Pipeline Company, in charge of Training, Academic Programmes, and Linkages, a position she held from April 2017 to January 2020. Prof Ngila is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), Department of Chemical Sciences, as well as a Visiting Professor at the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kenya. She is a former Head of Department (HOD) of Applied Chemistry at the University of Johannesburg, a position she held from 2013 to 2016. As HOD at UJ, she oversaw a number of Centres of Excellence in Nanotechnology and Water, including the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) Chair in Nanotechnology and Water; the South Africa's Department of Science and Technology (DST)/Mintek Nanotechnology Innovation Centre Water node (NIC Water); the National Nanoscience Postgraduate Teaching and Training Platform (NNPTTP) UJ node (NNPTTP is a consortium of three nodes - UJ, the University of the Free State and Nelson Mandela University; and the University of the Western Cape as the hub). Prof Ngila’s research work is on Analytical/Environmental Chemistry and focuses on water quality/pollution monitoring, methods of water treatment based on nanotechnology, development of analytical methodologies for detecting metal pollutants, and other chemical substances including their speciation analysis, in water. Prof Ngila is a Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences; Fellow Africa Academy of Science (AAS); Member Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); Member of the AAS mentorship programmes for female university students in Africa; the Chair of the AAS Education & Gender Working Group; and Co-Chair of the 2021 Commonwealth Science Conference. She is a member of various chemical societies and professional organizations including Royal Australian Chemistry Institute, American Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry UK (MRSC), South Africa Chemical Institute, Kenya Chemical Society, Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World, African Scientific Institute, Forum for African Women Educationalists and African Women in Science & Engineering (AWISE).
