Iris Samputu, who was born and raised in Kenya, came to Canada in 2015 to pursue her BASc in Chemical Engineering and BSc in Biochemistry. Upon graduation, she started her MASc at the University of Ottawa where she was working on the development of membranes for carbon capture. She will be continuing with this research under the supervision of University Research Chair and Professor Xianshe Feng at the University of Waterloo. She is interested in climate change-related research, particularly the many efforts in reducing the net CO2 being released into the environment.
Iris is also interested in bridging the gap between online grassroots climate change activism and academia. She is currently working with Our Climate Voices and has previously worked with Black Girl Environmentalist.
The Indigenous and Black Engineering and Technology Momentum Fellowship (IBET) mandate is to support Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and Metis) and Black researchers in achieving their rightful place and respected inclusion in academia at the University of Waterloo. There are three important aspects of the fellowship, firstly, it guarantees funding for Ph.D. candidates, and it provides mentorship by Black and Indigenous individuals in both industry and academia. It also sets out to create community networking within academia.
The importance of the IBET fellowship is underscored by the fact that many Black and Indigenous youth have never been taught by a Black or Indigenous professor. Iris echoes that experience,
Having zero representation and having no black professors all through both BASc and MASc programs made me question whether academia was where I wanted to be. This is because not only did it show the lack of inclusivity in academia but it also showed that I would most likely have to be navigating through predominantly white spaces all through my academic career. The lack of diversity also meant that I had no one that I could really seek advice from because my journey would likely be widely different from theirs.
Iris will continue working on the development of membranes for carbon capture with Professor Feng. She hopes to be able to obtain good results with this research that would enable the world to be one step closer to solving the problem of climate change and in particular; one that would help reduce the greenhouse gases being emitted by countries still developing so that they too may have the opportunity to advance. Iris is looking forward to gaining more experience as a teaching assistant, a job that she enjoys immensely.
All this will propel me to eventually become a black professor and researcher in the environmental field- a passion of mine. Herein I would be able to represent the black voice, an experience that I longed to have while doing my BSc/BASc, and my masters.
Iris is happy to receive this award and looks forward to pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Waterloo. She reflected on the other positive aspects of winning this fellowship,
I was also extremely happy as the scholarship will allow me to be able to get mentorship from other POC (People of Colour) who have gone through similar paths. There are not many black professors/ academics in my field and so having access to the best of them would be invaluable.
Congratulations to Iris for receiving this fellowship!