Thanks to the generous donation of a SGAC Alumnus, SGAC is pleased to announce the winners of the Nebula Award to attend the 12th Space Generation Fusion Forum (April 5-8, 2024) and the 39th Space Symposium (April 8–11, 2024), to be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.A. !
Congratulations to all the winners!
Fama Jallow
Fama Jallow’s academic background is in aerospace engineering. She also has experience in machine learning, robotics, and geographic information systems. She is a space enthusiast who is passionate about Space education and the use of space science and technology in Africa. She currently serves as the African Space Education Program Coordinator and National point of contact for The Gambia under the Space Generation Advisory Council.
Fama is currently Gambia’s first licensed female drone pilot. She is a fellow of the Young African Leader Initiative (YALI), a leadership program run by the United States that supports the continent’s future leaders. She is the co-founder of Unitalks, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire the next generation of future leaders, and also the Capella Project which uses satellite data for environmental conservation. Fama, through her studies, hopes to encourage more young women to get into STEM fields and help democratize space in Africa. She believes we are in the middle of a space renaissance, and she wants to help Africa develop its space market so that it can develop space programs tailored to its specific needs. She believes that by utilizing space applications, Africa will be able to meet some of the Sustainable Development Goals. |
“Excited to win the Nebula Award 2024. This award allows me to professionally develop, expand my network, and better support space enthusiasts and Africa’s emerging space market.”
Jennifer Yakam Simen
Jennifer Yakam S. is a recent graduate with a master’s degree in software engineering from the University of Buea and a space enthusiast. She is a software engineer at a company which aims to create solutions with space data in Cameroon. During her studies, she has contributed to promoting STEM education for youths by volunteering as an organizer, speaker and facilitator at events, hackathons and bootcamps at the student developer’s community in the field of technology, specifically software engineering. She also volunteered as a mentor at the Google African Developer’s scholarship, a scholarship program supporting young Africans in their tech journey. She is also an open source contributor.
Jennifer started her space journey as a mentee in the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). She is passionate about developing software solutions for sustainable development with space data.
“I am beyond grateful and incredibly humbled to be awarded the Nebula award. It is a great privilege to be a part of an inspiring community like the SGAC which is dedicated to using space to improve the world and receiving this award means a lot to me and a great encouragement to continue contributing to the SGAC.”
Julia Alvarez Vallero
Julia Alvarez Vallero is an electronic engineer from Argentina, graduated from National University of Córdoba. She has just completed a Master’s degree in Renewable Energies, Climate Change and Sustainability in the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She works as power design engineer in the space area, for INVAP, an Argentinian company dedicated to the design and manufacture of complex technological systems. She is passionate about space, and works to encourage youth to follow the space path through her project, MELIORA. Currently, she is about to pursue a PhD.
“I am honored to have been awarded by SGAC. At the organization, I have met passionate volunteers from all over the world. Since I started being part of it, I found the support to grow and promote others in the space field. Now that I am involved in one of its projects, I confirm the great contribution of SGAC.“
Mercy Sharleen Nimusiima
I am first year student of Bachelor of Architecture in Uganda and an Aerospace and Outerspace enthusiast looking forward to pursuing Space Architecture. My passion for the Space industry continues to grow despite living in a country with barely a Space industry presence. I have used any opportunity to participate in various virtual and physical Space events. I participated in the 2023 NASA Space Apps Hackathon and my team took first position in the regional round. I also volunteer with a Non- Government Organization, Global STEM Initiative, as an Ambassador. I look forward to seeing what more Space has to offer.
“I am beyond thrilled to receive this news, I was in literal disbelief when I received the email. This is such an honor I do not take for granted. I’m extremely grateful to SGAC.”