On September 6, 2023, CBAS Fellowship was publicly launched at the opening ceremony of The 3rd International Forum on Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (FBAS 2023).
The Fellowship program was established in 2023 aiming to improve global collaboration on data and technology towards informed sustainable development within the United Nations framework. Through this fellowship program CBAS intends to facilitate global consensus, and enhance regional and global multi-stakeholder engagements on issues of common and mutual interests. The Fellowship recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the field of promoting sustainable development through technological innovation worldwide, and is the highest academic honour that can be conferred on an individual by CBAS. CBAS Fellow will help CBAS realize its mission of supporting implementation of SDGs through harnessing science, technology, and innovation.
Quarraisha Abdool Karim
President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)
Associate Scientific Director of Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA)
Co-chair of UN 10-Member Group to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism for SDGs (2021-2023)Biography
Quarraisha Abdool Karim, (PhD) is an infectious diseases epidemiologist, co-founder and Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA. She is Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York and Pro-Vice Chancellor for African Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Prof. Abdool Karim is the President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and co-chairs the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 Member Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM). She is the UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV, the Executive Group Member of the Steering Committees for the WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Therapeutics Trial, the WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Vaccines Trial and the WHO Ebola Vaccine Trial. Prof. Abdool Karim is a member of the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board and serves on the Board of Directors of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (USA). Her seminal contributions spanning over three decades have shaped the global HIV prevention landscape, notably in prevention technologies for women. She demonstrated that ARVs prevent sexually transmitted HIV that laid the foundation for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); and has provided insights in Africa and globally on the impact of Covid-19 on HIV and in the evaluation of Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics. She is the recipient of over 30 prestigious awards including the 2021 VinFuture Prize in the special category of developing country innovators, received in Vietnam.
Irina Bokova
Former Director-General of UNESCO
ISC Patron and Co-chair of the International Science Council’s Global Commission on Science Missions for SustainabilityBiography
Irina Bokova, born in Sofia (Bulgaria), has been two terms Director-General of UNESCO from 2009 to 2017. As Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova was actively engaged in the adoption of UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, particularly on “inclusive and equitable quality education and life-long learning for all”, promoting the critical role of culture and science for development, as well as the protection of the world’s cultural heritage. From 2013 to 2017 she chaired the Scientific Advisory Board with the UN Secretary General, entrusted to analyse and give recommendations to the science-policy interface within the Sustainable Development Agenda. She has received state distinctions from more than 40 countries and is Doctor honoris causa of leading universities across the world, such as King’s College, Durham University and University of Edinburgh, UK, Paris-Saclay, France, Boston University, US, Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Tonji University, China, among others. In 2016 Irina Bokova was on the Forbes list of the most influential women. In 2020, she was elected International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2021 - Honorary Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences (WAAS). In 2022 Irina Bokova was elected Patron of the International Science Council (ISC). Currently, Bokova is a Member of “Ban Ki Moon Centre for Global Citizens”, Chair of the Board of Governors of the UN University of Peace, Costa Rica, Member of the Global Advisory Board of the Tsinghua School of Public Policy and Management (SPPM), Member of the Concordia Leadership Council, New York, Member of the Leadership Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), among others.
Huadong Guo
Director General of International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS)
Member of UN 10-Member Group to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism for SDGs (2018-2021)
Member of the ISC’s Global Commission on Science Missions for SustainabilityBiography
Guo Huadong is Director General of the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), and a professor of Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He is an Academician of CAS, a Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, and a Fellow of the International Science Council (ISC). He presently serves as Honorary President of the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE), Director of the International Center on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under the Auspices of UNESCO, Member of ISC Global Commission on Science Missions for Sustainability, Chair of Digital Belt and Road Program (DBAR), and Editor-in-Chief of two scientific journals International Journal of Digital Earth and Big Earth Data. He served as Member of UN 10-Member Group to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism for SDGs (2018-2021), Chairman of the International Committee of Remote Sensing of Environment (ICORSE) (2017-2020), President of ISDE (2015-2019) and ICSU Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) (2010-2014). Prof. Guo specializes in remote sensing, radar for Earth observation, and Digital Earth science. He has published more than 500 papers and 24 books, and is the awardee of 19 international and domestic prizes.
Gretchen Kalonji
Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences of UNESCO (2010-2014)
Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University-The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Chair of International Advisory Committee of International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS)Biography
Gretchen Kalonji focuses on strategies for international collaborations on science and technology for sustainable development. She builds on her experiences as a faculty member in world-class universities, including MIT, the University of Washington, and the University of California. From 2005 to 2010 she served as Director of International Strategy Development for the 10-Campus University of California system. From 2010 to 2014, she served as the Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO. In her current role as Dean of the Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), Sichuan University - The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kalonji focuses on interdisciplinary and international collaborations on disaster risk reduction and response.
Markku Tapio Kulmala
Professor and Director of Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR), University of Helsinki.
Academician of the Academy of Finland
Foreign Academician of Chinese Academy of SciencesBiography
Markku Tapio Kulmala is the Director of Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR), University of Helsinki, an Academician of the Academy of Finland, a Foreign Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), etc. Professor Kulmala has been committed to the development of research, education, infrastructure, and innovation globally. He actively develops new international initiatives, such as addressing global challenges, addressing the interaction between air pollution and climate change, and promoting and improving the Earth System Integrated Observation System globally. He launched a “Pan-Eurasian Experiment” program. This is an interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional project aimed at addressing various challenges affecting nature and human life in the northern region of Eurasia. In addition, Professor Kulmala is also committed to solving the air pollution problem in mega cities. He has published over 1150 original research papers, including 18 in Nature, 17 in Science and 7 in Phys. Rev. Lett.
Group photo of Fellow Award Ceremony
CBAS Fellow Brochure
CBAS Fellow Medal
From this year (2023) onwards, an annual call for nominations to the Fellowship will be made. We look forward to seeing more outstanding scholars and experts participating in the SDGs realization with science and technology innovation, jointly promoting the mission of CBAS and the advancement of the global sustainable development agenda.