COUNTRY OF BIRTH

South Africa

INDUSTRY

Science

TOP ACHIEVEMENTS

Dr. Adriana Marais is an award-winning scientist and aspiring extra-terrestrial from South Africa. Dr. Marais works as the head of innovation at SAP Africa where she is responsible for exploring innovative emerging technologies. She has an extensive background in quantum biology and theoretical physics and is one of 100 astronaut candidates for the Mars One human settlement on Mars project.

EARLY LIFE

From an early age, Dr. Marais wanted to explore the galaxy. After high school, Dr. Marais enrolled at the University of Cape Town where she achieved a BSc. in theoretical physics and philosophy with honors in 2004. She then furthered her education at the University of KwaZulu Natal where she achieved an MSc. summa cum laude in quantum cryptography in 2009. Dr. Marais earned her PhD in quantum biology in 2014 after receiving the South African Department of Science and Technology for Women in Science PhD Fellowship award.

RISE TO SUCCESSES

Dr. Marais spent a year in Singapore at the Center for Quantum Technologies as a visiting researcher after which she returned to South Africa and worked as a university lecturer for several years. In 2013, Dr. Marais became an astronaut candidate for the Mars One human settlement on Mars project. In 2015, she joined the Quantum Research Group as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of KwaZulu Natal. From 2017, she has worked for SAP Africa where she leads the IoT lab among other innovation streams. Dr. Marais believes that we are at a unique time in the history of earth in which science and technology are developing at an unprecedented rate and that it is scientists' responsibility to come up with innovative ways to meet the challenges faced by humanity. ADDITIONAL FACTS • Since childhood, Dr. Marais has been dreaming of living on a different planet. • She received the Royal Society of South Africa Meiring Naude Medal for her contribution to research in the field of quantum biology. • Despite the fact that the company that was funding Mars One declared bankruptcy, Dr. Marais believes that we will eventually colonize Mars.