Elected: 2018
Country (Nationality)
South Africa
Discipline
Chemical Sciences
Bio
Priscilla Baker is the South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) Chair in Analytical Systems and Processes for Priority and Emerging Contaminants (ASPPEC) and a Senior Professor of Chemistry at the University of Western Cape (UWC). Having been elected as a fellow in 2018, Baker is an alumnus of University of Cape Town. Prof Baker is an analytical-electrochemist and has more than 15 years of experience in the development of organic and inorganic smart materials (polymer blends, hydrogels, Schiff base metal complexes) for application in sensors, electroanalysis and energy-generation systems. She is the co-leader of SensorLab™ (UWC Sensor Research Laboratories) since 2004, and the research centre’s team comprised 8 Academic staff, postdoctoral fellows and 40+ postgraduate students. Baker currently serves as the director of the South African Systems Analysis Centre (SASAC, November 2017-present), former Department of Chemistry HoD, (UWC, 2017-2018), chairperson of the South African Chemical Institute Electrochemistry Chapter (2006-2018) and current Regional Representative (Africa): International Society of Electrochemistry. Baker was announced Winner of the Department of Science and Technology, Distinguished Woman Scientist award in the category Physical and Engineering Sciences (2014) and in the same year she was awarded the Deputy Vice Chancellor’s Young Researcher Award, by the University of the Western Cape. Baker believes Current approaches to water screening for emerging and persistent chemical residues requires considerable effort, with high associated costs, sample processing and lengthy laboratory centered analysis times. Her research focuses on Electrochemistry as a clean, versatile and powerful tool for the detection of emerging and priority pollutants in water and other environmental matrices.