Page 23 - Science in Africa

Aiming for
Doctor Marie Françoise Driver

octor Marie Françoise Driver
is an associate professor in
the department of
agricultural production and
systems at the faculty of excellence
Dagriculture at the University
of Mauritius.
She was elevated to the rank of Officer of
the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian She aims for excellence in teaching and development of new programmes of studies.
Ocean for her contribution in the fields of learning by providing her students with a Her research areas involve basic and
education and research by the Republic of high-quality learning experience to applied ruminant nutrition, forage
Mauritius on the occasion of that country’s equip them with the skills feeding value and the development
National Day in 2013. necessary for the job market. of sustainable grazing systems;
In 2014, she was appointed director-general, Her teaching is informed by her management of sustainable
Université des Mascareignes, and appointed research activities and by tropical animal production
as chairperson of the National Biosafety recent research developments systems; safe food production
Committee. in the field of animal science of animal origin; innovative
Her scholarships and fellowships include: and production. feed supplies for livestock
. Senior African research fulbright Doctor Driver lectures on production. The objectives are to
fellowship (US): 1992; animal nutrition, physiology, work on new feeding strategies to
. Commonwealth postgraduate doctoral production, feeding, animal welfare enable producers to meet market
scholarship (New Zealand): 1986; and and health and ensures quality and specifications and improve the
. Postgraduate scholarship (University of safety throughout the food chain. profitability of smallholder animal
Mauritius): 1980. She is also responsible for the production systems in Mauritius.
Doctor Mutasim Bashir Nimir

Helping to combat desertification

Doctor Mutasim Bashir Nimir has a PhD He participated in surveys of the desert effect of mechanised rain-fed farming on
in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State and semi-desert areas of the Sudan the natural resources and land-use
University in the US, an MS in Range in connection with studies conflicts.
Management from Montana State related to the desert . Wildlife legislation:
University in the US, and a BSc in Biology encroachment problem in the Doctor Bashir Nimir
from the University of Khartoum, Sudan. Sudan and helped in writing supervised research projects
His areas of expertise include: up the governmental plan to conducted by the Wildlife
. Wildlife and natural resources: He combat desertification and Research Centre and took
planned and participated in scientific assist in the establishment of responsibility for the
groups conducting wildlife surveys (soil, desert-protected areas. administration of the centre,
vegetation, land-use patterns, wildlife He organised and contributed allocation of funds, evaluation
populations). These surveys covered desert, in research projects in range and of scientists and other personnel,
semi-desert, savannah, mountain and wildlife areas in the Sudan to He planned and conducted a study
riverine areas in the Red Sea Region, investigate range assessments, the effect of about wildlife values and management in
Kassala, the Blue Nile, Kordofan, Darfur fire on vegetation and soils, the northern Sudan as a part of his
and the Upper Nile provinces. productivity of natural rangeland, the PhD study.
SCIENCE IN AFRICA 23