Sala Nanyanzi Senkayi is an African environmental scientist at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. She was the first Ugandan-born woman to win the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Sala Senkayi
Sala Senkayi at Converses with Students in 2013
Born
Alma materTexas A&M University
University of Texas at Arlington
AwardsPECASE ('17)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUnited States Environmental Protection Agency

Early life and education

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Senkayi is the daughter of Abu Senkayi and Sunajeh Senkayi. Her family are from Butambala District in Uganda. Her father was an environmental scientist and worked at Texas A&M University as a research scientist from 1977.[1][2]

Senkayi obtained a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She joined the University of Texas at Arlington, earning two more Bachelor's degrees in microbiology and biology.  Later, she earned a master's degree (2010) and a PhD (2012) degrees in environmental and earth sciences from the same university.[3] Her PhD thesis considered the association between childhood leukaemia and proximity to airports in Texas.[4] She found that benzene emissions were a predictor for childhood leukaemia.[4] During her graduate studies Muwenda Mutebi II of Buganda and Sylvia Nnaginda visited her in Texas.[5]

Career

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Senkayi joined the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2007.[6] She works with local children in schools and colleges talking about the environment.[5] She initiated the EPA Converses with Students webcast, an opportunity for children to speak to scientists who worked on environmental protection on Earth Day.[7][8] Her research focuses on water quality protection and she is the Water Quality Division Quality Assurance Officer.[3] In 2017 Senkayi was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for her "transformative" community outreach and research.[3][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Abu Lwanga Senkayi Celebrates 40 Years of Professional Excellence in Environmental Science". 24-7 Press Release Newswire. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  2. ^ Moderator, Marquis Who's Who (2018-08-14). "Abu Lwanga Senkayi, Ph.D." Marquis Who's Who Top Scientists. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  3. ^ a b c Ph.D, Samuel Muwanguzi. "Youthful Dr. Sala Senkayi smashes glass ceiling, wins top US science award". eadm.news. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  4. ^ a b Senkayi, Sala N.; Sattler, Melanie L.; Rowe, Nancy; Chen, Victoria C.P. (2014-04-01). "Investigation of an association between childhood leukemia incidences and airports in Texas". Atmospheric Pollution Research. 5 (2): 189–195. doi:10.5094/APR.2014.023. hdl:10106/25951. ISSN 1309-1042.
  5. ^ a b "Meet The First Ugandan-American PhD Female Environmental Scientist In Dallas – Dr. Sala Senkayi | Welcome to the Ugandan Diaspora News Online". www.ugandandiasporanews.com. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  6. ^ "Employee Profile of Sala Senkayi — General Physical Scientist". www.federalpay.org. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  7. ^ US EPA, OA (2015-07-30). "EPA Converses with Students Webcasts". US EPA. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  8. ^ "WEEKLY eNEWS: Events, Grants/Awards, Workshops, Webinars, Volunteer Opportunities, Resources | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries". www.wlf.louisiana.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  9. ^ "President Obama Honors Federally-Funded Early-Career Scientists". whitehouse.gov. 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2018-12-26.