Iris Samputu (she/her) was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. She moved to Canada in 2015 to pursue her BASc in Chemical Engineering and BSc in Biochemistry. Upon graduation, she started her MASc at the University of Ottawa where she was working on the development of membranes for carbon capture. She will be continuing with this research under the supervision of Dr. Feng at the University of Waterloo. She is interested in climate change related research and particularly the many current efforts in reducing the net CO2 being released. She is also interested in bridging the gap between online grassroots climate change activism and academia. She is currently working with Our Climate Voices and has previously worked with Black Girl Environmentalist.
The Faculties of Engineering and Mathematics at University of Waterloo are committed to increasing the diversity of Canadian workforce in the engineering and technology sectors, especially, the participation from Indigenous and Black communities.
The Momentum Fellowships are a central pillar of the new IBET PhD Project which aims to change the academic landscape within the next five to 10 years by increasing the number of Indigenous and Black engineering professors teaching and researching in universities across Ontario. The project will also create a pipeline of students who will increase diversity in Canadian technology industries as they enter the workforce with graduate degrees from STEM programs.