Magda Abu Ras () is a Saudi Arabian microbiologist, who is specialises in the treatment of oil-contaminated soils. She is Deputy Director of the Saudi Environmental Society (SENS) and founder of the National Program for Environmental Awareness and Sustainable Development.

Education

Born in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, Abu Ras holds two Masters qualifications: the first in microbiology from

King Abdulaziz University King Abdulaziz University (KAU) () is a public research university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1967 as a private university by a group of businessmen led by Muhammad Bakhashab and including author Hamza Bogary, it was named after ...

; the second in

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

and

environmental microbiology ''Environmental Microbiology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal focused on microbial interactions and microbial processes in the environment. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell. Until January 2024, it was an official journal of the S ...

from the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

. She went on to be awarded a PhD in Environmental Biotechnology from Surrey in 2010 in the treatment of oil-contaminated soils.

Career

In 2006 she launched the “I Love the Earth” campaign in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

, which involved raising awareness of street pollution and cleaning. In 2009 she was appointed Deputy Director of the Saudi Environmental Society (SENS), of which she was a founding member. She was also Director of the Arab Women’s Environmental Development Program. In 2012 she launched a national educational environmental awareness programme under the slogan ''Green Homeland, Green Flag.'' She was also selected as a regional scientist for NASA. She is outspoken on issues relating to recycling and pollution in the country. Launched in 2018, she is the founder of the National Program for Environmental Awareness and Sustainable Development, which is administered by SENS. This programme is part of

Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 2030) is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi crown pri ...

. The same year she supervised an environmental campaign which focussed on discouraging plastic use during

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

, entitle ''Hajj without Plastic.'' As of 2022, Abu Ras is Assistant Professor of Biotechnology at King Abdulaziz University.

Awards

* Arab Women Leaders Award for the Environment, awarded by the Arab-European Organization for the Environment in Switzerland (April 2012) * Business Award, awarded by

Sayidaty ''Sayidaty'' (Arabic سيدتي ''Sayyidatī'', meaning ''My Lady'' in English) is a weekly Arabic and a monthly English women's magazine published in both Riyadh and Beirut and distributed throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Am ...

Magazine (2017) * “Takreem” Award for Sustainable Environmental Development, awarded under the auspices of the Emir of the State of Kuwait (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Ras, Magda Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Saudi Arabian women scientists Women microbiologists Women environmentalists Alumni of the University of Surrey King Abdulaziz University alumni People from Mecca