Aster Afwork Gebrekirstos FAAS TWAS is an Ethiopian scientist and a professor of agroforestryatWorld Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
Aster Gebrekirstos
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| Born | Aster Afwork Gebrekirstos
Shire, Tigray, Ethiopia
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| Known for | Establishment of the Dendrochronology Laboratory, Ethiopia |
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Aster Gebrekirstos was born in Shire, Tigray, Ethiopia as the first child of a family of seven. She had the intention of becoming a doctor but her high school results did not qualify her for the profession and she had to choose between teaching and forestry and she chose the latter.[1][2]
She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the Haramaya University. She stayed at the Haramaya University as a graduate assistant immediately after her bachelor's degree before winning the Netherland Fellowship and complete a Master of ScienceatWageningen University & Research (1996–1998). She took a lectureship position at Wondo Genet College of Forestry, Hawassa University.[3]
She was awarded German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship to do a Doctor of PhilosophyatGottingen University in Germany (2001–2005). After her Ph.D., she joined as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Umeå University, Sweden (2006–2008) before going to ICRAF, Kenya and Göttingen University, Germany (2009–2011).[4]
As a dendrochronologist, she established dendrochronology laboratory in Ethiopia in 2009, the dendrochronology laboratory at Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources in 2010, and the World Agroforestry Centre's dendrochronology laboratory in Kenya in 2013.[5][6]
Her research focuses on Dendroisotopy,[7][8] climate change,[9][10] plant-water relations,[11][12] and social forestry.[13] Gebrekirstos is a visiting professor at the West African Science Service Center on Climate Change, Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) program, Dresden University of Applied Sciences, Centre for International Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management (CIPSEM).[4][14][15] She is serving as the Chair of the Environment Committee African Academy of Sciences and Deputy coordinator of IUFRO Task Force on Global Tree Mortality Patterns and Trends, Mountain Research Institute Science Leadership Council.[16][17][18]
She was elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences in 2017. [5]
Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences in 2021. [14]
Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Sciences in 2021.[17][18]
In 2014, she was awarded the African Climate Award for Excellence Research in climate adaptation and mitigation. She is also the Winner of the 2019 Special Award for Ground Breaking Science; an African-wide Young Professionals and Women in Science Competitions that was organized by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).[5][14][15]
