The Root Of The Science Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone! Welcome to episode 73 My guest today is Tamuda Chimhanda from Zimbabwe but based in South Africa. He's passionate about robotics and artificial intelligence and the potential it has to transform Africa. In this episode, we learn that Robotics "picked him" he was always a curious child, and he wanted to understand how things work by breaking appliance...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone, and welcome to Episode 73!! Chris Emezue from Nigeria is my guest today. He is an MSc student in Mathematics and Data Science at Technische Universität München (TUM) in Germany. In this episode, we learn that he wanted to be an inventor when he was younger. His parents, who instilled a reading culture in him, nurtured the dream. This enabled him to learn more about...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone! Welcome to episode 72. For the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of chatting with young #AfricansInSTEM who have shared stories about their journey into science as part of #YouAreAScientist interviews. The purpose is to amplify the voices of young #AfricansInSTEM and remind them that they are an inspiration to many. This week we are wrapping up, and I will be...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone! Welcome to episode 71.  For the past few years, I have had the pleasure of being a teaching assistant for undergraduate modules in the agricultural science department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I thought it is only fitting to interview some of the past students for this month's #YouAreAScientist interviews. The purpose is to amplify the voices of youn...

Send us Fan Mail From mid-2020, I had the honor of mentoring four incredible young women from various STEM backgrounds and African countries. It's been a pleasure to learn from them and share my knowledge with them so that they can apply it uniquely in their lives—this a follow-up to this month's #YouAreAScientist interviews. I intend to amplify the voices of young #AfricansInSTEM and re...

Send us Fan Mail Hello, and welcome to Episode 69!  As some of you might know, I've decided to expand the scope of the podcasts this month by interviewing some undergraduate students who are the future of science in their respective disciplines. The main reason for doing this was that I found that at the undergraduate level, science students mostly only go through the motions of a degree but...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone! Welcome to episode 68 My guest today is Dr. Edith Phalane. She's from South Africa and currently a post-doctoral research fellow in environmental health at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. At the time of this recording, she had just been awarded her PhD in physiology. In this episode, we learn that Edith was from a small village, and from a young...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone, welcome back to EP 67! Today is a special one because I have not one -but TWO guests-  team members from the African In STEM organization. Firstly, we have Cynthia Okoye, a PhD student in pharmacology from Nigeria. Secondly, Kagiso Loeto, PhD student in Materials Science from Botswana. In the episode, we learn that Africans in STEM was started in 2019 by four Afric...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone!  Welcome to episode 66. Recently the podcast hit 6000 downloads which is a huge milestone! Thank you for tuning in and for the support so far.  My guest today is Marah Chibwana from Malawi. She's a medical doctor by profession and currently working as a junior clinician-scientist with an interest in Immunology. In this episode, we learn that she initially want...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone! Welcome to episode 65 Today, my guest is Tshiamiso Makwela, born in Soweto, South Africa, and now living in Capetown, South Africa. She's a PhD student in Astronomy Education Research at the University of Cape Town. In this episode, we learn that her mom was her biggest motivator or, as she calls her, "my tag team partner." Her mom's support was...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone! Welcome to episode 64!! My guest today is Kate Mwambo. She's born and based in Cameroon. In this episode, we learn that she is the youngest of 3, with 2 older brothers who are electrical engineers. Her dad, a Mathematician, would always encourage her to be an outstanding science student providing her the necessary support. Having received that support, Kate ta...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone, welcome to episode 63! My guest today is Sinenhlanhla Sikhosana, aka Sne, born and bred in South Africa. She's a PhD candidate in astrophysics. Yes, we have another astrophysist this week, how exciting!  In this episode, we learn that she grew up in a village on the South Coast in South Africa.  Maths and physics were her favorite subjects growing up. In her m...

Send us Fan Mail Hello! Welcome to Ep62. My guest today is Abubakr Ibrahim a PhD student in astrophysics originally from Sudan and now based in Barcelona, Spain. In this episode, Abubakr tells us of l spent nights gazing at the clear night sky in his home town of Kinana when he was younger. The passion of seeing the stars mixed with his love of physics birthed his dream of being an astrophysicist....

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone, welcome back to episode 61! Thank you once again for tuning in, if you are new please make sure you subscribe. My guest today is Jason Amartey a PhD student in medicine originally from Ghana but living and studying in the United Kingdom. He's currently a PhD student in medicine at Nottingham University. But before that, we get to hear the origin story. In this...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone, welcome to episode 60! Yes, SIX-ZERO. Can't believe we made it this far. Please continue to support the show and also go subscribe to your favorite podcast streaming app so you can be the first to know when an episode drops. My guest today is Chikondi Peno who is from Malawi now studying in Scotland. In this episode, we learn that her interest in science came...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone, welcome back to episode 59 of the podcasts. We've done many podcasts and it's always great to hear feedback from you either on social media platforms or by leaving a review on the Apple podcast platform. If you are listening on Apple podcasts, please take the time to rate and review the show quickly. The guest for today is Raphael Onuku from Nigeria. He i...

Send us Fan Mail Happy new year!!  I hope you are well and safe during this time and you hopefully got some time to rest. These past few weeks have been rather crazy globally, so we are hoping it not s repeat in 2021. Away from the doom and gloom, this year promises to be another exciting year featuring many AfricansInSTEM. We hope you will be with us on the incredible journey ahead. Today, my gue...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone welcome to the last episode of the year ! Yes, you heard right, we are going on a production break for a few weeks so that I can get time off and come back rejuvenated for the year ahead. In this episode, my guest is Yanga Mdleleni from South Africa. se tells us the main reason she got into STEM specifically HIV research is because a close family member was diagnose...

Send us Fan Mail My guest today is Doreen Anene originally from Nigeria, currently based in the United Kingdom. In this episode, we learn that her mom was a major influence for her and her siblings to get into the field of science. Secondly, she also attributes her father who owned a pharmacy shop when she was a child and that perked her interest in pharmacy. One would think that's where her...

Send us Fan Mail My guest today is Dr. Bathabile Ramalapa from South Africa. In this episode, we learn that at a young age her interest in science came from the realization that scientists are the source of innovation and develop products that solve problems faced by people. This fueled her desire to pursue a field in STEM and  Bathabile takes us through her academic journey.  In doing so, we find...

Send us Fan Mail  My guest today is Tapiwa Nyakauru originally from Zimbabwe but now living and studying in Ireland. In this episode, Tapiwa shares that his parents were the major motivating factor for him to get into STEM. His academic journey was not an easy one and he gets into detail about some challenges he overcame to be where he is today, a PhD student in molecular biology. He is working on...

Send us Fan Mail My guest today is Bonaventure Dossou, who is originally from Benin but now currently based in Germany. In this episode, we learn that Bonaventure actually wanted to become a doctor however he is now in IT. He attributes his interests in science to his father who is a mathematician and architect. Bonaventure says that he loves IT because of the ability that allows him to combine hi...

Send us Fan Mail My guest today is Asafu Thomas born in Liberia, raised in the USA and currently residing in Tanzania. This episode is a little bit different as we find out the unique root of Asafu science as he actually started as a biology major and later switched to economics and finance. He went on to work in the digital marketing space where he actively started thinking about starting his own...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to season 2!  In the season 2 trailer, we announced that we will be adding a new addition by featuring people who are established in the field of STEM.  To kick things off my guest today is Prof Salome Maswime. She's a qualified clinical scientist who specializes in obstetrics and gynaecology.  Currently, she is the head of Global Surgery at the University of Cap...

Send us Fan Mail WE ARE BACK!!!  In this episode, I talk you through what to expect in season two... yes, that's right ..SEASON TWO!! This season there are  two major changes: 1. Last season the main focus was interviewing early-career people in STEM in this season, there is an added element of interviewing people who are already established in the field of STEM. This is to gain insight on ho...