Jane Catherine Ngila

Jane Catherine Ngila is the head of the Chemical Sciences Department at the University of Johannesburg, her work focuses on applying nanotechnology for water purification. She was the Acting Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences and member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Career Ngila obtained her B.Ed. in 1986 and M.Sc. in chemistry in 1992 from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. She was awarded a scholarship, AIDAB/EMSS scholarship, by the Australian government. Ngila obtained her PhD in analytical-environmental chemistry from the University of New South Wales, Australia in 1996. She started her career as a tutor in the chemistry department at Kenyatta University in 1989, and was appointed as a lecturer in 1996. She later worked at the University of Botswana (1998–2006) and then as a senior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (2006–2011) before being appointed a professorship of applied chemistry at the University of Johannesburg in 2011.

In 2025 she was a vice-President of the African Academy of Sciences and its governing council led by Prof Lise Korsten.

Research Water purification using chemical resins and other adsorbents is a focus of Ngila's research.

Awards and honors 2016 African Union Kwame Nkrumah Award for Scientific Excellence. 2021 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award.