Asha de Vos

Asha de Vos
Asha de Vos at TEDx Monterey 2013
Nationality Sri Lankan
Alma mater University of St. Andrews, University of Oxford, University of Western Australia
Awards TED Fellow
Scientific career
Fields Marine Biology
Website Ashadevos.com

Asha de Vos is a Sri Lankan marine biologist, ocean educator and pioneer of blue whale research within the Northern Indian Ocean. She is known for her Blue Whale Project and is a Senior TED Fellow.[1]

Education

De Vos's primary education was at Ladies’ College, Colombo and after completing her primary education, she moved to Scotland for her undergraduate studies in marine and environmental biology at the University of St. Andrews. She went on to gain her masters in integrative bio-sciences at the University of Oxford and a PhD from the University of Western Australia.[2] De Vos is the first and only Sri Lankan to gain a PhD in marine mammal research. [3]

Career

De Vos had served as a Senior Programme Officer in the marine and coastal unit of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. She founded the Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project in 2008 which forms the first long term study on blue whales within the Northern Indian Ocean. Through her research, the International Whaling Commission has designated Sri Lankan blue whales as a species in urgent need of conservation research and has started collaborating with the Sri Lankan government on whale ship-strikes. De Vos is an invited member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Cetacean Specialist Group. She was a post-doctoral scholar at the University of California Santa Cruz and a guest blogger for National Geographic.[4][5]

Awards

De Vos is a TED Senior Fellow, a Duke University Global Fellow in Marine Conservation and as been selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2013, she received the President's Award for Scientific Publications.[6] In 2018, she received the WINGS WorldQuest Women of Discovery Sea Award. [7]

On 26 May 2018, she was awarded the Golden alumni award in the Professional Achievement category at the first edition of the British Council Golden Alumni awards.[8]

References

  1. ↑ UK. "Asha De Vos". The Global Teacher Prize. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  2. ↑ "Asha de Vos, Marine Biologist and Ocean Educator, Information, Facts, News, Photos". National Geographic. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  3. ↑ "Blue whales in a changing world: Wildlife and Nature Protection Society Monthly Lecture – March 2017". The Island. March 11, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Ocean of opportunities for this young woman of the sea". Sundaytimes.lk. 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  5. ↑ "Together they traverse the deep blue sea". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  6. ↑ "Life Online - Asha De Vos". Life.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  7. ↑ Kumara, Sisira (January 14, 2018). "Sri Lanka's Ocean Girl Asha de Vos Wins the Women of Discovery Sea Award for 2018". The Sri Lankan Scientist. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Marine biologist from Sri Lanka wins award in British Council's first ever Global Alumni awards". Retrieved 30 July 2018.


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