Curiosity, the love of helping people, and, of course, the cutting-edge technologies in photonics and optics were the greatest drivers directing me to my field.

My work is varied, involving strategic leadership of my research group and research projects; project management and business development; stakeholder relations; securing funding; reviewing for international journals; serving as an external moderator/examiner for MSc dissertations and PhD theses; teaching biophotonics; being member of postgraduate committees; chairing grant reviews; delivering keynote addresses at international and local conferences; organizing conferences; and science advocacy, policy development, and outreach.

My proudest accomplishment is my PhD: I switched disciplines from medical biochemistry to physics, which was extremely challenging, so obtaining my PhD in record time was a massive success.

Being a Black woman in STEM has not been easy. Staying focused on my goals, being the best scientist, supervisor, and researcher I can be, and cancelling out the noise such as criticism, inequality in the workplace, or being deprived of opportunities, has allowed me to have a rewarding career. I celebrate being an award-winning, strong, successful Black woman in photonics.

Africa is such a rich continent: I want my name to be documented as one of the historymakers in Africa; I want to take Africa to international platforms. I want to be remembered as an educator, to be known for using photonics and optics in the improvement of the quality of life for people in Africa. I want to be the reason Africa is not left behind in enjoying the evolving innovations and benefits offered by conducting research in photonics and optics.

If you aspire to be in STEM, just do it! Ask lots of questions, surround yourself with those who have experience in the field, do not doubt yourself, throw your feelers in different directions, and do not box yourself in. If something doesn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world. And more than anything, love what you do with STEM.

Patience Mthunzi-Kufa
Professor and Biophotonics Research Head, Photonics Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
Born in South Africa / Resides in South Africa
Educational Background: BSc in Zoology, BSc Honours Degree in Biochemistry, and MSc in Medical Biochemistry, University of Johannesburg (formerly Rand Afrikaans University), South Africa; PhD in Laser Physics (Biophotonics), University of St. Andrews, Scotland