Dr Mildred Awuor Airo is a Lecturer and Head of Nanomaterials Research in the Department of Chemistry at Maseno University, Kenya. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of the Witwatersrand and a BSc (Hons) from Egerton University, and has completed three postdoctoral fellowships in South Africa. Her research focuses on functional nanomaterials for renewable energy, environmental sensing, and circular economy applications using biochar-derived materials.
She has over 30 peer-reviewed publications (h-index 11), has received international awards from OWSD/TWAS-DFG, NRF South Africa, the Vallee Foundation, and the ARUA–Mastercard–Carnegie ECR Fellowship, and secured grants from Afretech–Carnegie Mellon, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and PHC France–Kenya Pamoja. She is an active STEM and DEI advocate, mentoring young scientists, bridging gender gaps through workshops and outreach, and consulting with Angaza Africa and E-Safiri.