Tebello Nyokong

14. Awarded NRF President’s award as Champion for the transformation in research – 2009.

16. Received L’Oreal-UNESCO award for “Women in Science” as a Laureate representing Africa and the Arab States in 2009. Committee chaired by Prof A Zawail (Recipient of Nobel prize in Chemistry, 1999). Also in the committee C. de Duve, recipient of Nobel prize in Medicine, 1974).

27. Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Senior Research award - 2003.

In 2014 she was a professor at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. She was the subject for a photographic portrait for Adrian Steirn's "21 icons". which imagined her returned to her childhood role as a shepherd but now the shepherd is an adult and she is wearing her chemist's white coat. Copies of the picture were sold for charity.

1. National Research Foundation "Lifetime Achievement Award" - 2013

3. ISE Electrochemistry Excellence Award: Teaching & Research - 2013

19. Awarded City Press / Rapport Prestige Awards for Inspirational Women Achievers – 2008.

6. A member of the South SOUTH AFRICAN REFERENCE GROUP ON WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, a group under the Department of Science and Technology –2003. 7. Appointed by the Minister of Science and Technology to be a member of the panel to select members of council for the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (April, 2004).

4. South African Chemical Institute (SACI) Gold Medal award - 2012

5. Included in the National Center for Research on Human Evolution (CENIEH), located in Burgos, Spain to be one of their "13 NAMES TO CHANGE THE WORLD” - 2012

6. Awarded the Distinguished professorship at Rhodes University 2012

7. RSC (Royal Society in Chemistry)/ PACN (Pan African Chemistry Network) Distinguished Women in Chemistry: 2011

8. Invited by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, to be a member of the UNESCO High-level panel on Science, Technology and Innovation for sustainable Development, June 2011 9. International Conference on Frontiers of Polymers and Advanced Materiel (ICFPAM) award in memory of the centenary of the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to a woman: Marie Curie. And also this is the year of Chemistry, 26th May 2011.

11. Advisory board of South African Chemical Institute (SACI) 2011 CONVENTION, 16– 21 January 2011, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

10. Inducted by Vodacom Lesotho into the Lesotho Hall of Fame, 2010

11. Awarded Doctor of Science Honoris Causa by Walter Sizulu University, 3rd May, 2010

12. Awarded Doctor of Science Honoris Causa by University of South Africa, 11th May, 2010

10. Invited to review candidates for 2010 Reaxys PhD Prize- Post-doctoral fellows from UK, Belgium, Spain, France and the UK.

13. Elected Fellow of Third World Academy of Science -2009.

15. Awarded 2009/2010 CEO (Celebrating excellence in organizations) Most Influential Women in Business and Government (MIW) – Education and Teaching Sector.

17. September, 2009, a motion was passed in the National Assembly acknowledging her role in transformation of science in South Africa. Subsequently she addressed the Parliament Portfolio Committee on Science. 18. Recognized as one of the top three publishing scientists in South Africa for 2007.

9. A member of the advisory Board: The World Association of Laser Therapy 2008 Conference, 19–22 October 2008, Sun City, South Africa.

20. Awarded Research chair for Medicinal Chemistry and Nanotechnology by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation, starting 2007.

23. Chosen as Rhodes University Rhodes Women of the Year in the Senior Research category, 2006.

21. Bestowed with the Order of Mapungubwe: Bronze by the State President Mbeki -2005.

22. Awarded a Grant-Holder medal for 2005 from CSIR for being the best NLC grant holder of the year 2005.

8. A member of the advisory Board for the XVIII International Symposium on Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics, 19-24 June 2005, Coimbra, Portugal.

24. Winner of SABC2/Shorprite-Checkers Woman of the year 2004 in Science and Technology.

25. Runner-up- DST Women in Science, 2004 and 2008.

26. Selected by Department of Science and Technology to present the Frances Ames Lecture, 2004.

5. A member of the Advisory Board: Southern and Eastern Africa Network of Analytical Chemists (SEANAC) conference. Gaborone, Botswana, 7 – 10 July 2003 and 15-18th July, 2007.

2. A member of the Water Research Commission Steering Committee reviewing the University of the Western Cape Project on Desalination and Disinfection of Water, 1998-2001

3. A member of the Foundation for Research Development (FRD) panel for monitoring FRD/Industry programs at Port Elizabeth Technikon, 1998.

4. A member of the advisory board: International Conference and exhibition on Integrated Environmental Management in South Africa, held Feb. 1998. This conference was a joint effort between Germany and South Africa.

1. Invited to assist in the selection of the Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Venda, Feb., 1997.

After finishing her Fulbright fellowship in the United States, Nyokong returned to Lesotho, briefly as it turned out, to take a position at the University of Lesotho. In 1992, she took a position as a lecturer at Rhodes University. The National Research Foundation gave her a high rating and helped Nyokong obtain a research laboratory at the university. Soon, she moved from lecturer to professor, and then distinguished professor. She is known for her research in nanotechnology, as well as her work on photo-dynamic therapy. Her pioneering research in the latter is paving the way for a safer cancer detection and treatment, without the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy.

30. Fulbright Award, 1990. Visited the Radiation Laboratory, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA. 31. Financial Mail little black book list for two years (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) for top 100 influential people in South Africa.

PhD Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, 1987.

MSc Chemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 1981.

Nyokong earned her bachelor's degree in both chemistry and biology from the University of Lesotho in 1977. She went on to earn her master's in chemistry from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. In 1987, she received her Ph.D in chemistry from the University of Western Ontario. After earning her PhD, she received a Fulbright fellowship to continue her post-doctoral studies at the University of Notre Dame in the United States.

In high school, she chose arts subjects, but just two years before her matric year she changed to the sciences. She managed to overhaul the backlog of work, developing an enduring love for chemistry as she worked. She received her Cambridge Overseas School Certificate in 1972.

Tebello Nyokong (born October 20, 1951) is a South African chemist and professor at Rhodes University, and a recipient of the Presidency of South Africa's Order of Mapungubwe in Bronze. She was awarded the South African Chemical Institute Gold Medal in 2012, and named one of the top 10 most influential women in science and technology in Africa by IT News Africa. She is currently researching photo-dynamic therapy, an alternative cancer treatment method to chemotherapy. In 2007, she was one of the top three publishing scientists in South Africa, and in 2013 she was awarded the National Research Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award.