Who Is Dr. Adriana Marais
Adriana Marais’ PhD and postdoctoral work in theoretical physics was in the field of quantum biology, focusing on photosynthesis and origins of the building blocks of life in space. Adriana is currently a director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa, scientific moderator on space resources with the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator and chair of space sciences at Tod’Aérs Aeronautics and Space Research. She is also faculty at the Singularity University and Duke Corporate Education. In 2019, Adriana founded Proudly Human and she is currently leading the organisation’s Off-World Project, in preparation for extreme conditions on Earth and beyond.
Adriana is a researcher at heart, with a passion for topics from quantum physics and philosophy of science, photosynthesis and bio-inspired technologies, the origins of life, the origins of the building blocks of life in space, asteroid resources and technologies to extract these, to team dynamics in extreme environments and blockchain technologies towards a novel economic system for resource-constrained environments. Her PhD and research in quantum biology on photosynthesis and the origins of the building blocks of life in space won awards from L’Oreal-UNESCO and the Royal Society of South Africa among others. She is a 2016 alumna of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Physics Program for young scientists.
She is currently developing a blockchain-based economic system for off-world environments towards a second PhD. Her popular science writing on topics from quantum biology to space exploration has been widely published including by Nature and HuffPost. She is currently the scientific moderator on space resources with the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator and chair of space sciences at Tod’Aérs Aeronautics and Space Research.
Adriana believes in technology for social good. She was Head of Innovation at SAP Africa between 2017 and 2019, and is currently a Director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa. The Foundation is developing Africa’s first mission to the Moon, the Africa2Moon Project. She is a member of the South African Government Ministerial Task Team on the 4th Industrial Revolution and Faculty at the Singularity University and Duke Corporate Education where she contributes on exploration-driven innovation to executive programs globally. In 2020, she was among 5 global finalists for Women in Tech’s the Most Disruptive Woman in Tech Award.
From winning first prize at the local Science Expo for her project ‘Martian City‘ at age 13, in 2015, Adriana was selected as one of 100 international astronaut candidates with the Mars One Project. When the startup declared bankruptcy in 2019, she founded Proudly Human. She has recently visited some of the harshest and most remote locations on Earth, from deserts in Africa and the Middle East, all the way to Antarctica, on location scouts for Proudly Human’s Off-World Project. The Project is a series of off-grid habitation experiments in the most extreme environments on the planet, in preparation for life on the Moon, Mars and beyond, as well as a sustainable future here on Earth. Proudly Human is currently preparing to secure a major broadcaster for the documentary series to accompany the experiments, ‘Mission: OFF-WORLD’.
She has given hundreds of talks to audiences on all seven continents of this planet, in settings from corporates to ashrams to TEDx events, been featured in media interviews and panel discussions around the world, as well as in documentaries including AOL’s ‘Citizen Mars’, and CNN’s ‘Africa’s Space Race’. She is currently completing a book ‘How the Voyage to Mars will Evolve Earth’, describing how through technological advancement and an enhanced perspective of reality and our place in it, living on Mars will enable us to become better stewards of Earth and equip us for the beginning of our journey into the stars.
Experience
2020
2019
2017
2016
2016
2015
Dr. Adriana was among 5 global finalists for Women in Tech’s
Founded Proudly Human
Head of Innovation at SAP Africa
Royal Society of South Africa Meiring Naude Medal
Alumna of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Physics Program for young scientists
International L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Award
Media Room
Accolades
“It was really an eye-opener for me to see just how far beyond the world is and what we are… you think you are up to date and then you see something like this and you realise just how far ahead everything else is and I suppose even if you are staying ahead of the pack, there’s a pack ahead of the pack, I thought it was really fascinating, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
- Ashleigh Tuffney, Discovery Insurance -
“She was great. Kept the audience completely on their toes and was on point through her entire presentation. We received amazing feedback from our exec team – so really great talk.”
- Norcros Executive -
“Thanks for presenting so brilliantly today. I got such positive feedback… They really enjoyed your delivery of the content and the knowledge at your fingertips. We were really energized as some of the things you touched on had been considered in our strat plans.”
- Mr Price Marketing Services Leader -