The girl asked WHY?

The sciences have a bad rep: hard, boring, isolating and apparently "not for girls". Talk about getting it wrong! We speak to three South African scientists at the top of their game.

- CHRISTI NOSTIER

ENTOMOLOGIST
Dr Nolwazi Mkize

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER...

Dr Nolwazi Mkize is not one for si† ing still. Farming, hiking, cycling, mentoring and studying business could all be on her weekly roster. That’s if she can tear herself away from her true passion: entomology, the study of insects.

Her research has focused on pest control in agriculture but her writing varies from policy documents to an English-isiXhosa dictionary of common insect names found in the Eastern Cape. Having worked in the private and public sector, she is the Head of Regulatory Africa cluster at Bayer CropScience.

“I was drawn to insects out of curiosity. Entomology was introduced as a subject only in the year I started my undergraduate at the University of Fort Hare in 1996. I saw a poster advertising the subject and so I investigated what kind of job it could get me. I wanted something unique and different because I didn’t want to struggle to get a job. My passion grew as I learnt about agricultural pests. So, I can say my career found me rather than the other way around!