Did you know that oxygen has colour?
Gaseous oxygen is colourless. However, when in liquid form, it comes in a shade of pale sky-blue.
Did you know only one letter doesn’t appear in the periodic table?
It’s the letter J. If you don’t believe us go ahead and check your periodic table.
Did you know that it’s impossible to burp in space?
When you burp on Earth, gravity keeps down the solids and liquid from the food you just ate, so only the gas escapes from your mouth. In the absence of gravity, the gas cannot separate from the liquids and solids, so burping essentially turns into puking.
Did you know that about half of your body is bacteria?
That’s right, a study estimates that the human body consists of 39 trillion bacteria and 30 trillion human cells.
Science and film is a combination of education and entertainment, it aims to teach and offer a relaxation in an artistic form of learning. Most people in the world watch films, series and documentaries for a number of reasons; be it for pleasure, research, education etc., unlike back in the days when people were reading books. Science and film could save time when compared to reading. A 1000 page book can be converted to a 30 minute documentary – film adaptation.
The Science Promotion Digital Media Facility (SPDMF) specialises on producing digital content for the organisation working hand-in-hand with all NRF-SAASTA divisions and planning to work closely with all NRF business units and the science community nationally through the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). The aim of this facility is to create innovative and creative content that will draw youth and the community towards the industry of science and technology advancement.
According to the Science Engagement Strategy policy context our aim is to “increase familiarity with the natural world; promote understanding of some key science and technology concepts; Foster the ability to use science and technology to enhance personal, social, economic and community development; and demonstrate science, engineering and technology as social tool.”
Science and film has great opportunities to invent and produce some of the best films. We live in the 4th Industrial revolution and technology introduced endless possibilities with inventions of a drone (remote helicopter) creating channels of filming from various angles. Filming is another form of promoting science thus needs to be explored more in South Africa. Filmmakers can produce creative and relatable videos to push the science agenda.
That’s the message Letago Kgomoeswana, a young South African scientist, shared with the world, when she took to the international stage in the FameLab Final on the 6th of October 2021 at 18:00 (SAST).
Kgomoeswana, an environmental geographer and Masters Student from North West University in South Africa, will bring a uniquely African perspective to the global climate change conversation when she shares how gathering stories can play an important role in responding to climate change.
With her own gift for story-telling and her tales of science with and for society, Letago was selected as one of the top ten international finalists from 23 countries participating in the FameLab International semi-finals on 10 and 11 November2021. Letago was chosen as the South African representative in the international competition when she won the South African FameLab final in October 2021.
Kgomoeswana is researching the impact of climate change on smallholder farmers and agriculture in the Mopani District in Limpopo Province. Her research advocates that indigenous knowledge be incorporated in disaster risk management strategy and in climate change policies. Her inclusive and locally-relevant research is an example of science and research that aim to work with local communities to address challenges affecting the communities.
In responding to the opportunity to talk about her work on an international stage, she acknowledged all the men and women who have trusted her with generations of knowledge and contributed immensely to her research. She also said, “I hope that my journey from Limpopo to the world stage inspires a new generation of bold, young researchers who will take up careers in STEM, research and science communication.”
FameLab in South Africa aims to develop science communication and public speaking skills and confidence in young scientists, while also profiling locally-relevant and world-class South African science and research. Letago’s research, inclusive of local communities and advocating for the importance of indigenous knowledge in responding to threats such as climate change, is an example of proudly South African research that received global attention on the international stage.
FameLab, an initiative of Cheltenham Festivals in the UK, has been running a local competition in South Africa since 2013 through a partnership between the British Council, Jive Media Africa and the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA). To date, xxx South African researchers have participated.
The international FameLab final was aired on 25 November 2021 at 18:00 (SAST), on the FameLab International YouTube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/user/famelab/).
Letago Kgomoeswana talking science.
Dr Mamoeletsi Mosia, the new Managing Director of the NRF’s South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), effective from 01 December 2021.
Dr Mosia holds a PhD in Chemistry obtained at the Technical University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and a MCom in Leadership Studies from the University of KwaZulu Natal. She has a proven track record in providing strategic leadership to multi-disciplinary teams, having spent more than a decade at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in various management and leadership roles.
In her immediate former role, she served as Operations Manager in the Next Generation Enterprises & Institutions Cluster, CSIR. Previous roles at the CSIR are:
• Competence Area Manager, Materials Science and Manufacturing (Jan 2012 – Mar 2018)
• Senior Manager: Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Human Capital Development, (Sep 2010 – Dec 2011)
• Manager: SET Professional Development (Jun 2008 – Aug 2010)
She has also worked at Sasol in various research positions, including that of Principal Scientist at Sastech R&D. In many of these roles she has also being involved in public engagement initiatives, working with researchers and students in advancing their engagement with public audiences, especially with school level youth and broader community engagement.
We warmly congratulate Dr Mosia on her appointment and look forward to her valuable contribution in leading NRF-SAASTA, especially considering the NRF mandate and the increasing need to drive a more coordinated, system wide programme of public awareness and engagement of science, engineering, innovation and technology in South Africa.
Knowledge of Astronomy gives us essential knowledge about the fundamental forces of the Universe in addition to multiple technology spin-offs and a large body of skills and technologies in optics, detectors, radio receivers and communications, which are essential to space travel.
Andy Williams, a physicist based in England and involved with the European Southern Observatory, recently wrote an article (published 21 Jun, 2021) on five reasons why astronomy is important to our future in space, namely: .
• Astronomy facilities support many critical functions of space exploration and space science.
• The best science requires both space and ground astronomy facilities.
• Astronomy is an important source of technology and capacity development for a global space economy.
• Astronomers may one day save humanity on Earth, and then the Moon.
• Astronomy has played—and continues to play—a foundational role in driving humankind’s passion for space exploration.
It then comes as no surprise that we have a responsibility to instil a love and curiosity for the subject at a very young age to encourage young people to consider a career in this field, especially since South Africa is playing a big role in research in the international arena with big data obtained from the South African Large Telescope (SALT) in Sutherland and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) outside of Carnarvon.
The NRF-SAASTA offers an astronomy annual quiz, known as AstroQuiz, which provides grade 7 learners a unique opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in astronomy.
What is AstroQuiz?
AstroQuiz is a national competition, which enables grade 7 learners from all provinces in South Africa to prove their knowledge of astronomy. The quiz consists of 30 multiple-choice questions. Participants receive recognition in the form of certificates and awards.
What is new in 2021?
The competition has been running since 2005 as a face-to-face competition with five (5) rounds.
This format changed in 2021 to include new technology. There are now only four (4) rounds with the first round being paper based and done at school.
For the first time Rounds 2-4 are taking place online. NRF-SAASTA in collaboration with the South African Astronomy Observatory (SAAO) has developed an online quiz, which is hosted on the SA Astronomy Observatory App, to enable learners to take the quiz on a smart phone. A team consisting of four (4) learners needs only one phone to participate. Just over 700 teams, from all nine provinces, participated in round 2 online.
How does the App works?
The previous papers (including a booklet called: Your Guide to the Universe) are available on our website for the teams to use in preparation for the quiz.
The online system chooses questions randomly from a bank of questions for each team when they compete. This is done to avoid teams cheating and sharing of questions with other teams within the same school or with other schools. The quiz is available for a full day and for the first time schools may now take the quiz at a time that suits their circumstances the best.
To make the quiz fair, questions were divided into three different categories, i.e. easy, medium and difficult questions. Each team receives the exact same number of easy, medium and difficult questions during the quiz.
The online system automatically marks the quiz. The quiz ran as a pilot project in 2021 which will inform further developments for 2022 and onwards.
How does the App works?
The four rounds are now taking place on the following levels:
Round 1: All grade 7 learners are allowed to participate at school. Two teams per school are selected by the educator to proceed to Round 2
Round 2: Teams compete within a school district and the winning team per district proceeds to the next round
Round 3: Teams compete with the winning teams of all districts. The wining team proceeds to represent the province in the national round
Round 4: Teams compete for the top three national positions
What are the benefits of the online system?
• Schools take the quiz at school at any time on the day of the quiz. The cost and time to travel to a central venue is thus eliminated.
• Very little data is needed when compared with traveling costs.
• It is envisaged that as from 2022, results of participating teams will be made available immediately after participation.
Prizes and certificates
All participants receive participation certificates. Prizes are awarded on provincial and national level after completion of all rounds.
One often doubt whether they will be able to bounce back from when things do not go as planned. The women and girls in science featured female role models that had to change path in order to achieve their goals. The 3 ladies were from different fields but had similar story to tell and they all answered this question ‘’How to re-invent yourself’’. It is often expected to be an easy transition to get a job placement immediately after completing your studies.. It is not an easy journey. So any social issues also affect the women in the field. The goal is to get up, dust yourself and continue, look forward to the new adventures. The role models also touched on how they navigated things in order to create opportunities for themselves. A gospel of creating new opportunities has to be preached to the upcoming female scientist because things are evolving and we need to position ourselves in order to be aligned with the new changes. This messages will encourage girl learners to pursue STEM careers and to realize that the opportunities are many, one just need to decide which route to follow.
The finals of the National Bridge Building Competition was held at the St George Hotel in Doornkloof, Pretoria on 27 August 2021. The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) initiated the bridge building competition more than 29 years ago to further high school learners' use of mathematics and science in an engineering context to grow the profession. It has since become an enormous success and is enjoyed by learners across the country. The sponsors were Peri, WBHO, BVi, JG Afrika, RiChem and SAASTA, without which this competition could not succeed.
Schools came from as far afield as Bloemfontein, Durban, Ermelo, Kimberley, Pietermaritzburg, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Cape Town to fight for the much sought-after trophy and cash prizes for the winners.
The bridges, adjudicated by a panel of engineers, were judged according to a system where aesthetics consisting of design, correctness and aesthetics accounted for 30% of the total and the weight of the bridge and its weight carrying capacity making up the rest.
The teams, after having exchanged daytime T-shirts and tracksuits for school uniforms, gathered for an evening of nerve-racking testing of their bridges. Before the destruction, each team had to give a briefing on how the pandemic of the past year and a half influenced their design. Excitement mounted, hopes soared and some dreams were shattered as one team after the other brought their bridges forward for testing on the rig. Each and every team’s bridge was tested to destruction to ascertain its weight-bearing capability.
The winning school was HTS Kimberley with a bridge weighing 162g which collapsed carrying a weight of 162.5kg! Their aesthetics point was 46.5. Their total points were 247.1. Brackenfell High School from Cape Town came second with a bridge weighing 135g which failed at 111.9kg. They had an extremely high aesthetics point of 58.5 and their total points came to 224.3. Hoërskool Jim Fouché from Bloemfontein was third with their bridge weighing 149g and carrying a load of 126.1kg before breaking. Their aesthetics point was 36.0 and their final points were 205.3.
Because of its practical and hands-on nature, this event is SAICE’s most successful initiative in attracting learners from previously disadvantaged rural schools, previous model C schools and private schools to civil engineering, as well as promoting a general awareness of the profession. This competition provides a career guidance opportunity and gives pupils the chance to also build bridges between people.
The regional branches of SAICE organised the local bridge building competitions in their areas. The National Bridge Building Competition finals, organised by the SAICE National Office, annually brings the winners of the branch competitions to a venue in Pretoria. Interestingly, the bridge building competition forms an integral part of some schools' activities and is recognised at the same level as academic or sports achievements.
The competition
The bridge building teams consisted of three learners each. They built model bridges from dowel sticks, glue and string, according to a technical briefing. This event culminated in a bridge testing ceremony to determine the winners. Attendees were representatives of the sponsors, parents and members of SAICE.
All the teams arrived on the Thursday before the competition.
On the Friday morning of the competition, an informative presentation by an engineer, Glen Hockley from PERI on the stresses and strains to be taken into account when designing a bridge, preceded the action. The team members represented learners from Grades 9 to 12.
The bridge building kits contained 25 sticks of 3mm nominal thickness, glue and some string. Construction was done according to a technical briefing. The teams got down to the gruelling business of planning, designing, measuring, cutting dowel sticks and constructing the bridge by gluing everything together to form sturdy bridge structures, while racing against the clock towards tools-down time! This year three Meranti sticks, which are much stronger than the rest of the pine sticks, were included in the kits — to see where the teams would apply them in their designs. The Sponsors also took up the challenge on the morning, to construct a bridge with the same equipment and found it, in their own words, not as easy as it looks.
The meticulously constructed bridges were left to dry for a few hours. The adjudicators then completed their task regarding the aesthetics and weight of the bridges. During the evening event the bridges were tested to destruction. Some of these flimsy bridges carried unexpectedly heavy weights!
During the prize giving Vishaal Lutchman, a civil engineer and CEO of SAICE, encouraged the teams to consider civil engineering as a career as they could contribute immensely to the development of service infrastructure, and they could help to develop communities in South Africa. He emphasised that they could also build bridges between people in the country. Many of the current engineers in South Africa had their first taste of civil engineering during this important competition!
Issued by the South African Institution of Civil Engineerings
Limpopo learners benefit from career guidance Electrical Engineering and staff members participated in a boot camp hosted by the Science and Commerce Solutions Academy (SACSA) in April to provide career guidance to Limpopo learners. About 72 Grade 10 and 12 learners, representing six schools, attended classes in Mathematics, Science, and Accounting that were offered as part of the event. The boot camp was hosted at Mater Dei, Makopane, Limpopo, from 25 April to 1 May, and facilitated by Doctor Phahladira and Tshepo Ledwaba from SACSA. Learners engaged during team-building exercises and received tips on life skills and problem-solving, among others. Glen Moepi, a staff member from the Department of Electrical Engineering, represented the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. “The event aimed at taking career guidance and awareness to disadvantaged communities, make learners aware of the many career opportunities and financial assistance available to them, and offer online application support,” Moepi said. The schools that were invited were Waterberg Hoërskool, Hoërskool Erasmus, Hoërskool Potgietersrus, Ramogabudi High School, Madikana High School, and Mokopane High School. Top-performing learners and those who excelled during challenges received prizes sponsored by TUT and the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA).
Image: Mokopane Primary School
Heutagogy (self-determined learning) and life-long learning are the fundamental principles/methods of learning which are encouraged to facilitate activities in science clubs. Eloquently described as “hub” of all school-based science initiatives, the formation and maintaining of science clubs can be perceived as one of the critical targets or goals that will enable a well-coordinated science engagement in schools.
Together with South African National Institute of Biodiversity (SANBI), the Science Education Division of NRF-SAASTA visited five Mathematics Science and Technology schools in Mokopone, Limpopo to establish science clubs and to further teach as well as to expose learners to life sciences related topics. The engaging schools visits gave Science Education Division an opportunity to forge relationships with schools and introduce the concept of inquiry-based learning approach to science educators at the school who will be mentoring learners on science clubs activities. SANBI created a buzz among learners through their “learning stations” (stalls) and informative exhibits. Learners attracted to the microscope station where taken through how to utilise microscopes, while also profiling various other tools that are used to analyse cells of various living creatures. The learning stations focussed on other topics such as water conservation, pollution and energy flow. The learning stations were also able to demonstrate linkage that exist between various career fields related to life sciences and how working together can benefit the greater society as well as nature. Most importantly the aim of SANBI’s activities were to instil passion and value for nature on the minds and hearts of learners
The Science Education Division extended school visits by also going to few schools in uMkhayakhude district in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Similarly to the Mokopane school engagements the division introduced schools to the concept of science clubs and to encourage schools to formulate after schools science clubs in schools.
The establishment of a "hydrogen valley" in South Africa is a step closer to reality, following the launch of the Hydrogen Valley Feasibility Study Report by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and partners during a virtual event on Friday, 8 October.
The feasibility study was completed in partnership with Anglo American Platinum, clean energy solutions provider Bambili Energy, and energy and services company ENGIE.
The hydrogen valley will serve as an industrial cluster, bringing various hydrogen applications in the country together to form an integrated hydrogen ecosystem. The initiative is part of the work being done to support the implementation of the National Hydrogen Society Roadmap, which was recently approved by Cabinet, as well as phase 3 of the country's Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.
Speaking at the launch, the Director-General of the DSI, Dr Phil Mjwara, said the establishment of a hydrogen valley was an important national initiative. "The implementation of phase 3 of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan is driven by the core elements of 'reconstruct' and 'transform', and this entails building a sustainable, resilient and inclusive economy.
"The establishment of a South African hydrogen valley is therefore seen as an opportunity that has great potential to unlock growth, revitalise the industrial sector, and position South Africa to be an exporter of cost-effective green hydrogen to the world. Hydrogen therefore remains an integral part of our Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan," Dr Mjwara said.
Hydrogen valleys have been used successfully in other countries to promote clean emerging technologies and their commercial viability in support of emissions reduction.
South Africa's proposed hydrogen valley will start near Mokopane in Limpopo, where platinum group metals (PGMs) are mined, extending through the industrial and commercial corridor to Johannesburg and leading finally to Durban. The hydrogen valley will be used to establish, accelerate and embed niche innovations through upscaling and replication.
Natascha Viljoen, CEO of Anglo American's PGMs business, said: "The opportunity to create new engines of economic activity through hydrogen has been validated through this feasibility study with our partners. As a leading producer of PGMs, we have for some years been working towards establishing the right ecosystem to successfully develop, scale up and deploy hydrogen-fuelled solutions. These include investing in innovative ventures and enabling technologies, as well as forging wide-ranging collaborations across industry, to fully harness the transformative potential of green hydrogen for our economy in South Africa."
The feasibility study identifies nine hydrogen-related projects across the mobility, industrial and construction sectors that could be used as a springboard for the establishment of the hydrogen valley. One project will focus on converting heavy-duty diesel-powered trucks to fuel cell-powered trucks, which will support increased consumption of hydrogen in the transport sector. The projects will also facilitate the commercialisation of publicly funded intellectual property, while contributing to the beneficiation of PGMs in targeted geographic areas.
"The study we are presenting today with our partners identifies potential projects that could constitute the South African Hydrogen Valley and kick-start the country's hydrogen economy," said Michèle Azalbert, Managing Director of Green Hydrogen at ENGIE.
"This essential first step supporting the South African Hydrogen Society Roadmap makes the green hydrogen development concrete. At ENGIE, we believe that working together on tangible projects and joining forces private-public will help to get at scale, making this solution commercially viable quickly," Azalbert said.
Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies offer an alternative source of clean electricity, while hydrogen allows for energy to be stored and delivered in usable form. Using hydrogen as an energy carrier could potentially reduce South Africa's dependence on fossil fuels that cause global warming, while reducing the country's reliance on imported oil.
Zanele Mavuso Mbatha, CEO of Bambili Energy, said the public-private partnership had played a key role in moving the hydrogen valley initiative forward.
"We are pleased to be working with Anglo American Platinum, ENGIE and the South African government in developing the hydrogen valley programme for the country. We believe that the project will bring significant public awareness around renewable energy solutions and contribute significantly to the national and provincial objectives for new investment, new jobs, renewable energy sources, and new export markets. It further complements our goal to beneficiate the country's PGMs through our manufacturing of hydrogen fuel cell systems," said Mbatha.
She added that there was an increasing move away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and a push to decarbonise industry, transport systems and more. And this was happening not only in Europe, but in Asia and other parts of the world as well.
"We believe that South Africa is well positioned to be part of the local and international needs for the hydrogen economy. This initiative underpins a growth market for the South African economy, while supporting Bambili Energy's mission, which also helps to reduce global carbon emission levels," Mbatha concluded.
The implementation of the DSI's Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Strategy is also linked to a number of other national policies, such as the Minerals Beneficiation Strategy and the National Climate Change Response White Paper. The Minerals Beneficiation Strategy identifies PGMs as strategic minerals for supporting the creation of decent employment and the diversification of the economy, including the promotion of a green economy.
Engagements on the hydrogen valley are at an advanced stage with key stakeholders, including the Limpopo Economic Development Agency, with whom the DSI signed a memorandum of understanding in 2018. Other stakeholders are the Gauteng Industrial Development Zone and Airports Company South Africa.
On the 2nd of November 2021, the National Research Foundation (NRF) hosted the prestigious celebration of South African research excellence; the NRF Awards. The annual NRF Awards recognise recent outstanding achievements made by individuals and teams whose excellence has significantly advanced science for the benefit of society. Their internationally competitive work is assessed for, among other things, the contribution to the field of study focusing on quality and impact. One of the objectives of the awards is to encourage the continued culture of advancing South Africa’s scientific knowledge and technological innovation by rewarding those that make use of research for the advancement and betterment of humanity.
In her welcome address, Dr Nompumelelo Obokoh, Chairperson of the NRF Board said, “Amidst the despair and grief brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic are also many stories of selflessness, kindness and courage that continue to restore our faith in humanity and inspire us to dream of a better tomorrow. Even during this turbulent time, our researchers have continued to nurture the country’s knowledge economy in many other scientific fields as well.”
This year the NRF hosted a hybrid event with limited in person guests in Pretoria and live-streamed to more than 500 virtual attendees. The ceremony celebrated 68 awardees across 10 categories.
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande graced the ceremony virtually to congratulate the awardees. “To illustrate our continued commitment to science, technology and innovation, the Department of Science and Innovation has developed a new policy framework on Science and Technology. The Decadal Plan on Science, Technology and Innovation will serve as an initial 10-year implementation plan from 2020-2030. To practically demonstrate our capacity as a government working together with the National System of Innovation, we have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in line with the vision of the Decadal Plan. Our researchers committed their expertise and resources to developing solutions to the pandemic and monitoring its impact locally, but also contributing to the global body of knowledge”.
In his closing remarks, NRF Chief Executive Officer Dr Fulufhelo Nelwamondo also reflected on the progress made by scientists over the past few months: “The increasing challenges faced due to the COVID-19 outbreak as well as other societal challenges have not only underscored the importance of research in society, but also shone a very bright light on the ability of our scientists, both established and those just starting out on their research paths, to rise to the occasion. We have seen sterling work in a broad spectrum of areas including vaccine research, the development of diagnostics, monitoring and modelling of the spread of the pandemic, health policy research and science advocacy as well as improved opportunities for public engagement with science. In closing, a reminder to ourselves that Science remains the key to a reimagined, innovative future. Let us continue to do worthwhile work by advancing knowledge, transforming lives and inspiring a nation!”
The awards were presented as follows:
Research Excellence Award for Next Generation Researchers
2020
• Dr Nkositetile Raphael Biata, Department of Chemical Sciences at the University of Johannesburg
• Dr Alexandré Delport, School of Life Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
2021
• Dr Takudzwa Madzivanzira, Ichthyology and Fisheries Sciences at the NRF-South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
• Dr Neelakshi Mungra, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Cape Town
• Mr Emmanuel Tetteh, Department of Chemical Engineering at the Durban University of Technology
Research Excellence Award for Early Career/Emerging Researchers
2020
• Dr Moses Basitere, Department of Chemical Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology
• Dr Phiwayinkosi Vusi Dludla from the South African Medical Research Council
• Professor Pragashnie Govender, School of Health Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Dr Tebogo Pilgrene Mashifana, Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Johannesburg
• Professor Christopher Ouma, Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Cape Town
2021
• Professor Oluwafemi Adebo, Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology at the University of Johannesburg
• Professor Shanade Barnabas, Department of Communication and Media at the University of Johannesburg
• Dr Isobel Brink, Department of Civil Engineering at the Stellenbosch University
• Professor Ntanganedzeni Mapholi, Department of Agriculture and Animal Health at the University of South Africa
• Professor Nnamdi Nwulu, Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering Science at the University of Johannesburg
• Professor Moses Phooko, Department of Private Law at the University of Johannesburg
Public Engagement with Research Award 2020/21
• Professor Liesl Zühlke (2020), Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Cape Town
• Professor Rachel Wynberg (2021), Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town
Champion of Research Capacity Development and Transformation at South African Higher Education Institutions Award
2020
• Professor Emmanuel Iwuoha, Department of Chemistry at the University of the Western Cape
2021
• Professor Sabiha Essack, Anti-Microbial Research Unit at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
Hamilton Naki Award 2020/21
• Professor Sharon Prince, Department of Human Biology at the University of Cape Town
NRF Excelleration Award for South African Research Institutions 2020/21
• Mangosuthu University of Technology
Science Team Award 2020
• The Institute for the Development of Energy for African Sustainability (IDEAS) Team at the University of South Africa
Lifetime Achievement Award
• Professor Linda Richter, University of the Witwatersrand
P-Rated Researchers
2020
• Dr Steven Hussey, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria
• Dr Michelle Lochner, Department of Cosmology, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, University of the Western Cape
2021
• Dr Matteo Grilli, International Studies Group, University of the Free State
• Dr Ryan Nefdt, Department of Philosophy, University of Cape Town
• Dr Robert Skelton, Fynbos Node, NRF-South African Environmental Observation Network
• Dr Nicholas Spaull, Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University
• Dr Rosalie Tostevin, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town
• Dr Christopher Trisos, African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town
A-Rated Researchers
2020
• Professor Willem Boshoff, 1ST A-RATING, Department of Fine Arts, University of the Free State
• Professor Colin Chapman, 1ST A-RATING, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Professor Dieter Heiss1ST, A-RATING, Department of Physics, Stellenbosch University
• Professor Elmi Muller1ST, A-RATING, Dean: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University
• Professor James Ogude, 1ST A-RATING, Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria
• Professor Mario Santos, 1ST A-RATING, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of the Western Cape
• Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, 2ND A-RATING, Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Professor Fernando Albericio, 2ND A-RATING, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Professor Tebello Nyokong, 2ND A-RATING, Department of Chemistry, Rhodes University
• Professor Brenda Wingfield, 2ND A-RATING, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria
• Professor Cornelius van der Merwe, 3RD A-RATING, Department of Private Law, Stellenbosch University
2021
• Professor Oonsie Biggs, 1ST A-RATING, Centre for Complex Systems in Transition, Stellenbosch University
• Professor Michael Bruford, 1ST A-RATING, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria
• Professor Michael Claeys, 1ST A-RATING, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town
• Professor Kevin Durrheim, 1ST A-RATING, School of Applied Human Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Professor Crain Soudien, 1ST A-RATING, Former Chief Executive Officer, Human Sciences Research Council
• Professor Giona Tuccini, 1ST A-RATING, School of Languages and Literature, University of Cape Town
• Professor Romeel Davé, 2ND A-RATING, Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of the Western Cape
• Professor Andries Engelbrecht, 2ND A-RATING, Department of Industrial Engineering / Department of Computer Science, Stellenbosch University
• Professor Maxim Finkelstein, 2ND A-RATING, Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of the Free State
• Professor Christopher Henshilwood, 2ND A-RATING, Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
• Professor Donald Kurtz, 2ND A-RATING, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University
• Professor Bruce Rubidge, 2ND A-RATING, Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand
• Professor Roger Smith2ND A-RATING, Department of Geological Sciences, Iziko Museums of South Africa
• Professor Yves van de Peer, 2ND A-RATING, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria
• Professor Melanie Walker, 2ND A-RATING, SARChI Chair in Higher Education and Human Development Research, University of the Free State
• Professor Robert Wilkinson, 2ND A-RATING, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town
• Professor Jill Farrant, 3RD A-RATING, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town
• Professor Michael Henning3RD A-RATING, Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Johannesburg
• Professor Steven Johnson, 3RD A-RATING, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Professor Rajend Mesthrie, 3RD A-RATING, School of African and Gender Studies, Anthropology and Linguistics, University of Cape Town
• Professor Bob Scholes, 3RD A-RATING, Global Change and Sustainability Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
• Professor Mark Solms, 3RD A-RATING, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town
• Professor Johannes van Oort, 3RD A-RATING, Department of Systematic and Historical Theology, University of Pretoria
• Professor Charles van Onselen, 4TH A-RATING, Institute for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria
• Professor Richard Cowling, 5TH A-RATING, School of Environmental Sciences, Nelson Mandela University
• Professor Jean Cleymans, 8TH A-RATING, Department of Physics, University of Cape Town
A recent study published in the Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems journal by SAIAB PhD graduate, Takudzwa Comfort Madzivanzira represents the first of its kind in the region of southern Africa to comprehensively document the establishment and spread of invasive crayfish using a standardised approach. The Australian redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus is an emerging global invader, and was recently reported in the Barotse floodplain, the largest wetland in the Zambezi Basin, Southern Africa. To establish a better understanding of where these crayfishes are, their population structures and where they are heading to, the study surveyed regions in the understudied Zambezi Basin covering four countries (Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe), across ten rivers with over 1000 traps. This study compared the abundances and population characteristics of crayfish in the recently invaded Barotse floodplain with older invasions from Lake Kariba (Zimbabwe) and Kafue River (Zambia), representing the first of its kind in the region. This research has confirmed the establishment of redclaw crayfish in the Barotse floodplain and predicted where they are heading to in the near future. The study provides robust baseline data on distribution, abundance and population structure of crayfish, which is an essential prerequisite to legislative development and management interventions. If crayfish are detected early, it may facilitate rapid response actions and ultimately reduce long-term management costs and threats to ecologically sensitive ecosystems such as the Okavango Delta, which could be invaded in the near future.
The journal article can be assessed from this: LINK
By Dr Tony Swemmer, Manager, SAEON Ndlovu Node.
The Mthimkhulu people of north-eastern Limpopo have rights to considerable natural resources, including over 5 000 ha of rangeland and a 6 600 ha ‘Big 5’ game reserve adjacent to the Kruger National Park. Improved management of these lands provides an opportunity to reduce the high levels of unemployment and poverty that are prevalent within this community, in the villages of Phalaubeni and Mbaula in the Giyani District of Limpopo. The Mthimkhulu lands also present a great opportunity for socio-ecological research of semi-arid savanna ecosystems.
Image: Youth from the village are employed as temporary research assistants whenever SAEON staff or partners conduct ecological research in the rangelands and game reserve..
Long-term research platform
In 2016, SAEON began working with the Mthimkhulu Tribal Authority to develop a long-term research platform in the area. Research has been designed not only to further our understanding of the ecology of savanna ecosystems, but also to test and showcase viable management actions that could be used to improve the goods and services that rural communities derive from their lands. Such actions include bush-clearing to improve eco-tourism in the game reserve and rotational grazing to improve the productivity of the rangelands.
Tangible, short-term benefits of the establishment of the site have been the creation of employment for local residents – as research assistants and to do the hard work involved in setting up long-term ecological research, such as bush-clearing, livestock monitoring, anti-poaching and road and fence repairs.
The initial ecological research at the site has focused on the establishment of experimental plots that vary in vegetation cover, to study the effects of trees, shrubs and grasses on the biodiversity and hydrology of semi-arid Mopaneveld.
To date, eight bush-cleared plots (of either 60m x 60m or 120m x 120m) have been created, both within the reserve and in the rangelands. These are all paired with control plots. In each pair, vegetation composition, the productivity of the grass layer and the abundance of large herbivores are being sampled regularly by SAEON staff and partners, while soil moisture is recorded continuously in three of the paired plots.
One pair of plots is currently being used to estimate the effect of Mopane shrub cover on evapotranspiration for a PhD project by Tiffany Aldworth, which in turns forms part of a larger National Research Foundation Earth System Science project that aims to model the effect of woody plant cover on evapotranspiration across South Africa.
The new Observatory, known as SKAO, is the world’s second intergovernmental organisation to be dedicated to astronomy. Headquartered in the UK on the grounds of the Jodrell Bank UNESCO World Heritage Site with sites in Australia and South Africa, SKAO is tasked with building and operating the two largest and most complex radio telescope networks ever conceived to address fundamental questions about our universe.
“This is a historic moment for radio astronomy,” said Dr Catherine Cesarsky, appointed first Chair of the SKAO Council. “Behind today’s milestone, there are countries that had the vision to get deeply involved because they saw the wider benefits their participation in SKAO could bring to build an ecosystem of science and technology involving fundamental research, computing, engineering, and skills for the next generation, which are essential in a 21st century digital economy.”
SKAO’s telescope in South Africa will be composed of 197 15 metre-diameter dishes located in the Karoo region, 64 of which already exist and are operated by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), while the telescope in Australia will be composed of 131,072 two-metre-tall antennas located on the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s (CSIRO) Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory.
The creation of SKAO follows a decade of detailed engineering design work, scientific prioritisation, and policy development under the supervision of its predecessor the SKA Organisation, supported by more than 500 engineers, over 1,000 scientists and dozens of policy-makers in more than 20 countries; and is the result of 30 years of thinking and research and development since discussions first took place about developing a next-generation radio telescope.
“Today marks the birth of a new Observatory,” said Prof Philip Diamond, appointed first Director-General of SKAO. “And not just any observatory – this is one of the mega-science facilities of the 21st century. It is the culmination of many years of work and I wish to congratulate everyone in the SKA community and in our partner governments and institutions who have worked so hard to make this happen. For our community, this is about participating in one of the great scientific adventures of the coming decades. It is about skills, technology, innovation, industrial return, and spin offs but fundamentally it is about a wonderful scientific journey that we are now embarking on.”
The first SKAO Council meeting follows the signature of the SKA treaty, formally known as the Convention establishing the SKA Observatory, on 12 March 2019 in Rome, and its subsequent ratification by Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal, South Africa and the United Kingdom and entry into force on 15 January 2021, marking the official birth date of the observatory.
The Council is composed of representatives from the Observatory’s Member States, as well as Observer countries aspiring to join SKAO. Among these are countries that took part in the design phase of the SKA such as Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, and whose future accession to SKAO is expected in the coming weeks and months, once their national processes have been completed. Representatives of national bodies in Japan and South Korea complement the select list of Observers in the SKAO Council.
At its first meeting, the SKAO Council approved policies and procedures that have been prepared in recent months – covering governance, funding, programmatic and HR matters, among others. These approvals are required to transfer staff and assets from the SKA Organisation to the Observatory and allow the latter to become a functioning entity.
“The coming months will keep us very busy, with hopefully new countries formalising their accession to SKAO and the expected key decision of the SKAO Council giving us green light to start the construction of the telescopes,” added Prof Diamond.
SKAO will begin recruitment in Australia and South Africa in the next few months, working alongside local partners CSIRO and SARAO to supervise construction, which is expected to last eight years, with early science opportunities starting in the mid-2020s.
Supporting statements
SKAO Members
Australia
The Hon Karen Andrews, Minister for Science and Technology.
“Australia is delighted to be a founding member of the SKA Observatory. The Observatory will be a world leader in radio astronomy discovery for decades to come, bringing with it new technologies, human capital development and inspiration for future generations. Establishing the SKA Observatory is the culmination of many years of work and Australia greatly values the strong partnerships forged with fellow member countries during this time.”
Italy
Prof Marco Tavani, INAF (National Institute of Astrophysics) President
“The SKA Observatory is finally starting with great prospects. A new phase begins now with the construction of the largest and most advanced radio telescope in the world. We are proud that Italy is among the founding countries of the Observatory: a sign of the great interest of the Italian community for the science and technology related with SKA.”
The Netherlands
Dr Michiel van Haarlem, head of the SKA Office for the Netherlands at ASTRON
“Today marks a major milestone for the SKA project and global collaboration in radio astronomy. Development of technology and the design of the telescopes has taken more than 25 years and engineers and scientists from the Netherlands have been closely involved from the very beginning. The establishment of the SKA Observatory paves the way for the start of construction later this year. Our astronomers are eagerly awaiting the first results and the chance to tackle the exciting scientific questions that have motivated the design of this unique instrument. The fact that the Netherlands is one of the founding members of the SKA Observatory is clear evidence of our commitment to the project.”
Portugal
Prof Manuel Heitor, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education.
“Portugal’s participation in the SKA programme and the fact that Portugal is a founding member of the SKA Observatory opens new opportunities for young people, researchers, astronomy professionals and amateurs in Portugal to be involved in one of the most revolutionary scientific cooperation initiatives at a global level, which will make it possible to make high-resolution astronomy using any of our computers or portable cell phones. This programme finally democratises access to astronomy and to the knowledge of the universe, stimulating the curiosity and scientific creativity of young people and adults, as well as opening new paths to investigate to deepen the knowledge about the creation of life and the fundamental principles of the evolution of the Universe.”
South Africa
Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education, Science & Innovation
“Establishment of the SKA Observatory enables the SKA project to enter an exciting phase – implementation of cutting edge scientific and technical designs that have been conceptualised by multinational teams, including many South African scientists and engineers, over the past few years. We are excited by the fact that the SKA Observatory will be the first, and only, science inter-governmental organisation where Africa will play a strategic leading role. The SKA project will act as a catalyst for science, technology and engineering innovation, providing commercial opportunities to local high-tech industry, and creating the potential to put Africa on the map as a global science and innovation partner.”
United Kingdom
Amanda Solloway, Science Minister
“The SKA Observatory is one of the most ambitious scientific international collaborations of our time which could open up unrivalled opportunities for the world’s leading astronomers. Today’s first meeting of the Observatory’s Council, headquartered at the UK’s own Jodrell Bank, is yet another pivotal milestone to provide our scientists with access to some of the world’s most sophisticated telescopes, furthering our knowledge of the universe.”
SKAO Observers
France
Nicolas Chaillet, Deputy Director General for Research and Innovation, Head of the Research and Innovation Strategy Directorate – French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation
“With a very active research community in the field of astronomy and astrophysics, France has been highly interested in the development of the Square Kilometre Array since its inception. SKA has been on the French roadmap for research infrastructures since 2018. The “Maison SKA-France”, with the CNRS as lead partner, gathers seven public research institutions and seven industrial companies. The five-year report on the French strategy in astronomy and astrophysics conducted by the CNRS in 2019 confirmed the very high priority given by French astronomers to participate in SKA. Currently an observer on the organisation’s Council, France is now engaged in the process of applying for membership in SKA Observatory, with the aim of submitting its membership application to the Council’s vote in the coming months. We are very enthusiastic to start this process, and congratulate the SKA teams and partners on the impressive work that has been achieved so far for a project that will produce revolutionary work in many fields.”
Germany
Prof Michael Kramer, President, German Astronomical Society
“On behalf of the German astronomical community, we convey our congratulations on the establishment of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Observatory and its beginning of operations marked with this first meeting of its Council. The SKA vision is to construct and operate the world’s largest telescope, in a collaboration of international partners from across the globe. The German community has been involved in SKA science and technology since its conception. We look forward to further engaging in the scientific and technological challenges and opportunities epitomised by the SKA.”
India
Arun Srivastava, Head, Institutional Collaborations and Programs Division, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India
“The formation of the IGO and having its first Council meeting today, is indeed a historic moment in the life of the SKA project. This marks the culmination of the collaborative hard work over the last several years to complete the design and deliver a plan for construction. The new governance structure is now in place. The entire global community is looking forward to the building of this facility which will revolutionise our understanding of the Universe. India, with its strong tradition in radio astronomy and world class pathfinder facilities like the GMRT, has been engaged with the SKA project since the beginning, and remains fully committed to becoming a member of the new SKA Observatory Council in the near future, and contributing actively to the building of the SKA.”
Spain
Pedro Duque, Minister of Science and Innovation of Spain.
“Spain welcomes the constitution of the SKA International Observatory, which culminates a period of thorough studies and design, and marks the beginning of a new stage in which one of the most ambitious telescopes in the history of astronomy will be built. We are proud to have contributed to this impressive preparatory phase, and we now look forward to actively participating in the construction of the Observatory. Our contribution to SKA will be based on a strong scientific community, strategically positioned within the project with the intention of playing an important role in the development of the SKA Key Science, and on an industry well prepared to carry out the demanding developments that a project of this magnitude requires. Spain is firmly determined to participate, at the front line, in this magnificent scientific adventure destined to revolutionize astronomy and other scientific and technological fields.”
Sweden
Lars Börjesson, representative of Sweden as Observer to Council
“The establishment of the SKA Observatory is a major event for the field of radio astronomy, and a decisive organisational step towards the construction of the SKA telescope. We’ve reached this milestone thanks to a huge amount of work in a truly global network, involving the world’s leading radio astronomy institutes and observatories. Together, across international borders, we have combined expertise and enthusiasm to develop the SKA’s science goals, its technical design and organisational structure, and this is something we can be really proud of. For Sweden, funding has now been secured for participation in the construction phase, and the formal process for membership in the SKA Observatory has been initiated.”
About SKAO
SKAO, formally known as the SKA Observatory, is a global collaboration of Member States to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to answer fundamental questions about our Universe. Headquartered in the UK, its first two telescopes, the two largest and most complex radio telescope networks ever built, will be constructed in Australia and South Africa. A later expansion is envisioned in both countries and other African partner countries. SKAO’s telescopes will conduct transformational science and, together with other state-of-the-art research facilities, address gaps in our understanding of the Universe including the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life. Through the development of innovative technologies and its contribution to addressing global societal challenges, SKAO will play its part to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and deliver significant non-science impact across its membership and beyond. Current SKAO Members are Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa and the United Kingdom with several other countries aspiring to membership or engagement with SKAO in the future.
For further information click the links: www.skaobservatory.org www.skatelescope.org
Source: SARAO
An international team led by a young South African researcher has just announced a comprehensive overview paper for the MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey (MGCLS). The paper to be published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal presents some exciting, novel results, and is accompanied by the public release of a huge trove of curated data now available for astronomers worldwide to address a variety of challenging questions, such as those relating to the formation and evolution of galaxies throughout the universe.
Using the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory’s MeerKAT telescope, located in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province, this first observatory-led survey demonstrates MeerKAT’s exceptional strengths by producing highly detailed and sensitive images of the radio emission from 115 clusters of galaxies. The observations, amounting to approximately 1000 hours of telescope time, were done in the year following the inauguration of MeerKAT in 2018.
“In those days we were still characterizing our new telescope, while developing further capabilities required by numerous scientists,” said Dr Sharmila Goedhart, SARAO head of commissioning and science operations. “But we knew that MeerKAT was already very capable for studies of this sort, and we observed galaxy clusters as needed to fill gaps in the observing schedule.”
This was only the start. More than two years of work followed to convert the raw data into radio images, using powerful computers, and to perform scientific analysis addressing a variety of topics. This was done by a large team of South African and international experts led by Dr Kenda Knowles of Rhodes University and SARAO.
The force of gravity has filled the expanding universe with objects extending over an astounding range of sizes, from comets that are 10 km (one thirty-thousandth of a light-second) across, to clusters of galaxies that can span 10 million light-years. These galaxy clusters are complex environments, host to thousands of galaxies, magnetic fields, and large regions – millions of light-years across – of extremely hot (millions of degrees) gas, electrons and protons moving close to the speed of light, and dark matter. Those ‘relativistic’ electrons, spiraling around the magnetic fields, produce the radio emission that MeerKAT can ‘see’ with unprecedented sensitivity, opening new horizons for the deeper understanding of these structures. Thus MeerKAT, particularly when adding information from optical and infrared and X-ray telescopes, is exceptionally well-suited to studying the interplay between the components that determine the evolution of galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the universe held together by gravity.
We live in an ocean of air, but we can’t see it directly. However, if it’s filled with smoke or dust or water droplets, then suddenly we can see the gusts and swirls, whether they’re a gentle breeze or an approaching tornado. Similarly, the motions of the X-ray-glowing plasma in galaxy clusters are usually hidden from us. Radio emission from the sprinkling of relativistic electrons in this plasma can uncover the dramatic storms in clusters, stirred up when clusters collide with each other, or when jets of material spew out of supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies.
The MGCLS paper just accepted for publication presents more than 50 newly discovered such patches of emission. Some of them we can understand and others remain a mystery, awaiting advances in our understanding of the physical behaviour of cluster plasmas. A few examples are shown here, some associated with the bright emission from so-called ‘radio galaxies,’ powered by the jets of supermassive black holes. Others are isolated features, illuminating winds and intergalactic shock waves in the surrounding plasma. Other types of science enriched by the MGCLS include the regulation of star formation in galaxies, the physical processes of jet interactions, the study of faint cooler hydrogen gas – the fuel of stars – in a variety of environments, and yet unknown investigations to be facilitated by serendipitous discoveries.
The MGCLS has produced detailed images of the extremely faint radio sky, while surveying a very large volume of space. “That’s what’s already enabled us to serendipitously discover rare kinds of galaxies, interactions, and diffuse features of radio emission, many of them quite beautiful,” explained Dr Knowles. But this is only the beginning.
A number of additional studies delving more deeply into some of the initial discoveries are already underway by members of the MGCLS team. Beyond that, the richness of the science resulting from the MGCLS is expected to grow over the coming years, as astronomers from around the world download the data from the SARAO MeerKAT archive, and probe it to answer their own questions.
Image: Two giant radio galaxies (more than one million light-years from end to end) at the center of a large group of galaxies in the cluster Abell 194, revealing the presence of relatively narrow magnetic filaments in the region, as well as complex interactions between the radio emission from the two galaxies. The MeerKAT radio image is shown in orange, with an optical image dominated by normal galaxies shown in white. Adapted from K. Knowles et al., “The MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey. I. Survey Overview and Highlights” (Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press). Image credit: SARAO, SDSS.
By Department of Science and Innovation (DSI)
The opening of the Department of Science and Innovation's (DSI's) annual Science Forum South Africa didn't disappoint, as the country's scientific expertise and infrastructure came under the spotlight.
Day 1 of the proceedings kicked off with the launch of the DSI's Annual Report for 2020/21 (click here to view a summary of the Annual Report). Presented by the Director-General, Dr Phil Mjwara, the report showed a year under review that was overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which profoundly disrupted livelihoods, public health and economies worldwide.
Dr Mjwara said this period brought science, technology and innovation (STI) and the role of the DSI to the fore, as the Department adapted its plans and rolled out initiatives to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, coordinating responses to the pandemic across the national system of innovation (NSI).
As with other departments, the DSI's budget was reduced – from R8, 7 to R7, 3 billion – to free up funds for addressing the health crisis and the economic fallout that ensued. This meant that some annual targets had to be revised downwards. Notwithstanding these challenges, the DSI was able to achieve most of its targets.
The Director-General highlighted a number of achievements (click here to view the DG's presentation), including genomic sequencing, the local design and manufacture of ventilators, and a high-tech monitoring and surveillance initiative to track the virus, which the audience welcomed as beneficial not only to South Africa but to Africa as a whole.
The Department is also driving the establishment of local vaccine production with various partners including the World Health Organization. The Director-General warned that vaccination was the only way to effectively contain the novel coronavirus, and called on people to get vaccinated in order to prevent hospitalisation or worse.
The DG's presentation was followed by a robust panel discussion featuring local and international experts, whose biographies are summarised briefly as follows:
Dr Martin Friede, WHO mRNA Vaccine Hub Coordinator
Dr Martin Friede leads the vaccine research unit at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. In this position, Dr Friede provides leadership for the WHO's activities on vaccine research, including the development of vaccine research policies, strategies and priorities, and assistance to countries to establish vaccine R&D and production. Prior to this, he held several positions within the WHO, including leading the organisation's technology transfer activities as well as its research into therapeutic interventions for Ebola. Prior to joining the WHO, Dr Friede held several senior positions in the vaccine industry. He received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cape Town.
Dr Lawrence Banks, Director-General of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Dr Lawrence Banks has been group leader for tumour virology at the ICGEB in Trieste, Italy for the last 30 years, making seminal contributions to the understanding of how human papillomaviruses cause cervical cancer. Institutionally, he has always been committed to the use of science to promote capacity enhancement in low-resource settings. He became ICGEB Scientific Coordinator in 2016, and was elected Director-General in 2019. He is committed to advancing scientific research at the ICGEB laboratories in Trieste, New Delhi and Cape Town, and contributing to the advanced education of young scientists to promote science and technology-intensive solutions for improved quality of life. Dr Banks received his PhD in Microbiology from Leeds University in 1984.
Dr Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences
Dr Shamila Nair-Bedouelle took up her current position at UNECSO in April 2019, after serving as Director of OzonAction under the UN Environment Programme since 2012. At UNEP, she was responsible for implementing the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol, and coordinated a unique network of 147 national OzonAction offices, providing developing countries with scientific and technical advice on alternative technologies to avoid using substances that deplete the ozone layer. A strong advocate for enhancing the role of women in science and engineering, she established UNEP's first training programme for women technicians. Dr Nair-Bedouelle received her PhD in Life Sciences from the University of Cape Town.
Dr Thulani Dlamini, CEO of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Dr Thulani Dlamini was appointed CEO of the CSIR in February 2017. Dr Dlamini was instrumental in the establishment of the Photonics Initiative of South Africa and the development of a national strategy for photonics research, development and innovation. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Master's in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa, and has completed advanced courses in technology management through institutions including the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. A member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, he has served, among others, on the boards of the Automotive Industry Development Centre and Sasol Technology UK and Netherlands.
Dr Val Munsami, CEO of the South African National Space Agency
Dr Val Munsami was appointed CEO of SANSA in January 2017. He is the current Chair of the African Union Space Working Group, which developed the African Space Policy and Strategy that was approved by the AU Heads of State in January this year. He was previously involved in strategy and policy development for the South African national space programme, and as Chief Specialist for Astronomy at the Department of Science and Technology, was involved in the development of the National Multi-Wavelength Astronomy Strategy and the Square Kilometre Array Readiness Strategy. Dr Munsami received his PhD in Physics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a Master's in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa.
Mr Daniel Ndima, Founder and CEO of CapeBio Technologies
Mr Daniel Ndima is the Founding CEO of CapeBio Technologies, a South African applied genomics and biotech company that develops life science tools and molecular biology reagent enzyme kits to empower African scientists, R&D institutions and companies to innovate in the academic and healthcare industries. CapeBio recently developed a PCR testing kit for the novel coronavirus. Mr Ndima advocates strongly for science that creates jobs, alleviates poverty and contributes to national development. He has served as a non-executive director and board member for various youth and entrepreneurial development non-profit organisations, founded three start-ups while still an undergraduate, and holds a Master's in Biochemistry (specialising in structural biology) from the University of Pretoria.
The mission of the NRF-SAASTA Digital Media facility is to contribute to the South African science community by recording, producing, and editing audio and video and participate in the global science media dialog by providing exceptional service, leveraging institutional expertise, and using numerous distribution channels to disseminate high-quality, science products that meet the goals of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and of the NRF-SAASTA.
Based at 211 Nana Sita Street Pretoria, the Digital Media facility will provide a wide range of video and audio services to the science community. The facility will house a fully-equipped television studios, an audio recording studio, and a green room.
The Science Promotion Digital Media Facility (SPDMF) is made possible by our National Youth Service Programme (NYSP), and it is in line with our science engagement initiatives that vastly requires visual content and archives. The establishment of the facility is a step forward towards producing content that will best suit and accompany our science engagement objectives.
The function of the facility will include the following:
• Create a platform for science activities in South Africa coverage and archiving, making memories last longer
• To provide content to Science TV, Radio and publications including digital platforms for local and international participation in relevant initiatives.
• Generate new leads and attract more science based projects, activities and topics that will be captured digitally.
• To strengthening science engagement and growing the science sector.
• To champion creativity and quality to get science message out there.
The Digital Media facility explained
The facility will allow for the exchange of science information in a wide range of forms by producing a variety of science content from documentaries to short films and profiling of science innovations. The information can be for purposes such as science communication, education, exhibitions, entertainment, illustration and engagement at large. Digital media content as a product of digital data will be processed electronically, stored as a file, and transmitted within computer systems and across networks – distribution platforms such as social media, television, radio etc.
How will it work?
Taking advantage of the distribution platforms, it will provide a bigger science digital marketing, in a form of content advertising that will allow for the content promotion such as science engagement, activities, awareness, and careers, through digital channels like social media, search engines, websites, and more. The facility will be primarily capturing science content across as broad as possible by the newly appointed interns. The production skills that we are using optimally to capture, record, edit, sink, proof, produce, distribute and archive. This Digital Media facility like any other Digital Media platform will connect people in ways never before possible, enabling users to maintain friendships across time and distance by coproducing and content sharing. The provincial engagement and national distributors will enable content sharing and dissemination to those who are socially isolated or somehow set apart from their immediate physical community to connect with like-minded or like-situated people. It will also facilitates interaction across social, economic, cultural, political, religious and ideological boundaries, allowing for enhanced understanding. The advantages of developing this facility are: to facilitate science and social interactions through science engagement activities and empower not only the science community but the citizens.
- By SAAO
An international team of astrophysicists from South Africa, the UK, France and the US have found large variations in the brightness of light seen from around one of the closest black holes in our Galaxy, 9,600 light-years from Earth, which they interpret as being due to a huge warp in its accretion disc.
Image: An artist’s impression of the black hole system MAXI J1820+070, based upon observed characteristics. The black hole is seen to feed off the companion star, drawing the material out into a vast disc of inspiralling matter. As it falls closer to the black hole itself, some of that material is shot out into energetic pencil-beam ‘jets’ above and below the disc. The light here is intense enough to outshine the Sun a thousand times over. ©John Paice
This object, MAXI J1820+070, erupted as a new X-ray transient in March 2018 and was discovered by a Japanese X-ray telescope on-board the International Space Station. These transients, systems that exhibit violent outbursts, are binary stars, consisting of a low-mass star, similar to our Sun and a much more compact object, which can be a white dwarf, neutron star or black hole. In this case, MAXI J1820+070 contains a black hole that is at least 8 times the mass of our Sun.
The first findings have now been accepted for publication in the international highly ranked journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, whose lead author is Dr Jessymol Thomas, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). Dr Thomas worked closely with fellow SAAO colleagues Professors David Buckley and Stephen Potter, and University of Southampton (UK) researcher and former SAAO Director, Professor Phil Charles, who played a leading role in this project.
The discovery presented in the paper was made from an extensive and detailed light-curve obtained over almost a year by dedicated amateurs around the globe who are part of the AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers). MAXI J1820+070 is one of the three brightest X-ray transients ever observed, a consequence of both its proximity to Earth and being outside of the obscuring plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Because it remained bright for many months, this made it possible to be followed by so many amateurs.
Professor Charles explained, “material from the normal star is pulled by the compact object into its surrounding accretion disc of spiralling gas. Massive outbursts occur when the material in the disc becomes hot and unstable, accretes onto the black hole and releases copious amounts of energy before traversing the event horizon. This process is chaotic and highly variable, varying on timescales from milliseconds to months.”
The research team have produced a visualisation of the system, showing how a huge X-ray output emanates from very close to the black hole, and then irradiates the surrounding matter, especially the accretion disc, heating it up to a temperature of around 10,000K, which is seen as the visual light emitted. That is why, as the X-ray outburst declines, so does the optical light.
But something unexpected happened almost 3 months after the outburst began when the optical light curve started a huge modulation – a bit like turning a dimmer switch up and down and almost doubling in brightness at its peak – on a period of about 17 hours. Yet there was no change whatsoever in the X-ray output, which remained steady. While small, quasi-periodic visible modulations had been seen in the past during other X-ray transient outbursts, nothing on this scale had ever been seen before.
What was causing this extraordinary behaviour? “With the angle of view of the system as shown in the pictorial, we could quite quickly rule out the usual explanation that the X-rays were illuminating the inner face of the donor star because the brightening was occurring at the wrong time”, said Prof Charles. Nor could it be due to varying light from where the mass transfer stream hits the disc as the modulation gradually moved relative to the orbit.
This left only one possible explanation, the huge X-ray flux was irradiating the disc and causing it to warp, as shown in the picture. The warp provides a huge increase in the area of the disc that could be illuminated, thereby making the visual light output increase dramatically when viewed at the right time. Such behaviour had been seen in X-ray binaries with more massive donors, but never in a black-hole transient with a low mass donor like this. It opens a completely new avenue for studying the structure and properties of warped accretion discs.
Prof Charles continued, “This object has remarkable properties amongst an already interesting group of objects that have much to teach us about the end-points of stellar evolution and the formation of compact objects. We already know of a couple of dozen black hole binary systems in our Galaxy, which all have masses in the 5 – 15 solar mass range. They all grow by the accretion of matter that we have witnessed so spectacularly here.”
Starting some 5 years ago, a major science programme on the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) to study transient objects has made a number of important observations of compact binaries, including black hole systems like MAXI J1820+070. As the Principal Investigator for this programme, Prof Buckley, states “SALT is a perfect tool to study the changing behaviour of these X-ray binaries during their outbursts, which it can monitor regularly over periods of weeks to months and can be coordinated with observations from other telescopes, including space-based ones.”
Arxiv Link: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2108.05447.pdf
Original Article: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/mnras/stab3033/6410674
- By SANBI
The past five and half years had been filled with so many successes under the Biodiversity stewardship component of the BLU project. Even though I joined the project on its third year of implementation I enjoyed seeing the stewardship work in South Africa grow and gain its momentum to be what and where it is today, said Mpho Ratshikhopa, Assistant Director Biodiversity Stewardship and Land Reform.
The Biodiversity Stewardship (BDS) component successfully established various communities of practice as a means of creating safe spaces where practitioners, community beneficiaries, policy makers, the NGO, private and government sectors come together and have conversations around issues impacting the successful implementation of biodiversity stewardship across the country. Some of the platforms which were established or strengthened under this component are the National Biodiversity Stewardship Technical Working Group, Biodiversity Stewardship Legal Reference Group, the National Biodiversity Stewardship Conferences (during the project tenure two national conferences had been convened). The major breakthrough was the revival of the Land Reform and Biodiversity Stewardship Initiative and its communities of practices including the LRBSI Learning exchange (the 2020 LRBSI LE was attended by 200 people coming from all corners of the country), the LRBSI Reference Group and the Bilateral platform between the Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment and SANBI had been taking place.
One cannot narrate the story of biodiversity stewardship and leave the end of project hectares target to have 62,464 ha of biodiversity priority areas secured. At the end of the project, this target was exceeded with more than 81,000 ha secured and in various stages of the stewardship process namely: declared, submitted for declaration and or under negotiation with landowners. Under this component, through the support of various stakeholders the project undertook a pilot Biodiversity Management Plan for threatened Ecosystems which resulted in the Parsons Vlei Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP-E), the very first BMP-E in the country. The BMP-E was well received by the conservation fraternity and was presented at DFFE’s Working Group 1 where SANBI received support for it to be published for public comment.
One of the strengths of component two was the capacity building workshops aimed at both community beneficiaries and biodiversity stewardship implementers. The project successfully rendered the following capacity building workshops: implementing biodiversity stewardship on communal land, development of Management Plans for protected areas, implementation of the 2018 BDS Guideline, biodiversity stewardship and enterprise development for communities etc. As part of capacity building and information dissemination the project developed a set of resources including the Biodiversity stewardship for communities factsheet, information document for MECs focused on declaring biodiversity stewardship protected areas in South Africa, the Biodiversity Stewardship Business Case, the BDS guideline and so many other documents which can be easily accessed on the SANBI Biodiversity Advisor web page.
The project has made some strides with regards to finance for biodiversity stewardship. . The project saw the introduction of an amendments to the Income Tax Act (ITA), which allowed for landowners who invest in biodiversity stewardship to receive a tax break. 2016 saw the first successful appropriation of section 37D in a landowner’s tax return; and at the end of the project, more than 15 landowners have successfully utilised the incentive. Tax extension services was provided to qualifying protected areas countrywide; upscaling the mainstreaming of section 37D to communal and private landowners across South Africa.
The BLU project has also left its mark in two finance solution prioritised through the BIOFIN project, firstly the biodiversity stewardship finance solution which is exploring grant mechanisms or finance models for financing biodiversity stewardship and secondly the Biodiversity Economy Online Investment Portal Finance Solution were ten community stewardship sites have been screened as pilots sites for the investment portal .
For more information on the BDS successes please click on the link here.
Sasol, through its Foundation and Research & Technology function, concluded two significant cooperation agreements with the National Research Foundation (NRF) to jointly sponsor and support South Africa’s next generation of science and engineering researchers.
“The NRF acknowledges the significant contribution these agreements will make to enhance excellence in research, and especially the significant impact to the transformation of the South African research and education system. These programmes, and our partnership with Sasol, attest to our mutual intent to support and foster a globally engaged cohort of exceptional researchers and students, in collaboration with industry,” stated Dr Fulufhelo Nelwamondo, CEO of the NRF.
The first agreement relates to the joint implementation of the NRF-Sasol Foundation Scholarship Programme, which aims to bolster the number of science researchers from historically disadvantaged universities as well as Black and/or female scientists and those living with disabilities. Since its inception in 2011, the scholarship programme has sponsored over 300 postgraduate students, producing over 500 peer-reviewed research publications.
“What we have learned over the years is that the scale and complexity of the transformation that needs to take place in our country’s education sector is such that no organisation can achieve it alone. We need strategic partnerships and collaborations to effectively address these challenges,” said Charlotte Mokoena, Sasol Executive Vice-President: Human Resources and Stakeholder Relations.
The NRF-Sasol Foundation Scholarship Programme’s target is to sponsor at least 102 candidates over the next three years from 2022, with nearly half of them being Master’s and Doctoral students.
The second agreement is with Sasol’s Research and Technology function and pertains to dedicated industry-academia research collaboration. It aims to provide funding and strategic support such as assistance with research focus and direction, for research in science and engineering areas that can enable South Africa’s energy transition as well as the development of its green economy. The intention is to enhance the research capacity of South African tertiary institutions in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, thereby addressing some of the key scarce skill gaps identified by the NRF. Sasol R&T will also provide support in the form of student and research departments mentoring and industrial exposure.
Sasol and the NRF issued a joint call for research proposals in September 2021, which closed at end of October, and is in the process of finalising the awards which will be announced by 13 December.
At the NRF, the two programmes are led by Dr Romilla Maharaj, Executive Director for Human and Infrastructure Capacity Development, and Dr Aldo Stroebel, Executive Director Strategic Partnerships, and Acting Executive Director Knowledge Advancement and Support.
