SAIP Electronic Newsletter No 19 CONTENTS: 1. FORTHCOMING CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND SCHOOLS 2. SA SCIENTISTS PROVE HOW MALARIA ATTACKS RED BLOOD CELLS Giovanni Hearne (hearne@physnet.phys.wits.ac.za) 3. SOUTH AFRICAN NANOTECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE Elmarié Mortimer (elmarie@tlabs.ac.za) 4. PHYSICISTS AT UPE ACTIVE IN RESEARCH Japie Engelbrecht (phajae@upe.ac.za) 5. FUTURE OF PHYSICS IN SOUTH AFRICA Patricia Whitelock (paw@saao.ac.za) 6. A BLACK POSTGRADUATE VIEW OF PHYSICS EDUCATION Judith Ncapayi (ncapayi@tlabs.ac.za) 7. POSTGRADUATE STUDIES AT UNIQWA M McPherson (mcpherson@uniqwa.ac.za) ---------------------------------------------- 1. Forthcoming conferences, workshops and schools 1.1 The Annual SAIP Conference The 47th Annual Conference of the SAIP will be held at Potchefstroom University from Wednesday 25 to Friday 27 September 2002. A Spring School on Magnetism will also be held in conjunction with the conference on Tuesday 24 September 2002. The Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics runs concurrently with the conference as the Astronomy and Astrophysics Specialist Group session. Information and registration at http://www3.puk.ac.za/physics/ ----- 1.2 South African Nanotechnology Initiative Workshop A one-day workshop to officially launch the South African Nanotechnology Initiative (SANi) is planned for the 15th of August 2002 in Pretoria. Nano-related issues that will be discussed within the South African framework include: * Nano-synthesis and -processing technologies; * Nano-characterisation techniques; * Nanotechnology & intellectual property; and * Nanotechnology & government policy. More information on the SANi Workshop can be obtained from Malek Maaza at Maaza@physnet.phys.wits.ac.za ----- 1.3 The 12th General Conference of the European Physical Society 'Trends in Physics' (EPS-12) EPS-12 will be held in Budapest, Hungary, 26-30 August 2002. An accompanying event, the so-called EUROTRON Conference, will provide the international physics community with the scientific highlights of EPS-12, enabling a virtual presence and participation in the main events of the scientific meeting at: http://www.eps12.kfki.hu/eurotron/ The Eurotron Conference envisages providing the widest participation not only during the actual lectures and round-table discussions, but also to keep the audio-visual material available archived on the Web for an extended period of time after EPS-12. Within the framework of both EPS-12 and Eurotron a roundtable discussion on the future of Scientific Research and particularly Physics in Europe is also planned. Questions to be asked at this discussion forum can be send to: EPS12-roundtable@lists.kfki.hu and will also be archived and linked to the conference site. ----- 1.4 Young Spectroscopist Symposium The Young Spectroscopist Symposium is an event arranged to give young spectroscopists and students the opportunity to present papers at a national level. It is the tradition of the South African Spectroscopic Society to invite young, promising undergraduates and post graduates to present papers on the results of their spectroscopy-related research (organic, inorganic, physical or analytical) at the symposium. The Albertus Strasheim Trophy and a prize sponsored by Philips SA will be awarded to the speaker who gives the best presentation. The symposium is held annually at a tertiary education institution. This year it will be held at the University of Pretoria on 18 September 2002. An abstract of the proposed paper should be faxed to Janette Cawood by Friday, 30 August 2002 for consideration. Papers may cover any branch of spectroscopy. Students will be advised by the 03 September of acceptance of their papers. The Society is willing to help students with transport problems. For further information please contact Janette Cawood at jcawood@telkomsa.net ----- 1.5 XXXVII Meeting of Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group and Workshop on Ion Therapy The XXXVII Meeting of the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG XXXVII) is being held at iThemba LABS from 28-30 October 2002. These meetings are held twice a year and the forthcoming one will be the third one hosted by the Medical Radiation Group. The previous ones were held in 1995 (PTCOG XXIII) and 1999 (PTCOG XXX). The members of PTCOG comprise physicists, engineers and medical professionals who are all involved in, or are interested in, particle therapy using ion beams. The meetings are important forums where the latest technical advances, physics and medical research, and clinical results are discussed. In conjunction with PTCOG XXXVIII a pre-meeting Workshop on Ion Therapy is being arranged on 27 October. This innovation will introduce physics students, medical registrars and others who may not be familiar with the field to its principles and techniques and will hopefully provide the spark to motivate young people to pursue a career in the exciting and challenging field of particle therapy. It is expected that the majority of the delegates will be foreign, from virtually all continents. This reflects the increasing worldwide interest in ion therapy and the Meeting and Workshop are set to be significant boosts to the Major Radiation Medicine Centre planned for iThemba LABS. At the 1999 meeting (PTCOG XXX) there were 77 foreign delegates, which remains a record for PTCOG meetings. Please contact Dan Jones (jones@tlabs.ac.za) for details or find the latest information on the website: www.medrad.tlabs.ac.za/ptcog.htm ----- 1.6 Analitika 2002 This International Symposium on Analytical Science, the fourth in the ANALITIKA series, will be held from 4-10 December 2002 at the University of Stellenbosch. New and established analytical techniques will be discussed together with a wide range of applications of analytical science. The Symposium will also provide an opportunity for exhibitors to hold workshops/seminars and to demonstrate their contributions towards achieving the conference objectives. The theme of the Symposium “Analytical Science: Vital for Prosperity” reflects the aims and expectations of the Organising Committee in providing a forum at which the importance and value of analytical science to a nation’s development will be highlighted. The main thrust of the Symposium will be to raise awareness of the relevance and significance of analytical science, to help instil an understanding that analytical science adds value rather than merely a cost to bear, and to emphasise the crucial necessity for good analytical scientists in providing sound data and guidance as a basis for policy decisions which are likely to affect our future welfare in the widest sense. More information on the symposium can be found at http://www.mrc.ac.za/conference/analitika.htm ---------------------------------------------- 2. SA scientists prove how malaria attacks red blood cells South African scientists have proven how malaria attacks the red blood cells and this could lead to finding a cure for a disease that kills millions of people every year – 90% of them in Africa. The team of chemists, pharmacologists and microscopists at Wits and University of Cape Town (UCT) led by Dr Tim Egan of UCT show in detail how the malaria parasite attacks red blood cells, in an article published in the latest issue of Biochemical Journal. The research work was complemented by Wits physicists Dr Giovanni Hearne and fourth year student Skhumbuzo Ntenteni who used a technique called Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy to fingerprint the iron- containing end product in the parasite. Malaria is caused by a parasite Plasmodium Falciparum, transmitted to humans by the Anopheles mosquito. When the parasite is injected into the blood stream the malaria parasite attacks the contents of the red blood cells. Red Blood cells contain molecular units of haemoglobin which carry oxygen throughout the body. Haemoglobin is a food source both appetising and yet potentially deadly to the parasite. The globin in the haemoglobin is like a fruity-fleshy skin, which the parasite seeks to digest but the core part, haem, is potentially toxic. The parasite has developed a way to detoxify the haem and is therefore able to feed on the globin with relative impunity. In the process it destroys the oxygen- carrying capacity of your red blood cells. How the parasite detoxifies the haem is still unknown and the detoxified end product has been the subject of uncertainty for many years. But now this team of scientists has identified what is the detoxified product and where the parasite harbours this product for safekeeping. Using the element iron (Fe), an integral part of haem, as a spy they have shown that all the toxic haem released from the haemoglobin is converted by the parasite to another iron-containing substance called haemozoin. This is highly insoluble and therefore presumably harmless to the parasite. Moreover this has been shown to be stored in a specific compartment, the food vacuole, of the parasite. Drugs could be designed to block this detoxification pathway so that the haem remains as a deadly concoction to the parasite. ---------------------------------------------- 3. South African Nanotechnology Initiative In 1986 K. Eric Drexler published the much disputed book Engines of Creation, in which he for sees a future forever changed by nanotechnology. He introduced the concept of an assembler, a robotic devices with dimensions of a tenth of a micron or less, that can pick up and position a reactive molecule so that it interacts with another molecule, as though it was a Lego block snapping into place. These assemblers will, for example, be able to painlessly refurbish a tooth or build a new one from scratch - chocoholics could face the world without any gilt! Nearly 20 years later these dreams and visions have moved on into an age where nanotechnology, together with its twin brother biotechnology, are considered the buzzwords of the 21st century. Key global players believe that it will have a profound impact on our economy and society, comparable to the age of information technology in the latter part of the 20th century. Already nanotechnology has introduced more powerful computers, new drugs and drug delivery systems and allowed scientist to take more precise measurements. It thrives on advances in biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, medicine and materials research, and contributes to cross-disciplinary training in the science and technology workforce. Nanotechnology is by far the most funded scientific-technological component within leading nations. The US National Nanotechnology Initiative fund has for example been boosted from 463.85M$ in 2001 to 710.2 M$ in 2003. South Africa, with its diverse scientific park of facilities and infrastructure, has to start capitalizing on this nanotechnology wave. This would ensure new opportunities for the South African mining and manufacturing industries, in particular with regard to nanodevices in which materials such as gold, platinum, titanium and vanadium are major components. In order to boost the South African efforts in this area, the South African Nanotechnology Initiative (SANi) was formed at the end of May 2002 in Johannesburg. The mission of SANi is * To act as a pilot to investigate new potential market opportunities for South African mining industry within the new emerging technologies; * To enhance cross-disciplinary partnership among the South African science and technology workforces; * To enhance capacity building of the emerging nanotechnologies and nanosciences in South Africa to ensure a required critical mass; and * To facilitate academia-industry partnership and knowledge transfer in the arena of the nanotechnologies and nanosciences. The SANi Network consists of * Dr Philemon Muware, Director of the National Laser Centre – INTERIM National Technical Coordinator; and * Dr Malek Maaza, University of the Witwatersrand – INTERIM National Academic Coordinator. More information on SANi can be obtained from either Malek Maaza (maaza@physnet.phys.wits.ac.za) or Philemon Mjwara (pmjwara@nlcsa.co.za) ---------------------------------------------- 4. Physicists at UPE active in research The Physics department at UPE has ended a very successful 6 months as far as their research efforts are concerned. During this time, equipment to the value of about R 1 million was acquired for the newly established Optical Fibre Assessment Laboratory. First results from this laboratory will be presented at a national conference in September. Two PhD students in the department, Ms Viera Vankova and Mr Grant James, recently won prestigious CNRS/NRF fellowships for doctoral studies. These scholarships, awarded jointly by the NRF and the French Centre de la Recherche Scientifique, are valid for 2 years and involve a research visit of up to four months per year to a CNRS laboratory in France. Ms Vankova (a student of Dr JR Botha) will be visiting a CNRS laboratory in Strasbourg later this year to continue her investigations into novel III-V semiconductors for mid-infrared optical devices. Mr Grant James, working on wide- bandgap GaN under the guidance of Prof Andrew Leitch, will visit a laboratory in Valbonne near Nice. The Physics department is very excited by these awards, since they underline the quality of research and post-graduate students in the department, while at the same time providing opportunities to cement strong research ties with reputable overseas laboratories. In addition, 5 papers were presented at overseas conferences in Germany, France and the USA by Drs Ernest van Dyk, Reinhardt Botha and Prof Andrew Leitch. ---------------------------------------------- 5. Future of Physics in South Africa The first of the regional meetings to discuss the "Future of Physics" in South Africa was held in the Western Cape at iThemba LABS on June 27. It was attended by 84 people, most of them from the local Universities (Western Cape, Stellenbosh, Cape Town) and National Facilities (Hermanus Magnetic Observatory, iThemba LABS, SA Astronomical Observatory), although there were also a small number from industry, the local education authority and the Technikons. The group included about 20 students who joined in with considerable enthusiasm and some very constructive criticism. I was very pleased with the meeting, in terms of the number of people who came and the level of participation, interest and commitment. I look forward to the other regional meetings and will do my best to attend them all, as will Dr Prins Nevhutalu of NRF. More details, of the Western Cape Meeting and the process, are available on the SAIP web page at http://www.sun.ac.za/physics/saip/comments.htm ---------------------------------------------- 6. A Black Postgraduate View of Physics Education In township schools, i.e former DET schools, school kids lack or have no knowledge of Physical Sciences; teachers don't have proper training. Some teachers feel insecure; they just encourage their pupils to memorize the subject without understanding it. There are no laboratory demonstrations to help kids understand what they learned from the textbooks, as these schools don't have money to buy equipment. There is a misconception amongst the pupils that Physics is too difficult and abstract and girls think that Physics is purely a male-dominated field. This all leads to pupils not taking Physical Sciences at high schools (and therefore Physics at tertiary institutions) and high failure rates in matric. UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: First year students find the subject too abstract and there is now a huge gap between high school Physical Science and university Physics. Some students are scared to take a main stream Physics course because they say it is too mathematical and they take a conceptual Physics module instead as they feel that it doesn't demand a lot of hard work. The latter students can then do Zoology, Botany etc. Tutoring programmes do help at first year level since the students are really struggling to cope on their own. Only determined students pursue Physics studies at 2nd and 3rd year levels, but some can still find it difficult to get good marks because there are no tutors and they are now expected to work on their own. Some students study Physics just to get up the ladder of success - they don't really want to be Physicists, they end up in Information Technology and other fields because Physics helps one to think critically and logically. There is a general feeling amongst students that Physicis is not a well paid profession - students want to make money after finishing their studies to pay off TEFSA student loans etc. and to support their families as 90% of us come from poor families and our families become dependent on us. There are many students who are doing postgraduate degrees not because they are interested in Physics, but because they could not find jobs in industry or the academic sector as these places often consider people with experience in the field. Suggestions/Solutions: 1) To improve Physical Science teaching in schools. There is a great need of postgraduates and facilties like iThemba LABS, SAAO, Schonland etc. to help with running teachers workshops, Saturday schools, Winter/Summer schools. It is up to all of us to make a change and rescue all those brains. If we don't, we will end up with low numbers of Physics Postgraduates to train in these institutions. Dr Patricia Whitelock told me that the SAAO is running teachers workshops to address these problems. Well done SAAO staff; this world needs more people like you! 2) Touring of the facilities like SAAO, iThemba LABS etc. and the Grahamstown Science Festival plays the major role to attract kids to study Physics and to see that Physics is real in our everyday lives but that is not enough, something needs to be done in the classrooms. 3) Tutors/Mentors should encourage students to work in groups - to exchange ideas. They should only act as facilitators to help students to think logically and critically. 4) Industry must start to provide job opportunities for the graduates. People with more suggestions are encouraged to contact the secretary of the SAIP (jpadayachee@bonbon.net) or Judith directly (Ncapayi@tlabs.ac.za). ---------------------------------------------- 7. Postgraduate studies at Uniqwa In February 2002, UNIQWA registered the first postgraduate students in Physics - one Masters and two Honours students. Research activities will be done in collaboration with and with the kind assistance of UFS, UP and iThemba LABS. -- Dr EC Mortimer Materials Research Group iThemba LABS POBox 722 ZA-7129 SOMERSET WEST Phone: Int + (0)21 843 1153 Fax: Int + (0)21 843 3543