SAIP Newsletter - February 2004 (A) From the Editor Miss Judith Ncapayi (ncapayi@tlabs.ac.za) and Manfred Hellberg (Hellberg@nu.ac.za) (B) Changing the SAIP Annual conference Dr Patricia Whitelock (paw@saao.ac.za) (C) SAIP matters Miss J. Padayachee (secretary@saip.org.za) (D) Advice to oral presenters at SAIP (and elsewhere!) Prof Japie Engelbrecht (phajae@upe.ac.za) (E) Conference/workshop announcements : (i) 16th Chris Engelbrecht Theoretical Physics summer school Dr N. Chetty (chettyn@nu.ac.za) & Prof. WD Heiss (dieter@physics.sun.ac.za) (ii) SAIP conference & Condensed Matter Physics and Material Sciences Workshop Prof Hendrik Swart (swarthc.sci@mail.uovs.ac.za) (iii) Minerals Workshop Dr Lutz Ackermann ( lutza@unorth.ac.za ) (iv) International Physics education conference D.J Grayson (Graysdj@unisa.ac.za) (v) COSPAR Workshop for African Astronomers Prof Arthur Hughes (hughes@nu.ac.za) (F) UPE Physicist wins award for "Most Exceptional Presentation" Prof Jan Neethling (phajhn@upe.ac.za) (G) UPE Physicist invited to give lecture at international conference Dr Ernest van Dyk( phaevd@upe.ac.za) (H) Applied (environmental) Physics project at North West University Nnenesi A Kgabi (kgabin@uniwest.ac.za ) (I) Report on the 9th international symposium on Radiation Physics (ISRP-9) and workshop on radiation based analytical techniques. Dr D. Jones (jones@tlabs.ac.za) _______________________________________ (A) From the editor It is with great sadness that I have to announce the passing of one of South Africa's first medical physicists. The obituary of Dr Phil de Valencè was forwarded to our organisation by Manfred Hellberg from the 'Daily News', (the local paper in Durban) on 29/01/04. Dr. Phil de Valencè passed away during the weekend of 24th January 2004 at the San Sereno Clinic in Bryanston, north of Johannesburg. Dr. de Valencè was South Africa's first medical physicist and the first to develop a radioactive machine for cancer treatment in the early 1950's. He held BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Natal and a number of engineering certificates from various institutions and was also the first South African to obtain a doctorate in physics applied to medicine. He was also involved in the negotiations with the then SA Medical and Dental Council which saw South Africa become the first country to open a special register for medical physicists. He held Certificate number 1 on the register. de Valencè was also the first to inaugurate and develop the Department of Medical Physics at Johannesburg General Hospital, as it was formerly known, and the University of the Witwatersrand. He spent 23 years at both institutions, retiring in 1985. He was awarded a doctorate in Medical Physics by the University of London and, as founder of the SA Association of Physicists in Medicine and Biology, he represented it at the newly formed International Organisation for Medical Physics in Harrogate, England, in 1964. He is survived by his wife, Patricia. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + (B). Changing the SAIP Annual Conference The council have set up a committee to look very broadly at the format of the annual conference; it comprises the following people: Nithaya Chetty, SAIP Council and U. KZN, Hendrik Geyer, U. Stellenbosch, Harm Moraal, SAIP Council U. Potchefstroom, Patricia Whitelock, SAIP Council and SAAO (chair), and Phil Anagnostaras, from Element 6, as a consultant Our deliberations will be conducted by email and we are very interested in input from the membership on any aspect of the conference. We are interested in your comments on the points noted below, but there may be other aspects that you would like to bring to our attention. Our initial deadline is 18 February 2004, but it likely that we will go on discussing the matter well after that - so please send in your contribution any time up to June 2004, but the sooner the better The following concerns have been expressed, or suggestions made, about the annual conference: 1). It is an academic exercise with (largely) university physicists talking to each other - it would be very desirable to involve physicists in industry and commerce and use the conference to encourage "conversation" between academic and industrial physicists. This has various facets: (i) we would like to see SAIP supporting physicists much more broadly than it is at present, particularly those outside of the academic world; (ii) it could give students some real insight on the range of jobs available to them, and students form an increasing fraction of the delegates; (iii) it will provide opportunities for collaborations between industry and academia; (iv) it should give those employing physicists an opportunity to provide critical input on the skills and knowledge they would like to see their future employees; So the questions we should ask are: 1.1 How do we make the conferences attractive to none academic physicists? 1.2. How do we encourage/facilitate interactions between the "academic" and the "industrial/commercial"? 2). Should we be publishing the proceedings on the web? Would this make the conference more or less attractive to you? Would it be more/less attractive to your students? 3). Should we have a Scientific Organizing Committee (possibly a separate one for each subgroup) taking a much higher level of responsibility for making choices among the papers offered for presentation, on the grounds of content, relevance, originality, etc. while taking into account representativity etc.? A particular problem is the inadequate time for discussion after most presentations - and discussion is one of the main objectives of having a conference. Reducing the total number of presentations through selection as suggested above could help immensely. 4). The attendance by senior academic physicists is poor, particularly from some universities. Without reopening the debate on the time of the conference what can be done about this? 5). Do we want to continue with parallel sessions divided according to sub-discipline? If so do we want this for the full 3 days or might a different procedure be used for, e.g. one or two days of the meeting? 6). It is becoming increasingly difficult for a single physics department to host an SAIP conference, can we look at doing this better by region than by individual institution? What can we do to make this easier an more attractive - note that we do not simply have money to through at the problem. (C). SAIP matters (i) De Beers Gold Medal 2004 The next De Beers Gold Medal will be awarded in 2004. Nominations may be sent to the Secretary before 16h00 on 27 February 2004. Full details on the award may be found at: http://www.saip.org.za/AwardsGold.html (ii) Council Meetings The next meeting of the SAIP Council will be held on 20 February 2004 at the University of Bloemfontein. Items for discussion may be sent to the Secretary at least 10 days before the meeting. (iii) Upcoming Conferences Details of upcoming conferences/workshops can be found at: http://www.saip.org.za/Conferences.html. If you would like your conference/workshop advertised on the SAIP website, please forward details to the Secretary. (iv) SAIP Logo Competition The competition closed on 31 January 2004. The judging process is under way. Please visit the website for regular updates. (v) Shaping the Future of Physics in South Africa The project that was initiated by the SAIP and supported by the NRF and DST is nearing the crucial phase where the International Panel will be engaging with the physics community during the period: 8 - 19 March 2004. Final arrangements are underway in respect of the site visits that have been scheduled. Unfortunately not all institutions or cities in South Africa can be visited during the short period. The programme will be published shortly on the SAIP website. While it is impossible to invite every physicist to these sessions (they are all open sessions), physicists who wish to engage with the International Panel, and who might not have received an invitation from the Technical Committee or the local host, are encouraged to attend a session in their region. The composition of the International Panel is as follows: Prof Manfred A Hellberg, University of KwaZulu-Natal, SA (Convenor) Prof Krish Bharuth-Ram, University of KwaZulu-Natal,SA Prof Martial Ducloy, Universite Paris-Nord, France Dr Kenneth Evans-Lutterodt, Lucent Technologies, USA Prof S Jim Gates, University of Maryland, USA Dr Igle MA Gledhill, CSIR, SA Prof Guebre X `Tessema, NSF, USA Sir Arnold W Wolfendale, Royal Institution of Great Britain, UK The draft report (strategic plan) will be submitted on 19 March 2004 and the final report will be completed by early April. (vi) World Year of Physics 2005 The arrangements for the World Year of Physics 2005 are developing slowly. A number of individuals and organisations have committed themselves to the project. We would welcome the participation of all physicists. The American Physical Society will be having its March Conference (Meeting) in Montréal, Canada. In conjunction with the APS conference, the second preparatory WYP2005 conference will be held, focusing on international WYP2005 projects, examining problems and solutions for international projects, offering suggestions and tips on how groups and individuals can hold WYP2005 events. If any South African physicist plans to attend the APS meeting, it would appreciated if you would find the time to attend the WYP2005 session on 20-21 March, 2004. Please inform the Secretary if you are planning to attend the session. (D) Advice to oral presenters at SAIP (and elsewhere!) I was struck again at the recent SAIP Conference by the lack of certain skills of delegates delivering Oral presentations. And since the outgoing President of our society, Dr Patricia Whitelock, lamented the fact that many "senior" physicists do not attend the annual conferences to act as role models and mentors to young and upcoming physicists, I have taken it upon myself to share the little experience I have on oral presentations. (It is a great pity that many young presenters had already prepared their talks, before attending the wonderful satire by Dr Gillian Arendse (US) during the opening function, as he touched upon many of the pitfalls ! Perhaps he should repeat his presentation at future conferences ?!). The following are a few guidelines that will assist in improved oral presentations - even those at poster presentations : 1. PRACTICE your presentation before the conference !! This is particularly important to ensure that you stay within the allocated time. Presenters exceeding the allocated time are a chairperson's worst nightmare, apart from messing persons around who want to move between parallel sessions. It is also advisable to allow at least 2 minutes for questions. We are missing out on a lot of interaction with the current situation where oral presentations either exceed the allocated time, or finish dead on time. 2. It may be necessary, in view of 1 above, to cut some material from your presentation. Start by cutting the by-now-boringly-familiar "Outline of my talk". (These are, nowadays, all the same anyway, and if you have heard one, you have heard them all !!). Rather start with something refreshing like "The goal of my study was to ..". The whole audience knows what the outline of your talk is going to be (or should be). So CUT IT OUT !! 3. Another area where you can trim some material, is in the "Introduction". I have cringed at the recent SAIP conference to note how many delegates spend many, many minutes telling us a lot of useless information under this heading. And then had to rush like mad through the most important part of their talk, namely the results and conclusions. All that really is required is for the audience to know why you have done this study (and it is NOT "because my supervisor/promoter thought it was a good idea" - even if that is the truth ..), and some short outline of RELEVANT information, indicating where your work contribute or differ from previous knowledge. 4. Try to avoid huge tables, filled from the floor to the ceiling with data. (This holds for the introduction as well as the results). It may look impressive to you, but the poor audience is sitting there, wondering what they have done to have all this data dumped on them. If you cannot avoid using large tables, at least highlight, or outline, the most important facts. 5. Clear, concise conclusions are required to end your presentation on a high note. Again, due to time being wasted elsewhere ("Outline of my talk", etc.) these are often "flashed" upon the screen, while the Chairperson is desperately trying to get you to stop talking !! And while persons are walking out of the presentation to other presentations (or maybe in desperation ?). Finally, if you can get hold of a copy of the following articles, study them carefully : a) "Guidelines for Giving a Truly Terrible Talk", IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol NS-33, No. 4, August 1986, 1082 - 1083. b) "Advice to Beginning Physics Speakers", Physics Today, July 1991, 42 - 45. c) "How to succeed at conferences", Physics World, January 1997, 68. (E). Conference/workshop announcements : (i) 16th Chris Engelbrecht Theoretical Physics Summer School The 15th Chris Engelbrecht Summer school on "Nanoscale Physics" has taken place at the Alpine Heath Resort in the Drakensberg/Natal from 21 to 30 January 2004. The school was a full success. Details - including many pictures - can be picked up at http://www.sun.ac.za/summerschool/2004.html 16th Chris Engelbrecht Theoretical Physics Summer School: Advanced Scientific Computing - a focus on computational algorithm development for a wide range of physical problems The tentative dates for the above school are Wednesday 19 January 2005 until Friday 28 January 2005. Details will be posted on the web shortly. (ii) The 49th Annual SAIP Conference and the Condensed Matter Physics and Material Sciences Workshop The 49th Annual SAIP Conference and the Condensed Matter Physics and Material Sciences Workshop are scheduled to take place in Bloemfontein from 28 June to 2 July 2004. We are proud that the Conference is being organized by the Department of Physics at the University of the Free State, during the University's centenary year. This year is also the De Beers Golden Jubilee of the SAIP. Highly rated guests have been invited as plenary and non-specialist speakers. Amongst them are Profs. Eugene Parker (USA), Paul Holloway (USA), Bruce Sherwood (USA) Ruth Chabay (USA), Brian Holloway (USA), Edmund Taglauer (GERMANY), Dave Britton (UCT), Derck Smits (UNISA), Drs. Catherine Cress (UNP), Lucille Giannuzzi (USA), Kristian Müller-Nedebock (US), Frikkie Mostert (SOMCHEM), Pieter Kotze (Hermanus MO) and Claire Flanaghan (WITS). Your attendance and contributions in the form of oral and poster presentations will add to the success of the conference. This is definitely a conference not to be missed. The City of Roses will be rolling out the red carpet for the 2004 delegates. We look forward to welcoming you to Bloemfontein. A link to the conference website will be available on the SAIP's home page at the beginning of March 2004. For additional information contact: The Organisers Tel: 051 - 436 8145 Fax: 051-4366368 E-mail: congress@internext.co.za (iii) Call for papers : Minerals Workshop We are delighted to announce that this event will once more be hosted by Materials Modelling Centre at the University of the North. As in previous years we are expecting national and international participation from different disciplines (Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Mineralogy / Mining and Engineering) and backgrounds (academic / industrial). As a special highlight we have decided to devote ½ day to a Minerals Workshop, which will be part of our conference program (Thu, 1 Apr afternoon). Alternatively you may visit the workshop only, if you wish. Within South Africa, this annual event has become a unique forum for researchers interested in or actively involved in the practical application of various modelling techniques. You may use the poster (downloadable from our conference website, http://mmc.unorth.ac.za/MMM) to announce this event to the scientific community at your Department / institute / research group. To register, please fax or mail the form (see website) or e-mail the corresponding information as plain text file. Deadline for registration and abstracts is 12 March. For more information contact : Lutz Ackermann, Dr. rer. nat.(TUM), Deputy Director Materials Modelling Centre School of Physical and Mineral Sciences University of the North, Private Bag X1106 Sovenga / Polokwane 0727 Limpopo Province, Republic of South Africa lutza@unorth.ac.za Phone: (+27) - 15 - 268 3424 (or -3269) FAX: (+27) - 15 - 268 3268 mobile: (+27) - 72 - 348 7010 (iv) International Physics Education Conference, Durban, 5-8 July 2004 There will be an international physics education conference from 5-8 July 2004 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, sponsored jointly by the ICPE and SAIP. The theme is "What Physics Should We Teach". The conference will look at various aspects of what should go into physics courses at both secondary and tertiary levels. For further information go to: http://www.interaction.nu.ac.za/ICPE2004/ (v) COSPAR Workshop for African Astronomers Data Processing from the Chandra and XMM-Mewton Space Missions. An Advanced School for Astronomers working at all wavelengths. Topics are : Galaxy clusters and groups, Active Galactic Nuclei, Galactic Sources, X-ray binaries, neutron stars, black holes, supernova remnants X-ray emission from hot plasmas http://www.nu.ac.za/department/members/members.asp?dept=physicsdund&id=64860 (F) UPE Physicist wins award for "Most Exceptional Presentation" The UPE physics department was again well represented at the recent annual conference of the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa held at the University of Cape Town during December 2003. Three physics staff members and 5 postgraduate students presented papers at the conference. Profs Japie Engelbrecht and Jan Neethling and Dr Pearl Berndt acted as session chairs and both Profs Engelbrecht and Neethling were elected as executive committee members of the Microscopy Society of SA for 2004. Professor Jan Neethling received the 2003 Wirsam Tescan Prize for the most exceptional presentation at the conference. His paper entitled "High resolution transmission electron microscopy investigation of the low temperature phase of platinum-aluminium intermetallic precipitates in a platinum matrix", focuses on the application of high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and computer simulation to determine the low temperature phase of platinum-aluminium precipitates. The HRTEM results were obtained during a recent visit of Prof Neethling to the University of Antwerp in Belgium. The aim of this investigation, which is done for Mintek as part of a UPE PhD project of Mr Alistair Douglas, is to produce new platinum-base superalloy analogues for use in jet turbine engines. (G) UPE Physicist invited to give lecture at international conference Dr Ernest van Dyk from the department of Physics was invited to read a paper on photovoltaic characterisation at the 14th Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference in Bangkok, Thailand (27 Jan - 1 Feb 2004). Dr van Dyk is the leader of the photovoltaic research group at UPE. The paper, entitled "Testing and Characterization of Photovoltaic Modules in South Africa", focuses on the work that the group has done in recent years, and discusses the characterisation techniques used and developed by the group. (H) Applied (environmental) Physics project at North West University Air pollution is one of the major environmental problems in the North West Province, particularly in the mining and mineral smelter areas such as Rustenburg, Madibeng and Klerksdorp. Mining operations and dump dust is also a health hazard. The problem of availability of data on air pollutants, as highlighted in the 2002 State of the Environment Report for the North West Province, emphasizes the need for direct quantification of air pollutants such as air particulate matter in the province. The Physics Department at the North West University is currently engaged in a three-year project to determine the levels of toxic metals (Cr, Ni, V, Pb) air particulate matter around the Rustenburg and Klerksdorp mining (industrial) areas. Students participating in the study are allocated projects dealing with: 1. Determining the levels of toxic metals of air particulate matter using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), 2. Determining of the levels of air particulate matter using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). 3. The relationship between the levels of toxic metals and the size of air particulate matter. 4. The impact of toxic metals of air particulate matter on cancer - related cases. 5. The study of children's personal exposure to the levels of toxic metals of air particulate matter. The overall project is intended to address problems related to data availability, the need for direct quantification of air pollutants, lack of provincial co-ordination as far as setting of proper standards for the operation and calibration of monitoring equipment, health hazards e.g. asthma, sinus, cancer, etc. linked to Cr, Ni, V, Pb, and the high levels of atmospheric pollution. Beneficiaries and stakeholders for this project include communities in the mining areas of the province, provincial and local environment authorities, North West University, mining and smelting companies, and non-governmental organisations like the North West Ecoforum. The project has attracted funding from The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and the NRF. The principal researcher for this project has already presented a proposal and obtained a certificate for best presentation at the 10th joint student symposium between Stellenbosch, Wits and Potchefstroom Universities in December 2003. (I) Report on the 9th international symposium on Radiation Physics (ISRP-9) and workshop on radiation based analytical techniques, Cape Town, 24-31 October 2003 The triennial 9th International Symposium on Radiation Physics (ISRP-9) was held in Cape Town from 27-31 October 2003. The Symposium was the latest one in a series which began in Calcutta in 1974 and thereafter continued in Penang (1982), Ferrara (1985), São Paulo (1988), Dubrovnik (1991), Rabat (1994), Jaipur (1997) and Prague (2000). A 2½ day Workshop on Radiation Based Analytical Techniques was held immediately prior to ISRP-9 (24-26 October 2003). Both events were organised and coordinated jointly by the International Radiation Physics Society (IRPS) and iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (iThemba LABS). The Organizing Committee of the 9th International Symposium on Radiation Physics and the Workshop on Radiation Based Analytical Techniques observed the basic policy of non-discrimination and affirmed the right and freedom of scientists to associate in international activity without regard to such factors as citizenship, religion, creed, political stance, ethnic origin, race, colour, language, age or sex, in accordance with the Statutes of the International Council of Science (ICSU). At the Symposium and Workshop no barriers existed which prevented the participation of bona fide scientists. The Symposium and Workshop were generously sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), iThemba LABS, the National Research Foundation (NRF), the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), the International Center for Diffraction Data (ICDD) and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA). The sponsorship received was used entirely to support financially the attendance of delegates (mainly African). A total of 40 delegates were supported: from small contributions to registration fees to full sponsorship. There were 153 delegates from 39 countries who attended the Workshop and ISRP-9. It was very pleasing that there were so many (65%) from developing countries and especially from Africa. Naturally the majority of delegates were from South Africa. Globally it has been a difficult period recently with terrorism, war, the economic downturn and the threat of SARS. However, the presence of 76 delegates from outside Africa affirmed the commitment of scientists to foster international goodwill and communication. The Workshop was opened by Prof John Sharpey-Schafer, Director of iThemba LABS, while ISRP-9 was opened by Dr Khotso Mokhele, President of the National Research Foundation. The programmes for both ISRP-9 and the Workshop covered a wide variety of topics. The speakers were scientists of international repute who provided the basis for stimulating discussion and vigorous debate. The Workshop was an innovation for these international symposia and the number of delegates who attended indicated that it was a great success, a notable forum for learning and a template for the future. The generosity of all the invited speakers, who agreed to pay their registration fees, enabled the Organizing Committee to reduce the costs for delegates from developing countries which contributed in no small way to the significant attendance of delegates from these countries. The international Workshop on Radiation Based Analytical Techniques (24-26 October), held at iThemba LABS, was attended by 73 delegates. It was aimed at scientists and technologists involved in industrial and academic research and development who wished to familiarize themselves with the capability and relevance of the full range of radiation based techniques available to analyze and characterize materials. The emphasis was on x-ray fluorescence, x-ray diffraction and particle-induced x-ray emission. In addition the Workshop also attracted postgraduate students desirous of becoming conversant with modern techniques of materials analysis and applications. The programme of 22 lectures, which was given by a team of leading international scientists drawn mainly from Africa and Australasia, covered all the fundamental scattering and absorption techniques with x-ray, neutron, proton and electron probes. The first day was focused on the basic properties of the various probes and described how specific analytical problems could be matched to the most appropriate methods. On the second day demonstrations were given (at the iThemba LABS' van der Graaff accelerator facility) of the application of several radiation based methods to individual problems ranging from trace element analysis and structure identification in minerals and industrial products to the study of wide-ranging environmental and conservation issues. On the third day there was a special tutorial session, sponsored by the International Center for Diffraction Data (ICDD), on the analysis of powder diffraction data using the Rietveld technique. The tutorial was given by Profs B J Kennedy (University of Sydney) and D C Creagh (University of Canberra) in the iThemba LABS' Computer Laboratory and attended by 22 delegates. Prof Kennedy's trip was partially sponsored by the ICDD. A CD containing the PowerPoint presentations and The Rietveld tutorial was distributed to all attendees. The 9th International Symposium on Radiation Physics (27-31 October) was held at the spectacular Protea Hotel President located on the beachfront at Bantry Bay and was attended by 146 delegates. The scientific programme consisted of both oral and poster sessions. The oral sessions included both invited and contributed papers. The latter were selected by the Prize Committee from among the poster submissions for which the presenting authors had indicated their willingness to present the papers orally. There were two such categories in which the best papers in each were selected: a general one and one for bona fide graduate students. Students were encouraged to participate in the process as the oral presenters each received a monetary prize. The best presenter in the general category also received a monetary prize. The topics covered in the Symposium included all aspects of radiation physics (including non-ionizing radiation) encompassing, but not limited to: fundamental processes, sources and detectors, physical and material sciences, medicine and biology, space, earth and environmental sciences and technology and industrial applications. A total of 23 invited papers were delivered by speakers from 13 different countries. Six proffered poster presentations in the general category and four in the student category were chosen for oral presentation. A total of 104 posters were presented in 3 poster sessions. The refereed texts of the oral papers and extended abstracts of the poster presentations will be published in a special issue of the journal Radiation Physics and Chemistry. There is no doubt that both meetings were resounding successes from both the social and scientific point of view and benefited a large number of African scientists and students who were able to learn from foremost authorities about the latest techniques, research and developments in the wide-ranging field of radiation physics. Hopefully the knowledge gained will enable them to enhance their careers and impart their knowledge to young Africans, which will ultimately be of benefit to South Africa and other African countries. The meetings also served to showcase South African science and technology in the international arena which has potential for attracting financial support and promoting collaborative projects. *************************************