May 2005 Edition of the SAIP Newsletter Editor: Judith Ncapayi (ncapayi@tlabs.ac.za) (A) Science Education Project Diane Grayson : dgrayson@absamail.co.za Diane Grayson has resigned from UNISA and has created a consultancy called Andromeda Science Education. Some of the areas in which she can offer assistance are: - Curriculum development. -Design and implementation of educational programmes and projects. -Design and development of educational materials. -Staff development. -Bridging and foundation programmes. -Evaluation of projects and programmes. -Writing scientific and technical material that is accessible to the public. (B) The Men’s Health magazine annual competition : Science and Technology category. Justine Burgess : stratek@pixie.co.za Stratek Business Strategy Consultancy The magazine Men's Health has an annual competition for the best men in South Africa. There are seven categories in the competition, one of which is Science and Technology. In the April edition of the magazine the names of ten nominees in each category were published and readers were invited to vote. Dr Kemm was one of the nominees. He has now been selected for the final four. He will be flown to Cape Town on 26 May for a gala dinner at the Arabella Sheraton for the final phase of the competition. Dr Kemm runs his own consultancy practice in Pretoria: Stratek Business Strategy Consultancy. He is also Managing Director of the Silver Protea Nuclear Consortium. For more information about Dr Kemm's work please visit www.stratek.co.za and www.weyerafrica.co.za (C) WHERE HAVE OUR STUDENTS GONE? Dr Nithaya Chetty : chettyn@ukzn.ac.za University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg Following a recommendation in the "Shaping the Future of Physics" report by the International Panel, Council is embarking on a project to list on its website "Where have our students gone?" To this end, we are requesting information from academics along the following lines, which no doubt, will prove to be a good advertising opportunity for your research group and your department: (1) Year: Graduation year from 1995 onwards (2) Institution: e.g. University of KwaZulu-Natal (3) Highest degree: BSc (Hons), MSc or PhD in physics (4) Field of Study: Only applicable for MSc and PhD students, e.g. Computational Solid State Physics, Physics Education, etc. (5) Abbreviated thesis title (where applicable): Only applicable for MSc and PhD students (6) Name of Supervisor(s): This should be a good advertisement for the supervisor(s) (7) Where currently employed: Just the name of the company will do. (8) Job title: e.g. computer systems administrator, electronics technician, etc (9) Comments: Optional. Give some pertinent information about the actual job description. It is not ethical for us to give the name and Contact details of the actual graduate. Please submit the information, in this format, of as many recent graduates as possible. I will use a perl script to extract the information, to order the data according to the year of graduation and to post the details on the SAIP website. We trust that you will seize this opportunity to expose the general physics public - especially our students - to the recent success stories of your department. Please email the information to chettyn@ukzn.ac.za with Subject: Where have our students gone? It will help if each department submitted a single comprehensive listing. (D) Launch of Science Center at NWU, Potchefstroom campus Jan Smit : fskjjas@puknet.puk.ac.za North-West University, Potchefstroom campus The important role science centers can play in the modern society has been recognized by the South African Government and the document "Proposed Norms and Standards for a Network of Science Centers in South Africa", has been submitted to Cabinet for approval. The document proposes a network of science centers, spread over South Africa, that cooperate by exchanging ideas, exhibitions and staff in order to function optimally. The Science Center at NWU, Potchefstroom, was built and equipped with a grant from DST supplemented by the University and will fit in with the national network of Science centers and strive for the same goals. The center has the full support of the faculties of Natural Sciences, Engineering, Health and Educational Sciences. A well-equipped workshop and electronics department manufacture apparatus may assist other centers with manufacturing. For young and old participation in the activities offered at the center will be fun and exciting, with visitors performing hands-on experiments (presented in a simple manner) with the aim of understanding important concepts in science. Educators will be invited to bring their classes to the center to study specific topics in science, mathematics and technology. Provision is made for coverage of the New Science curriculum. (E) Report from the Unit for Space Physics Ocker C. de Jager : fskocdj@puk.ac.za North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) in Namibia opened a new window on the Universe by showing that the Milky Way is dotted with resolved very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray sources in a narrow band along the galactic plane. Before the H.E.S.S. era, the VHE sky was quite empty. This discovery demonstrates that particle accelerators to energies well above 10 TeV are formed in our Milky Way. This discovery also demonstrates that Astroparticle Physics finally joined the ranks of Astronomy. See the Physicsweb url at: http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/9/3/16/1/050316 Prof. Okkie de Jager from the North-West University just returned from Paris where he gave an Invited Review Talk on Pulsars, Pulsar Winds and how to interpret the energy spectra of these gamma-ray sources at an International Conference on future ground based gamma-ray telescopes. Prof. Christo Raubenheimer, also from North-West University, was on the Scientific Organising Committee of this Conference. (F) Biophotonics Workshop in Stellenbosch: Christine M. Steenkamp : cmstein@sun.ac.za Laser Research Institute, University of Stellenbosch The Laser Research Institute, University of Stellenbosch will be hosting a Biophotonics Workshop on 20 May 2005. The aim is to bring together biologists and physicists in the Western Cape who are interested in biophotonics or any applications of light and lasers in biological and bio-medical research. Dr. Raymond Sparrow, who is leading the biophotonics initiative at the National Laser Centre in Pretoria, will be the keynote speaker. More information can be obtained at http://www.physics.sun.ac.za/lasers/institute/index.html (click: Photonics Events). Please contact Dr. Christine Steenkamp (e-mail: cmstein@sun.ac.za, telephone 021-808-33374) to sign up for the workshop. (G) The African Conference of Physics Students (ACPS) Oke, Olumuyiwa Oladunni : okeolumuyiwa@physics.org (Chairman of the ACPS2005 Organising Committee) Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Oyo State, Nigeria. The African Conference of Physics Students (ACPS) is an initiative that came as a result of the quest for the development of physics in Africa. The ACPS 2005 shall be held on the 15th to 18th November 2005 in Abuja, Nigeria. This conference is aimed at African undergraduate and postgraduate students studying physics and related disciplines from around the world. However, international participants are welcomed to participate in the conference that will in turn promote the relations between students from all over the world. ACPS2005 will be centered on the theme "The Development of Physics in Africa". The proposed scientific program shall comprise of seven plenary lectures, three invited talks, twenty-five contributed papers and posters. However a memorial lecture and exhibition on Albert Einstein will be staged to celebrate 2005 as the International Year of Physics. Funding shall be available to few students who are in need of financial support to aid their participation in the ACPS2005. The funding shall be provided to cover the registration and accommodation costs. Downloadable application forms shall be available online at the conference website; priority shall be given to participants who will present either a paper or a poster. For more information please contact the chairman of the ACPS2005 (Oke, Olumuyiwa Oladunni, e-mail okeolumuyiwa@physics.org) or visit the conference website : http://www.ibe.tu-berlin.de/ACPS/ South African Institute of Physics ************************************************** Postnet Suite 228, Private Bag X10, MUSGRAVE, 4062, South Africa Tel: +27 (0) 31 260 1663 Fax: +27 (0) 31 261 6550 URL: http://www.saip.org.za/ Disclaimer: The content of this e-mail message and all attachments does not necessarily reflect the views of the SAIP.