SAIP Newsletter : August 2005 Editor: Judith Ncapayi (ncapayi@tlabs.ac.za) (1) Women in Physics Ben Rootman (ben@junxionpr.co.za) Junxion Communications For more info : South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement Ina Roos (roosi@saasta.ac.za) In celebrating Women’s Month and in recognition of women's scientific achievements, the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) is sharing women physicists’ love of physics as a way of bringing the world of physics and the realisation of a possible career in physics a step closer. Physics can be fun and is an essential part of everyday life. Across South Africa scientists and communicators are working towards inspiring a new generation of scientists as part of the International Year of Physics 2005, as declared by the United Nations. (1.1) Jaynie Padayachee carrying the torch for women in Physics in KwaZulu-Natal Jaynie Padayachee is studying for her PhD in physics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is working on a project that involves the development of a computer program that automatically analyzes images for the detection of tumours in mammograms - x-ray images of the breast. This will be useful for the detection of breast cancer. “The software written will contribute to the current computer-based methods to improve early detection of breast cancer since successful treatment of breast cancer relies on early detection. I can explain to anyone, even if they have never heard of physics, what the project is about since everyone knows about computers and breast cancer.” Padayachee says she hopes to apply her physics skills to solving problems in the real world, not in some ideal laboratory. She says that her aim is to make at least one person’s life a little bit easier. In terms of attracting students to the physics environment she says all learners should be encouraged to study physics. “Most importantly, physics must not be sold as a ‘genius’ subject. The abstract nature of physics teaches students to handle abstract problems and they are then better equipped to tackle problems of any kind from any sector.” (1.2) Four women carrying the torch for women in physics in the Western Cape (a) Zinhle Buthelezi is a Physics Researcher at iThemba Labs. “Independently and as a member of a team I do new and original experimental investigations of an applied and basic nature. I also plan and set up experimental equipment and perform calculations with various sophisticated nuclear models, statistical and mathematical methods. Furthermore, I am involved in the development and training of young scientists and supervise nuclear physics postgraduates. “South Africa has many remarkable physicists. Given opportunities, funding and support, the figures will go up. A recent report from an international reviewing committee has shown that the country has the necessary infrastructure, good laboratories as well as the expertise. This is a winning combination for a bright and promising future,” she says. (b) Patricia Whitelock is an astronomer at the South African Astronomical Observatory. She has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of SA, a member of the Academy of Sciences of SA and an Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society in the UK. “Research is the exciting side of being an astrophysicist. I am investigating stars that would once have been rather like our sun, but which are now nearing the ends of their lives. This is a very poorly understood phase of stellar evolution, but very important because it is by this process that much of the carbon in the universe, which is so important for life, is distributed and becomes available for the next generation of stars and planets. “I am extremely fortunate to be paid for doing almost exactly the same job as I would do if I were extremely rich.” Whitelock says astronomy in particular has been identified as an area in which South Africa has strategic advantages. “The government is therefore supporting it at a relatively high level. This is a visionary political move that makes a very powerful statement about how the country sees its future – as a world-class player. This is a good time and place to be a physicist, particularly an astrophysicist.” (c) Delia Marshall is Associate Professor in the Physics Department of the University of the Western Cape. She received a National Research Foundation President’s Award for promising young researchers in 2001. This award is made to young researchers who, according to their peers, have the potential to become world leaders in their field. “I teach physics to undergraduate students and I enjoy the challenge of changing students’ attitudes towards physics. My research in physics education looks at how university students learn physics and why many experience difficulties with learning physics.” Marshal says the future of physics in South Africa depends crucially on widening participation in the discipline to maximise the pool of talent, notably to attract more female and black students. “The drop in students enrolling for physics is a worldwide problem. We need to learn from curriculum reforms elsewhere in the world that have succeeded to boost student enrolment levels, and to draw a more diverse range of students into physics. Students need to be made aware of the breadth of career opportunities that physics studies can open up.” (d) Christine Steenkamp is a lecturer in Physics at the University of Stellenbosch. She received a Women in Science Fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology in 2003 that allowed her to spend six months at a research institute in the USA as a postdoctoral research associate. “I do research in the field of laser physics. At the Laser Research Institute we use lasers to investigate the properties of different materials – from single gas molecules to crystals and fruit skins. “Physics and physicists will be contributing much to the scientific and technological development in South Africa in the next decade and thereafter. Complementary to basic research in physics, there will probably be a move towards interdisciplinary research where principles of physics are applied in completely different fields of investigation such as biology or electronics,” says Steenkamp. (1.3) Five women carrying the torch for women in physics in Gauteng (a) Igle Gledhill is a scientist at the CSIR. She is also a Fellow of Defencetek, a CSIR division that concentrates on peace, defence, and security. She is the president of the SA Association for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, which brings together professors, students and industrialists who work on fluid and structural problems. “The team I work with tries to understand rapidly manoeuvring aircraft. In aeronautics, it’s difficult to predict how air will behave as it flows over an aircraft near the speed of sound, because the flow is complicated by shocks and turbulence. However, predictions are still needed by the engineers to understand aircraft safety and performance, and they need the calculations of lift and drag. “In the biotechnology field, my job in the team is to use computer models to gain insight into how enzymes might be inhibited, especially those enzymes that are active in infectious diseases.” Gledhill believes good science systems underpin growing economies. “Physics is one of the most challenging and rewarding of the sciences. Unfortunately, many young people have been held back in their natural wish to pursue the sciences as a career. For the country to benefit, the actors in physics need to plan to attract and retain the most imaginative scientists of the century. This can be achieved by triggering exciting flagship projects, the opportunity to work with the best people, and the ability to make a difference at home.” (b) Mmantsae Diale is studying towards her PhD degree in Physics at the University of Pretoria. Her field of study is the physics of semiconductors, and in particular III-Nitrides semiconductors. “Physics forms the basis of technology. What physicists work on today, will be of benefit to everyone several years later. Physics stimulates your thinking skills. You become multi-talented and you are employable in many areas of analytical thinking. “She admires Marie Curie, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize - in Physics - in 1903. “It is concerning that the last woman in physics to receive a Nobel Prize was Lisa Meitner who did so in 1963, for work done in 1937. Both women shared their prizes with men and both worked in the field of radio activity,” says Diale. (c) Diane Grayson is Professor Extraordinaire in the Physics Department at the University of Pretoria. (And running her own consultancy) The first part of her job involves researching the difficulties people have in learning physics and developing teaching approaches that help them understand physics better. The second part involves implementing the research through a variety of means, including workshops, courses and programmes. “I run a foundation programme for talented but under prepared black students who want to become science professionals, assisting lecturers in science, engineering, medicine and agriculture to improve their curricula and teaching approaches.” Grayson says physics can do a lot for South Africa and the country has the potential to produce many good physicists. Prerequisites are to improve school-based physics so that students find it interesting and can use it to learn fundamental concepts and important thinking skills, and have an adequate supply of funding for research and development. (d) Marjorie Mujaji is a senior lecturer in the School of Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand. Mujaji, who originally hails from Zimbabwe, was awarded the first Wits African Scholars Visiting Fellowship in 1996. “I am involved in laser spectroscopy, presently pursuing two projects. One is using a dye laser to selectively excite optically active impurities or inclusions in transparent crystalline hosts. This work finds applications in areas such as optical storage, medicine and underwater communication. The other is using Raman scattering spectroscopy to study the superionic behaviour of solids. This has possible applications in electrochemical devices.” Mujaji says many of the modern technologies are physics driven and learners are exposed to some of these at an early age. This brings curiosity, awareness and can even generate interest in the subject. “If nurtured properly, these qualities lead to a desire to pursue a physics-related career. Teachers play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between mere curiosity and a deep interest in the subject,” she says. (e) Sharmila Goedhart is an astronomer at the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory. “The type of star I study is not visible to the naked eye, so I use radio waves. Studies of how the largest stars in the galaxy are born are starting to give astronomers insight into the basic processes taking place in star formation. Understanding star formation will help us understand how our solar system was formed. “We live in very exciting times. There are so many opportunities that I can't even imagine where we will be in a few years time. I am certain of one thing though - we cannot make great progress unless we have more scientists on our teams. The days of a single scientist working in isolation are coming to an end. There is just too much data coming in for one person to handle it all,” says Goedhart. (2) Launch of Women in Physics in South Africa 2005 Mmantsae Diale ( mdiale@postino.up.ac.za ) The minister of Science and Technology, Mosebudi Mangena, in his speech to official opening of the SAIP conference and Einstein year celebrations, announced the Launch of the Women in Physics (WIPSA) as part of the celebrations. Many of us were surprised, but encouraged by this announcement. It is indeed a breakthrough for a profession that has laid a foundation for great technology advancement and progress: Fast cellular phones, fast computers, wireless technology, detection of killer viruses and detection of missile plumes. This is a result of a proposal that was written in 2004 to Launch Women in Physics in South Africa, so as to have a program to deal with issues that affect women in physics. These issues are: Attracting girls into physics, launching a successful physics career, advancing women in physics leadership structures and balancing family and career. This proposal is also a step to follow up on the WIP Paris Report and Shaping the Future of Physics in South Africa. Indeed when asked about the Launch of WIPSA by particularly men, it is good to acknowledge that it is agreed upon by many who want to see physics as a top career that our young men also need support, and the issues that make women not to succeed, also affect men, particularly the young and restless. I must say that young white males believe that they do not have any place in South Africa while the young black men feel that they are being sidelined because they come from historically disadvantaged institutions. The 2005 SAIP conference had a special session called Women in Physics. This session had two presentations and one realized during the presentation and question time that there is commitment from the physics community to support the issues that affect all physicists. A steering committee has already started with the conference preparations, which will be in November. As it was announced during SAIP 2005, the conference cannot be in August due to preparation logistics. The final date and venue will be finalized soon. There will be a pre-Launch workshop at the University of Pretoria in September and a few men and women have been identified to guide the Launch program. For statistics of all physicists in South Africa, please send me an email to update the list. All that is needed is your title, name and surname, institution (academic, research centres, hospitals and industry) where you are working or studying, and your highest degree. Please send email to: mdiale@postino.up.ac.za (3) International year of Physics projects Ginny Stone ( stone@tlabs.ac.za) iThemba LABS The Department of Science and Technology allocated R250,000.00 funding to the following projects which were proposed and designed by Ginny Stone (a member of the National IYP2005 Steering Committee) from iThemba LABS : (a) The IYP 2005 poster – this took the form of a calendar for the year, advertising all the different events planned. These were distributed to 13,000 high schools throughout the country, as well as in science centres and libraries. (b) Pocket-sized periodic table of elements – these were printed in colour on a type of plastic material – very durable. 100,000 were distributed during National Science Week to South African learners. (c) An A1 poster about the life of Albert Einstein (although this was funded by iThemba LABS). (d) Siyabonga Einstein! - A short song about the life of Albert Einstein – aimed at the youth. GS wrote the lyrics and the music was written by Sue Rijsdijk. The vocals and marimba band was done by learners from Pinelands North Primary School. David Muller acted as Einstein, and various youngsters from different schools and universities took part in the video. (This is available in different formats – DVD, CD, mp3, mpeg.) The overall effect is rather good and apart from distributing it to schools and science centres, we are trying to get it played on TV and Radio stations throughout the country (if anybody has connections – please speak up!). (e) The Phat Physics Game – this is a board game developed especially for IYP 2005. Science question-based, dice driven, the aim is to get cards that spell “IYP2005”. Although not all of the cards have questions – some are wild - some cannot be kept, some tell you to help yourself to the opposing team’s cards. This game is aimed at high school learners and can be played individually or in teams. So far, it has been extremely successful – both educators and learners alike have a great time playing it. It stimulates discussion, team playing and lively debate. Pupils are learning without even realizing it. 1000 games have been made. These are being distributed throughout the country – to science centres and schools. The poster, Siyabonga Einstein! and the Phat Physics Game can be obtained from: Ginny Stone (Stone@tlabs.ac.za) Please note - there are just not enough games to give them out to individuals for private use – funding is being sought to produce more games, as well as a junior school version. (4) Celebrating the International Year of Physics at the NMMU Prof Japie Engelbrecht ( japie.engelbrecht@nmmu.ac.za) Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University At the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the International Year of Physics is enthusiastically celebrated by the activities of the newly formed Cosmology Society, housed in and supported by the Department of Physics. The “Cosmos” society originated at the end of 2004, when planned activities of the department of Physics (originally of UPE) and the department of Mathematical Sciences (originally of PE Technikon) converged with the goal of undergraduate Physics students who shared a desire to form a vibrant Science Society. Two telescopes of the department at PET, and a talk on cosmology by Mr Pine Pienaar of the department of Fine Arts at PET, were the catalyst that spurred the students into forming the Cosmology society. Mr Justin Downey, 3rd year Physics student, is the Chair of the society, with Prof Jan Neethling of the NMMU Physics department and Mr Pine Pienaar of the NMMU Fine Arts department serving as the patrons of the society. Events this year started out with a visit to an ecologically-based farm, Noorspoort, in the district of Steyterville. This visit included a night of stargazing by the Executive committee of the Cosmos society and members of the staff of the NMMU, as well as presentations on geology and botany. The program for the rest of the year consists of a variety of lectures by students, hosted in the NMMU Physics department on a monthly basis. Exciting topics such as “The basics of telescopes” and “A history of Einstein” have already been presented, and the meetings, held in the evenings, are attended by members of the public of Port Elizabeth. A weekend visit to Kirkwood, to engage in stargazing, is planned for early August. Contact person: Prof Japie Engelbrecht japie.engelbrecht@nmmu.ac.za (5) Special Stamp to Celebrate World Year of Physics Prof Japie Engelbrecht ( Japie.Engelbrecht@nmmu.ac.za) Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University/Nelson Mandela Metropolitaanse Universiteit On 7 July 2005 the S.A. Post office issued a special stamp on a first day envelope to celebrate the World Year of Physics. On this day the SAIP also celebrated its 50th anniversary. Each participant at the conference banquet received a complementary copy of the stamp-on-cover. Additional free orders can be placed by paid-up members at the SAIP Treasurer at e-mail address : Japie.Engelbrecht@nmmu.ac.za . This will be on a first-come, first-served basis. (6) Medical Physics Internship Dr Dan Jones (Jones@tlabs.ac.za) iThemba LABS The Medical Radiation Group at iThemba LABS is offering a Medical Physics Internship for applicants with a BSc (Hons.) in Medical Physics or equivalent. This is a unique opportunity to join a team of Oncologists, Physicists, Nurses, Radiographers and Technicians involved in the care of patients from diagnosis and treatment planning to beam delivery, quality assurance and follow-up activities. It offers active involvement in most aspects of Radiotherapy Physics with particular emphasis on nuclear particle (neutron and proton) therapy. Supplementary training will be undertaken at collaborating institutions. The intern will play an active role in the day-to-day operations of the Medical Radiation Group while participating in the training program leading to fulfilment of the requirements for registration with the South African Health Professions Council. The post is available until completion of training up to a maximum period of three years. Closing date for applications: 15 September 2005 A detailed CV with covering letter may be sent to: Human Resources Department, iThemba LABS, P O Box 722, 7129 Somerset West Tel: (021)843 1000; Fax: (021)843 3756; E-mail: mirencia@tlabs.ac.za IThemba LABS is an equity driven, affirmative action employer (7) Vacation jobs in the Nuclear Physics Group, iThemba LABS Dr E.A. Lawrie (elena@tlabs.ac.za) The vacation scholar programme in Nuclear Physics Group provides the university level students (usually third year to Honours level) with an opportunity to gain experience doing research in experimental nuclear physics. Each year scholars are appointed for at least one month in June-July and at least two months in December-January holidays. They are paid allowance of R120 per working day and a free accommodation in the lab is supplied. The bus tickets for all the scholars coming from afar are refunded. The deadline for applications for the summer vacation jobs is 1 October. For more information please contact Dr. Elena Lawrie, elena@tlabs.ac.za