SAIP Newsletter - February 2008
Editor: J. Padayachee


A.	Editorial from SAIP President

South African history is always going to be fraught with controversy. This is the burden that we will carry for the rest of our lives. From the point of view of physics, it seems to me that we have two options: (1) Ignore our history because of our difficult past, or (2) Embrace our past with
all its warts and success stories, be as inclusive as we possibly can, celebrate excellence in physics wherever and whenever this has occurred and encourage as extensive an historical record as we possibly can.

I favour the second option, with the understanding that it will be unfair to expect any single endeavour to be absolutely complete and free from controversy. A comprehensive and fully balanced account of our history can only emerge in a collective sense by encouraging all interested physicists (particularly our retirees who hopefully have more time on their hands) to make the effort to record particular aspects of our history. We need to appreciate that this must be done within the framework of academic freedom and freedom of expression, and understand what this implies. It is out of this cacophony of different perspectives that we will be able to converge on a more complete recording and understanding of our history.

The SAIP has a vested interest in the history of physics in the country, and wishes to explore all avenues to ensure that sufficient interest is placed on our diverse heritage. The inclusivity and honesty in building the record of our history is an important part of the foundation that creates the opportunities for the full and committed participation of all South Africans in building our future. It is in this sense that I wish to express support for Prof Runan de Kock's (U. Stellenbosch) efforts at researching the history of physics in South Africa. The challenge is there for others to follow suit to write historical accounts of particular facets of South African physics.

Nithaya Chetty 
President SAIP

B.	SAIP Office
It is a great privilege to inform you that Mr. Brian Masara assumed his duties as Executive Officer of the SAIP on 1 January 2008. His office is located in the new building of the Department of Science and Technology, immediately adjacent to the NRF on the CSIR campus. 

The establishment of a permanent full-time office for the SAIP is an outcome of an investigation by an international panel in April 2004 into the state and future of Physics in South Africa. In short, the panel found in its 14 recommendations that the huge development task could not be handled by part-timers on a voluntary basis as a public service anymore. In particular, the government*s drive to increase the R&D budget from 0,8 to 1,0% of the GDP (and growing), has led to dramatic new initiatives and opportunities in Science and Technology that need full-time management to exploit optimally.

In broad terms, Mr. Masara will be responsible for (a) the planning and implementation of strategies to develop the SAIP, (b) SAIP projects, such as FET involvement, outreach drives, awards, and history writing, (c)  day-to-day business which will be delegated to an office assistant to be appointed, (d) international liaison and initiatives, (e) communicating with stakeholders and the public, and (f) marketing the SAIP and the subject of Physics, and raising funds in the process.

Mr. Masara has an M.Sc. in Applied Physics and an M.B.A from the University of Zimbabwe. He worked as Director of the National Metrology Institute at SIRDC, Zimbabwe (the equivalent of the CSIR), and also as General Manager of SIRTECH, the commercial arm of SIRDC. As such, he is outstandingly qualified for this managerial position.

We consider this as a huge leap in the effectiveness of the SAIP to live up to its mission to be the voice of Physics in South Africa. We foresee that Mr. Masara will be actively engaging with the physics community soon.

The contact details of the office are:
Brian Masara
Executive Officer
South African Institute of Physics
Department of Science and Technology Building
CSIR Campus
Meiring Naude Road
Pretoria
Email: brian.masara@saip.org.za 
Tel: +27 12 843 6561
Fax: +27 86 648 8474
Cell:+27 73 737 2562 

C.	SAIP Council (J. Padayachee, secretary@saip.org.za)

C.1.	Membership Matters

C.1.1	Emeritus Membership Awarded
Prof. Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf (Emeritus Professor at the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Virginia, USA) was awarded Emeritus Membership of the South African Institute of Physics. Prof. Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf has been an SAIP member since April 1955.

C.1.2	New Members since Last Newsletter
Dr. D.F. Bezuidenhout (O)
Miss. N.P. Cele (S)
Dr. A.B. Conibear (O)
Mr. S. Hatwaambo (O)
Dr. A.H. Leuschner (O)
Prof. H.P.H. Schwoerer (O)
Mr. E.M. Setlhapelo (S)
Dr. Y Zakari Ibrahim (O)

C.2.	Proposed Change to the Constitution
As required by the current Constitution, SAIP members are hereby given notice of the addition of the following clause to the Constitution of the SAIP:

"In 2009 (or soon thereafter), the membership will adopt a new  constitution with a 2/3 majority after a fully consultative process." 

Details will follow. 


D.	Call for Nominations for the 2008 De Beers Gold Medal
The closing date for nominations for the 2008 De Beers Gold Medal is 23h59 on Friday, 29 February 2008.   

Please note that previously unsuccessful nominees for the De Beers Gold Medal may be re-nominated.  

E.	The Physics 500 Project (Dr Kevin Meyer, physics500@saip.org.za)

Announcing the launch of the Physics 500 Project. 

All physicists with a B.Sc (Hons) or higher and working in industry are invited to participate. This is a project sponsored by the DST and organized by the SAIP to find where South African physics graduates are working, and who employs physicists in South Africa, with the aim of promoting physics to undergraduates and school leavers.

Please also forward this announcement to your ex-students and colleagues in industry.

For more information visit the project website:  http://www.saip.org.za/physics500/

F.	Conferences, Workshops, Schools
F.1.	8th symposium of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa, Durban Country Club,  7-9 August 2008 (Frikkie de Bruyn, debruyn1@telkomsa.net)
The 8th symposium of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa will be held at the Durban Country Club on 7, 8 and 9 August 2008. In terms of the Memorandum of Understanding between the South African Institute of Physics and the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa the organising committee would like to invite as many members of the SAIP as possible to attend/submit papers at the symposium. The theme of the symposium will be: "Interaction between Astronomy and Cosmology". 

Abstracts of papers (not the papers at this stage) are to be submitted in PDF format to mikedenny@intekom.co.za cc debruyn1@telkomsa.net as soon as possible, but not later than 31 March 2008. No mathematics and drawings/images are to be included in the abstracts.

Papers are divided into full papers, 30 minutes for presentation, short papers, 20 minutes and poster presentation. Authors of papers for poster presentation should prepare themselves for a five minute verbal presentation. Authors should indicate on the abstract in which category the paper is being submitted. 

The organising committee reserves the right to accept or reject a paper and to decide in which session of the symposium it will be placed, although all effort will be made to accommodate speakers.

Persons interested in attending the symposium, delivering a paper or presenting a poster should contact the chairman of the organising committee:

Symposium 2008
Mr Mike Reid
ASSA Durban
PO Box 20578
Durban North, 4016.

E-mail mikedenny@intekom.co.za  and cc debruyn1@telkomsa.net 

F.2.	School on Electronic Structure Methods, 14-25 July 2008, Cape Town, South Africa (Daniel.Joubert2@wits.ac.za)

The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, in collaboration with the National Institute of Theoretical Physics, the INFM-DEMOCRITOS National Simulation Center and the International Center for Materials Research, are organizing a School on Electronic Structure Methods and Applications from 14th July to 25th July, 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa.

The School will cover the fundamentals of modern electronic-structure theory based on density functional theory, with emphasis on the pseudopotential/plane-wave approach, together with some of the most relevant recent developments and applications.

PRE-SCHOOL 7-11 July 2008, University of Limpopo, South Africa 
The purpose of the pre-School is to help participants with the background that will enable them to better participate in the school on modern electronic-structure theory, where students are expected to have a background in condensed matter physics, computational methods and some knowledge of using Linux. 

The Pre-School is not required for participation in the School.

Participation
Scientists and students from all countries which are members of the United Nations, UNESCO or IAEA may attend the Workshop. 

For more information, enquiries and applications please contact, Professor Daniel Joubert at Daniel.Joubert2@wits.ac.za , or visit http://neo.phys.wits.ac.za/school/ 

F.3.	IUPAP Conference in Computational Physics 2008 (N. Chetty- chettyn@ukzn.ac.za, www.ccp2008.ufop.br)

The 2008 Conference on Computational Physics (CCP2008) will be held from August 5-9, 2008, in Ouro Preto, Brazil. The conference covers all fields of computational physics. The purpose is to continue the series of meetings that started in 1989, in which computational scientists gathered to present their latest results and interact with their peers from around the world.

Since 1998 the CCP meetings have alternated between Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific (Granada 1998, Atlanta 1999, Brisbane 2000, Aachen 2001, San Diego 2002, Beijing 2003, Genoa 2004, Los Angeles 2005, Gyeongju 2006, and Brussels 2007). CCP2008 will be the first such meeting in South America and will certainly enhance computational physics in South America as well as further promote interaction among the world community. 

F.4.	International Science Camps (Christine Battmer, c.battmer@xlab-goettingen.de)

As over the past years XLAB likes to invite high school and first year university students from all over the world to participate in the XLAB-International Science Camps. The Camps will take place in summer 2008. The XLAB is situated on the science campus of the famous University of Goettingen (Germany, Lower Saxony). It collaborates with scientific institutes of university and affiliated research organizations.

In 2008 XLAB organizes an early Camp in July and one in August. The courses cover current topics in Physics, Biology and Chemistry. 

The annual International Science Camps are very successful. Since the first camp in 2003, more than 200 students from at least 26 different nations participated in the camps. Three weeks of laboratory work are rounded off by an elaborate social program and a three day trip to Berlin at the end of the camp.

In 2008 we will accept altogether 36 students for each Camp and as usual only 2 to 4 students from each country.

A further information can be found on our flyer http://server.xlab.gwdg.de/XLAB_ISC_rot.pdf

A printer-friendly version of the flyer can be found at http://server.xlab.gwdg.de/XLAB_ISC_weiss.pdf

F.5.	2nd International Summer School "Physics of Functional Micro- and Nanostructures",    8-20 September 2008, Hamburg, Germany, 
We would like to inform you about our 2nd International Summer School "Physics of Functional Micro- and Nanostructures" that will take place from 8 September to 20 September 2008 in Hamburg, Germany. The summer school addresses advanced students with a Bachelor's degree, Vordiplom or equivalent, Diplom candidates, Master's students as well as Ph. D. students. It provides a compact insight into the theoretical principles, experimental methods, simulation of real structures, and topical areas of micro- and nanostructure research.

More information and application details can be found on the web page http://www.physnet.uni-hamburg.de/iss/index.html.

G.	Tidbits
1.	Prof. Darrell Comins of the School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, was awarded the Academy of Science of South Africa Science-for-Society Gold Medal for 2007. This was awarded on 26 November 2007 at the annual ASSAf Awards Ceremony.
2.	The "Report on the POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH INDABA" may be downloaded from http://www.saip.org.za/Reports.html.
3.	Extract from Metrologia 45 (2008) 119-125 INTERNATIONAL REPORT: News from the BIPM-2007
The International System of Units (SI) During the past few months there have been several scientific developments and meetings on possible redefinitions of base units of the SI, stimulated by the progress on a number of experiments which could lead to a redefinition of the kilogram. New results from watt balance experiments and encouraging progress on the International Avogadro Coordination project now seem likely to provide the basis on which a future meeting of the CGPM could take decisions on the redefinition of a number of base units of the SI.

Stimulated by, and directly linked to, the possibility of a redefinition of the kilogram, there is also likely to be a simultaneous redefinition of the base units for electricity and amount of substance. A redefinition of the kelvin is also likely, based on a fixed value of the Boltzmann constant, kB. The CIPM has therefore encouraged Consultative Committees (CCs) to consider the effects of these redefinitions, and a number of CCs have set up specific working groups to discuss these issues and to develop a strategy for their implementation.

As the redefinitions will place more of the base units of the SI on fixed values of the fundamental constants of physics, there will be a need to realize them in a practical sense. The example being followed is that of the redefinition of the metre in 1983 based on a fixed value for the speed of light in vacuum. The approach adopted in this case was the creation of a Mise en pratique, or set of instructions and recommendations for a practical and universally followed way of realizing the definition. The Mise en pratique for the metre has stood the test of time and has been modified with the advent of new measurements, notably of laser-based measurement standards. The various CCs are following this approach for other base units and are preparing drafts of the relevant Mise en pratique to be finalized in the coming few years.

The Consultative Committee for Mass (CCM) held a special meting with representatives of the electrical community in February 2007. This made considerable progress towards a common position which would allow the kilogram to be redefined by fixing the value of the Plank constant, h. The present representations of the volt and ohm would then become genuine SI realizations firmly based on fundamental constants rather than on conventional values.

Several communities came together at the meeting of the Consultative Committee for Units (CCU) in June 2007 and reached the conclusion that a kilogram redefinition based on the Planck constant was to be preferred to one based on the Avogadro constant, NA. The CCU also agreed with the Consultative Committee for Electricity and Magnetism (CCEM) that a definition of the ampere should be based on a fixed value of the elementary charge, e. The thermometry community reported that they expected new results for the Boltzmann constant in the next few years, which would allow a redefinition of the kelvin.

It is highly unlikely that these redefinitions will influence the vast majority of measurements made for industrial or scientific purposes, but they will enhance the SI and bring benefits to metrologists and to the fundamental constant community through, in general, a reduction in uncertainties associated with the CODATA values. The CIPM and the CCs nevertheless believe that there needs to be an awareness campaign in the scientific and the industrial measurement community in order to alert them to these changes and their implications. Much of this effort will fall to NMIs at a national level.

Note from SAIP Newsletter Editor:  The SI System brochure can be downloaded from http://www.bipm.org/en/si/

H.	Opportunities

H.1.	Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE) (http://www.msi-sig.org/rise.html)
The Carnegie-IAS Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE) seeks to develop human capacity through science and technology training and research in a regional context in sub-Saharan Africa, enabling individuals to use S&T to contribute to national and regional economic development. RISE, with its focus on training through rich and varied exposure to facilities and expertise in multiple settings, complements initiatives that focus on strengthening universities, research centers, science academies and other institutions.
Who: Research and training networks comprising universities in at least three different countries in sub-Saharan Africa are eligible to compete.
What: $800,000 grant to three or more nodes that have joined together to form a scientific network, payable over 3 years with the expectation of a grant renewal. RISE grants will prepare PhD- and master's-level scientists and engineers in sub-Saharan Africa through university-based research and training networks in selected areas, including: 
-materials science
-mathematics
-chemistry, including natural products and biochemistry
-information and communication technology, instrumentation, software engineering
-renewable energy
-water resources
When: The Request for Proposals was circulated as of December 12, 2007. Preliminary submissions are invited until March 7, 2008. Finalists will be notified of their status in early April 2008 and will be asked to submit an in-depth proposal in early June. Networks will be chosen by the end of June 2008.
Where: Universities and centers of scientific research in sub-Saharan Africa.
How: The RISE program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and is administered by the Science Initiative Group based at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Why: The primary goals of this initiative are to prepare new faculty to teach in African universities and allow current faculty to advance to the PhD level.

I.	The European Physical Society and EPL (Europhysics Letters)
I am writing to you in my role of Editor-in-Chief of EPL to invite you to publish in the journal. This year has seen a number of exciting developments, including the celebration of the EPL journal archive, a body of work that represents the success of the close collaboration between the EPS and EDP Sciences, the Società Italiana di Fisica and IOP Publishing. For over 20 years, the journal has flourished under the scientific policy and control of the EPS, and continues to publish original, high-quality letters across the whole of physics for the international scientific community.

I am looking forward to working with the EPS, the Editorial Board, the journal's partner societies and the international scientific community to grow our journal over the forthcoming years, and so, on behalf of my colleagues on the Editorial Board, I would be delighted to invite you, a key member of the EPS, to submit your next paper to EPL.

In order to raise the prestige and awareness of EPL throughout the physics world we wish to expand the breadth of science topics published by encouraging  submission of high quality articles covering a broad range of physics related disciplines, from the key researchers within these fields. The major strengths of EPL lie in the numerous publications containing topics exhibiting a crossdisciplinary nature and also in areas such as statistical physics and mathematical modelling.

Since you have an active role in promoting the EPS, we would be extremely grateful if you could make your own local community aware of the opportunities and advantages of publishing in EPL (these are available from the website at http://www.epljournal.org) and also take the first step by submitting one of your own articles to the journal.

Thank you in advance for considering this invitation, and if you have any queries or comments about EPL, please do not hesitate to contact me.

With best regards,
Professor Volker Dose
Editor-in-Chief, EPL
E-mail: info@epljournal.org