Pretoria - The Department of Science and Technology will today host a workshop for eight young scientists who have been selected to attend the 66th Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting, in Germany, in June.
“Today is the second day of a two-day workshop organised by the Department of Science and Technology for the eight young scientists. The department is hosting them as part of a send-off for them ahead of next month’s meeting, where they will meet over 30 Nobel laureates,” said the department on Wednesday.
The participants are outstanding students under the age of 35 in the field of physics, which is the focus of this year’s meeting. They were selected following a multi-stage international selection process.
Dr Luyanda Noto, a postdoctoral student in the physical sciences at the University of the Free State, is one of the eight young South Africans selected.
He described the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as something that could motivate other young scientists in the country to work even harder.
“This is a chance for us as young scientists to learn from the best so that we can improve the calibre of scientists in South Africa,” said Noto.
He said meeting with the world’s crop of outstanding scientists would boost his confidence and encourage him to emulate their example and become a future leader in South African science.
Nicholas Engelbrecht (North West University), Sphumelele Ndlovu and Adriana Marais (University of KwaZulu-Natal), Siyambonga Matshawule (University of the Western Cape), Agnes Mbonyiryivuze and Gregory Jackson (University of Cape Town), and Sidiki Zongo (University of South Africa) have also been selected to attend the meeting.
The department’s Dr Thomas Auf Der Heyde urged the students to be ambassadors for science in South Africa.
Dr Auf Der Heyde said South Africa is working hard to be counted among the best in the world in terms of quality research outputs and innovation, and to meet the targets set out in the National Development Plan.
The group will leave for the meeting in June accompanied by the Association of Science of South Africa’s CEO Prof. Roseanne Diab, and one of South Africa’s award-winning science journalists, Sarah Wild. - SAnews.gov.za
