Wits on the final frontier

by | Apr 18, 2012 | Featured 1

WITS has the potential to become the African hub of astronomy thanks in part to South Africa’s bid to host the world’s biggest radio telescope.

South Africa is bidding to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), for which Prof Sergio Colafrancesco holds a research chair at Wits. Colafrancesco spoke to Vuvuzela after a decision on the host country was delayed last week.

In the eight months since his appointment Colafrancesco has already assembled the largest astronomy research group in Gauteng and it is growing fast.

In addition to the SKA project, Wits is very active in developing southern Africa as a the place to be for astronomy research using a range of different telescopes, or a multi-frequency approach: Southern Africa already has the optical Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) and Wits is assisting Namibia in bidding for the gamma-ray Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA).

In addition, Colafrancesco said the Mitra, KAT-7 and MeerKAT telescopes are all part of the bid to host the SKA, so the bidding process itself was worth it for astronomy in South Africa.

Listening in on the big bang: Some of the 7 dishes of the KAT-7 telescope built alongside the SKA site. The SKA will be the most powerful telescope ever built. It will use radio waves to look back in time to the beginning of the universe. See more pictures and information at www.ska.ac.za. PHOTO: DR NADEEM OOZEER

These telescopes also show South Africa’s commitment to hosting the SKA. Such projects are absent from Australia, the other bidding country.

Scientifically, South Africa’s site is better, labour costs are cheaper and high-speed internet lines to Europe are already established, said Colafrancesco. He also highlighted many other advantages to building the SKA in Southern Africa rather than in Australia.

The SKA’s decision making committee delayed the expected announcement last week saying it was “important to maximise the value from the investments made by both candidate host regions”.

Colafrancesco agrees with the SKA committee in this but, in his opinion, there is no doubt that South Africa’s site will the best choice for everyone involved.

“It’s not a competition like a rugby match – everyone should win.” He said South Africa’s site combined with Australia’s experience in radio-astronomy makes the most sense for the project.

He said South Africa should remain optimistic about winning the bid because last week’s delay allows the deciding committee to become more aware of South Africa’s advantages and opportunities. “It’s a chance for the world to open their eyes about South Africa.”

Published in Vuvuzela Print Edition, 13 April 2012

Geosciences rock first open day

by | Apr 15, 2012 | Featured 1, News

Fossils, meteors and Mars absorbed top Johannesburg matrics last week in an open day that Wits Geosciences hopes will draw more students to study Geology.

“Geoscience companies are banging down my door saying ‘where are your graduates?’” said Senior lecturer Dr Susan Webb.

The Exploring Earth open day, held during the university break, was a first for the School of Geosciences. The School recognised a need to expose high school students to earth science before they applied for university, and to attract top performing students.

Around 50 students were invited from the top 25 feeder schools in Johannesburg and were split into teams to compete in the five challenges of the day.

The first challenge was to match the microscopic image of a rock to its life-sized partner. The wide-eyed students were free to interact with the rocks and minerals, the microscope samples and the machine itself.

 

“It’s good fun, this,” said Cameron Dry (above right) from St John’s College, who wanted to be a fighter pilot before a vocational training session convinced him otherwise. “I love science. I just never thought I could have a career in it.”

On the library lawns, the students used a mallet to hit a metal plate in the geoscience equivalent of a carnival Strongman game.

“The hammer was really heavy,” said Jeppe Girls’ pupil Athena Tsai. A computer collected information about the hit for the students to use in calculating the thickness of the soil below.

Next, the students used Google Earth to explore the surface of this planet, and Mars, before sitting down to a free lunch in the Bleloch Geological Museum.

Prof Lew Ashwal headed up the meteorite challenge with an array of space rocks worth around R500 000. He told them meteorites were important because “they’re cool” and “they’re worth a f**k lot of money”. He said people often phoned him, thinking they had found a meteorite. But “nine times out of ten it’s a ‘meteowrong’”.

The last challenge was for pupils to reconstruct a skeleton from loose fossils after briefly studying a complete version.

“Judging by the students’ reactions [today] was a success,” said PhD candidate and associate lecturer Grant Bybee, who had manned the microscope challenge. The winning team members each received a mineral box worth about R300.

Photos by Anina Minnaar

Building Bridges

by | Mar 30, 2012 | Featured 1

Wits students Portia Monaheng and Dineo Mahlare work on a project in the architecture studio. Photo: Hazel Meda

ON the sports fields, Wits University and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) are arch rivals. But when it comes to construction, they’re on the same side.

First year students in the Wits School of Architecture and Planning and their UJ counterparts were challenged to design a cardboard box without using staples or glue. An egg would be placed inside the box, which would then be dropped from the top of a building. A well-designed box would protect the egg from breaking.

The twist in the challenge was that the respective teams would swap designs and then build one another’s boxes.

The joint project was organized by Wits Construction lecturer Gerald Chungu and Denver Hendricks of UJ.

 

Wits and UJ architecture students test their eggboxes by throwing them from the top of the John Moffat Building. Photo: Gerald Chungu

Communicating clearly

“We try to simulate what you do in construction: somebody designs and somebody else builds. Then we meet to see how successful the built object is,” Chungu said.

Student Aeron Stipanov said: “It was a learning curve for us. It showed us how the real world is; if your designs aren’t accurate, then your building will potentially kill people.”

Dineo Mahlare, a Wits student, commented on the different teaching style of each institution:

“The UJ drawings and designs were set up in a very professional way. They were neat and proper. We sort of did it in our own way. We did our own thing.”

She found the experience valuable and eye-opening.

“It shows you what you can work on to be a well-rounded architect. I learned how to present my work better just by looking at their drawings and their layout. It helped.”

Responding to questions about whether the eggboxes were successful, Chungu said: “Some were. Some broke on impact.”

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1st year architecture students prepare for the eggbox challenge. Photo: Gerald Chungu

SKA: “A wonderful boom for Africa, through science”

by | Mar 30, 2012 | Featured 1, News

South Africa is ready to host the world’s most powerful radio telescope. That was the message Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology, wanted the world to hear.

SKA: “What a wonderful boom for Africa, through science, ” said minister of Science & Technology, Naledi Pandor. PHOTO: ANINA MINNAAR

She was speaking at a media briefing held on Thursday, 29 March 2012, by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the South African Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project team and the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF).

The SKA Founding Board had been expected to announce a final decision on the SKA host country next week. Instead, the meetings on April 3rd  and 4th would address concerns and finalise the site selection process, said DST Director General, Dr Phil Mjwara, and SA SKA Director, Dr Bernie Fanaroff.

But Pandor insisted that South Africa would push for a final answer. “Our site is better…We think we’ll be a brilliant decision.”

She said the benefits of the SKA project to South Africa would mainly be in the form of human capital. “Expanding the number of Africa’s scientists and technicians will allow South Africa and Africa to play an increasingly important role in the global knowledge economy.”

Almost 400 postdoctoral, PhD, Masters and undergraduate SKA bursaries have already been awarded to South African and African students since 2005. Two Wits students were among this year’s bursary recipients.

The SKA facility will also generate employment in infrastructure construction and, along with other large-scale astronomy facilities like the MEERKAT, will attract tourists and drive socio-economic development.

When asked what would happen if South Africa  was not chosen as the host, the minister replied: “Plan A: we are ready to host the SKA. Plan B: we are ready to host the SKA. Plan C: we are ready to host the SKA”.

Wits is home to one of the seven SKA research chairs, Prof Sergio Colafrancesco, chair in radio astronomy. Colafrancesco is currently abroad supporting South Africa’s SKA bid and was unavailable for comment.

The panel from left to right: Dr Bernie Fanaroff, Minister Naledi Pandor and Dr Phil Mjwara. PHOTO: ANINA MINNAAR

Science Stadium to boost maths and science education

by | May 27, 2011 | News

WITS has taken a huge leap towards improving the teaching of science and technology. The Wits Science Stadium has been created to foster excellence in learning, research and teaching.

The facility will also accommodate school pupils as well as professional practitioners such as researchers, teachers and scientists.

“This structure will bring together schools, science and mathematics teachers, lecturers, students and scholars, to make use of the skills that will be brought together by this building and its facilities,” says Prof. Andrew Crouch, dean of the faculty of science.

The stadium is situated on West Campus on the grounds of the old Charles Skeen Stadium. It is part of a programme that incorporates a world-class laboratory and teaching and tutoring facilities.

It is also the new home for mathematical sciences – incorporating the schools of mathematics, computational and applied mathematics, computer science, statistics and actuarial science, as well as the National Centre of Mathematical Science. It will also include the renewal and alteration of existing science facilities to accommodate and encourage the growth of post-graduate research.

Vusi Sikwambane, fourth year mathematics student, says, “This sounds like a brilliant place. I am going to be one of the first people to use it. I hope it does not get too crowded though.”

The stadium will increase the university’s capacity for science, engineering and technology graduates and researchers, by accommodating as many as 3400 students.

“The students will find their way easier because they will have a precinct with large lecture halls and we can group and teach them according to their interests and abilities and have smaller groups for better quality teaching,” says Crouch.

“I like the idea of allowing high school kids to come to the stadium. It means I can bring my brother when it is done. I hope I can do some of my lab practices there,” says Felicity Brauckman, a third year science student.