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28 October 2005

President and Council Members of ASSAF;
Members of the Academy;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen

These Science for Society Gold Awards are being conferred during a week that has seen a lot of national interest in the employment opportunities available to our young people, especially to the science, engineering and technology graduates. Looking at oneself in a mirror to discover a festering sore that threatens to undermine one’s facial features is always a very painful but sobering experience. That is why it is important to always weigh one’s gains against one’s losses. This exercise makes one more vigilant in ensuring that the progress that one is making is indeed sustainable.

Therefore, the recognition and celebration of the work of those who have achieved lifelong excellence within the South African National System of Innovation, should not only encourage those who are already at the top end of the system to emulate the benchmarks already set, but should also inspire those who have already achieved to assist and support the young people who must still travel the long and difficult path to the top. The work that must still be done to transform the South African society into a developed nation is monumental. We, however, derive inspiration from the knowledge that many South African researchers and academics have made it to the top because they provide the internal expertise and experience from which the nation can tap. We sincerely commend and congratulate tonight’s award recipients, and wish them well in their careers.

The application of scientific thinking to serve the interests of our nation is the bedrock of the South African Science and Technology policy. In a world where technological innovation is dictating the pace of global change, it is always important to step back and assess how science has been used to serve society. Such assessment is even more imperative to developing countries such as ours. In the three short years of the existence of the Academy of Science of South Africa Gold Medal Awards for Science and Society, a number of accomplished South African scientists have already received the gold medals. Today’s recipients join the company of Professors Malegapuru Makgoba, Trevor Jenkins, Hoosen Coovadia and Brian Warner.

Acknowledging achievements in science represents one of the ways of communicating the contribution that science is making to the world. These contributions range from engineering feats such as the construction of the pyramids, to technological discoveries that have changed peoples’ lives in very real ways. These are the achievements of people; the scientists who spend their lives in pursuit of knowledge that eventually become acknowledged as having produced positive spin-offs for society. These discoveries do not only interest the public about science and its potential benefits, they also motivate and encourage the next generation of scientists and researchers.

Being a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa is an honour in itself because members are selected on the basis of significant achievement in a wide range of disciplines. We need increasing numbers of well-trained, innovative scientists, engineers and technologists, with enough self-drive and confidence to remain active in their fields. It is clear that our progress in producing such knowledge workers has so far always been ‘too little, too late’. A number of interventions are being worked on to strengthen our science and technology capacity as a country, with a view not only to meeting our immediate needs, but also ensuring the sustainability of the system.

The renewal of the population of relevant scientists has been outstripped by national demand. By rewarding the achievements of those who have formed a part of the pillars of the system, we hope to open a window of possibilities, and point new directions to those who were excluded from the mainstream of scientific endeavour.

I am very pleased that for the first time an award will be given to a young and outstanding scientist under the auspices of the Academy. The need to find innovative ways of addressing the needs of particularly this group in our society can never be over-emphasised. I have already alluded to the challenges faced by our young graduates in terms of finding employment, let alone in keeping them within the research and development (R&D) system. This is not due to a lack of ability on their part. But the majority among them are torn between obligations such as the need to support struggling families, and the attractions posed by lucrative salaries from an employment sector that is desperate to meet its employment equity targets.

Professor Alberts, who will be receiving the Young Scientist Award this evening, is one of a few who are in a position to inspire the young and old alike with their brilliance and dedication. The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Act states that one of the Academy’s objectives is “to encourage and promote innovative and independent scientific thinking”. Much has been said about the ‘innovation chasm’, the gap between the pure sciences and their applications in the service of society. It remains a major challenge to find ways of building bridges across that gap. The solutions are elusive, because they depend on people and their ability to be creative and to think in original ways, and on the needs of the institutions that provide the funding for the research.

The African American agricultural chemist and innovator, George Washington Carver, asserts that, “Since new developments are the products of a creative mind, we must therefore stimulate and encourage that type of mind in every way possible”. George Washington Carver should know better – he was born a slave, kidnapped, and raised by his so-called owner whose surname was Carver. He later studied in order to free his mind, and devoted his life to improving the economic lives of black people in the southern United States.

The Act that establishes ASSAf specifically mandates that body to engage in the “promotion of the optimum development of the intellectual capacity of all our people”. The stories of young people, especially those from rural or impoverished homes, who do extremely well in their matriculation examinations, but discover too late that they had had neither the foresight to apply for admission at higher education institutions, nor the knowledge of how to go about doing that, has become a common refrain at the beginning of every academic year. It is also common knowledge that some of these young people simply fail to gain access into higher education because of financial constraints.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is in the process of implementing the R&D strategic objectives related to the supply of the science and engineering human capital. The importance of finding interventions at various points of the pipeline to ensure that young people with a potential to become internationally acclaimed scientists, can never be overemphasised. That is why we have implemented interventions that are targeting school-going youth with a view to increasing their participation, and improving their performance in the gateway subjects of mathematics and physical science. We have also taken particular care to inform them of possible careers in science and engineering.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we implemented the Centres of Excellence Programme during 2004, which saw the establishment of six centres of excellence. The DST is set to establish a programme of research chairs soon. This programme is aimed at directly increasing the number of scientists and researchers in the science system, and should lead to increased levels of knowledge production and improved innovative capacity in South Africa. We are also implementing individually or collectively other initiatives at various points of the supply chain.

The work leading to major scientific discoveries is usually long and tedious, and requires discipline, perseverance and confidence. Evidence abounds to prove that the majority of groundbreaking scientific discoveries take time and patience to come to fruition. If certain modern discoveries and inventions seem a matter of luck, like a flash in the pan, it is only because the great scientists of the past had had the patience and tenacity to lay the proper foundations. As we collaborate to increase the output of our national system of innovation, we need to pay attention not only to celebrating success as we are doing today, but also to communicating these achievements to the rest of the world.

The South African Journal of Centenary Awards gives us an example of how this communication has been done at its best in our country. Graham Baker, who has been the editor of this journal for 32 years, has taken the journal to the current high standards that have the highest ISI-based citation impact of any multi-disciplinary journal in the South. The journal now enjoys a wide readership and contains excellent articles.

May I, in closing, congratulate all the winners. May the recipients of the gold medals, Professor Tom Bothwell and Professor George Ellis, grow from strength to strength. We hope that their work will inspire many of our young scientists to follow in their footsteps.

To Professor Alberts, the recipient of the Young Scientist Award, may you continue to be a shining example of the limitless possibilities available to young scientists in South Africa and the continent. Professor Lutjeharms, Professor Tobias and Dr Baker, the recipients of the SAJS Centenary Awards, may you continue to herald the wonders of scientific discovery to fascinate even those among us who are not scientists.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
28 October 2005