Curios.ty 14 (#µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø100): A century of doing good
- µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø Communications
µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø' research magazine celebrates 100 years of changing the world for good.
The 14th issue of µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø University’s research magazine, , themed: #µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø100, is available online now: . (To republish articles, see guidelines below).
In this special issue to mark µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø University’s centenary year, we look back over a 100 years during which µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø University, and µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍøies, have undoubtedly changed the world for good, be it through research and innovation, teaching and learning, or civic action.
In a series of firsts, µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø developed and tested the first radar signals in South Africa in 1939 and was the first South African university to transmit data securely through light. µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø was also the first university to own a nuclear accelerator and a computer in South Africa, to confer the first PhD in isiZulu, and to successfully execute a living donor liver transplant from an HIV+ mother to her HIV- child.
In this issue we also look to the next 100 years, showcase µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø’ world-class scientists and, importantly, a new generation of early career researchers actively advancing society for good.
“Today, we are confronted with a myriad of complex planetary problems including global change and inequality, erratic energy supply, crime, the lack of governance and ethics, and the threat of a number of communicable and non-communicable diseases and pandemics. It is at µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø where we can bring the best intellectual talent and resources to bear, across disciplines, institutions, sectors and geographic boundaries, to find solutions to these challenges, some of which are still unknown,” writes Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø University.
Highlights:
- Meet the science superheroes whose research has saved countless lives (page 10): Five µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø scientists weigh in on the University’s proud legacy of public health activism and why standing up for social justice in an unequal world remains their fight.
- Mapping African genetic diversity for better health (page 14): The contribution of the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience to the field of human genomics is rewriting history on the African continent.
- Thirty years of the lab in the bush (page 18): Agincourt in Mpumalanga is one of the longest-running research centres of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa with sophisticated infrastructure to track and understand health and wellbeing over the life course.
- µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø Digital Dome to light up the sky (page 32): It is the end of an era for the µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø Planetarium, although reimagining it as a Digital Dome promises to be literally out of this world.
- Facing climate change head-on (page 34): Climate change took nearly a century to become mainstream science. µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø is taking the lead in facing up to the challenge.
About Curios.ty
Curios.ty is a print and digital magazine that aims to make the research at µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø University accessible to multiple publics. Curios.ty is available on the µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø website here:
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