Events, awards and announcements

	Technology that transforms: The CSIR gears up for Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) Expo The CSIR will be presenting a series of technology briefings and case study presentations at its pavilion at the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) Expo that takes place at Waterkloof Air Force Base from 19 to 23 September 2012.
	AISI hosts pavilion at AAD 2012 Twenty-four small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), three aerospace initiatives funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), and eight universities will have the opportunity to exhibit on the pavilion of the Aerospace Industry Support Initiative (AISI) at the Africa Aerospace and Defence Expo.
	Real Problems Relevant Solutions: You are invited to the 4th CSIR biennial conference Some of the most interesting and impactful scientific and technological developments at the CSIR, and the context in which this work takes place, are being shared and discussed in an open forum when the organisation hosts its 4th biennial conference on 9 and 10 October in Pretoria.
	First Pan African Summer School in nanomedicine The first Pan African Summer School in nanomedicine will be held from 4 to 10 November 2012. The event will be hosted by the CSIR’s Pan African Centre of Excellence in nanomedicine research which is funded by the Department of Science and Technology and is one of the 32 ANDI Centres of Excellence in health innovation in Africa.
	1st SA-GEO Symposium: Calling all Earth observations practitioners The National Earth Observations and Space Secretariat (NEOSS) is hosting the 1st SA-GEO Symposium. The event takes place on 11-12 September 2012 at the River Club Conference Centre in Cape Town.
	CSIR student wins national award CSIR graduate student researcher, Charlotte Maserumule has been awarded the Master’s Fellowship Award during the South African Women in Science Awards 2012 held at the Royal Elephant Hotel in Centurion near Pretoria at the end of August.
	Young nanotechnology researcher destined for great heights PhDs in physics are not awarded every other day, especially not if your speciality area is in nanotechnology. Add to that the fact that you raked in numerous awards along the way, and you have a remarkable achievement.
	CSIR team scoops up NSTF-BHP Billiton award Comprehensive research that enables the prediction of the performance of roads or airport runways over a period of time saw a CSIR team in pavement design and construction win an NSTF-BHP Billiton Award.

Built environment

	Uptake of CSIR mesozones as strategic analyses units for national planning The CSIR’s demarcation of South Africa into mesozones - more or less equal-sized units that are similar in socio-economic character – has seen a positive response by stakeholders. Notably, the National Disaster Management Centre has informed the CSIR of its uptake of mesozones as stable analyses units.
	Laser scanning strengthens CSIR’s damage assessment of breakwater models The CSIR has strengthened the technological capability at its coastal and hydraulics laboratory in Stellenbosch through the introduction of a 3D laser scanner to measure damage to small-scale physical models of breakwaters.
	CSIR brings home best science poster award from Dallas, USA A science poster on specific aspects of tyres and axles of heavy vehicles won the CSIR the ‘Best Poster Award’ recently at a conference held in Dallas, the United States.

Defence and security

	Creating skills sharpening for future radar and electronic warfare experts Radar and electronic warfare engineers typically emerge from the ranks of those studying electrical, electronic and computer engineering.
	Do people really know who their Facebook friends are? A recent paper, titled 'The dark side of Web 2.0', by CSIR researchers Aubrey Labuschagne and Namosha Veerasamy, and Mariki Eloff of the University of South Africa outlines how seemingly insignificant data become valuable to social engineers in their targeting of victims for cyber-attacks. This article summarises the research.
	Next India, Brazil, SA (IBSA) discussions planned for African soil Representatives from India, Brazil and South Africa met in Brazil in September 2012 to continue discussions on cooperation in defence, science, engineering and technology.

Energy

South Africa hosts bilateral workshop with South Korea on hydrogen fuel cells The CSIR, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Korean Institute of Energy Research and Kyungpook National University co-hosted a workshop on hydrogen fuel cells to strengthen research cooperation between South Africa and South Korea.

Health

Improving public health care infrastructure through collaboration Wide acknowledgement exists of serious challenges in the acquisition, quality, delivery, operation and maintenance of public health care facilities. To address this, the national Department of Health initiated a multimillion, multiyear collaborative effort called the Infrastructure Unit Systems Support project.

Natural environment

SADC warms up to climate change The CSIR and its partners are working together with southern African countries to develop a large scale climate change strategy for the region as a whole and for individual countries.

	International experts to take a relook at the powerful Agulhas Current CSIR physical oceanographers and remote sensing specialists, Dr Marjolaine Krug and Christo Whittle, will share the floor with some of the world's leading experts in ocean systems and global change when they participate in a special Chapman Conference on the Agulhas current taking place in South Africa later this year.
	‘Gold standard’ environmental monitoring system for Africa A cutting-edge, integrated monitoring system for human wellbeing, the state of ecosystems and agricultural development, designed and implemented by the CSIR, Conservation International and the Earth Institute at the University of Columbia in the United States, has now taken off following funding to the tune of US$10 million by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
	From science to society: finding innovative solutions to secure safe water for deep rural communities Working in deep rural communities from the Eastern Cape to Limpopo, a group of scientists from various disciplines are harnessing science and technology in a way which effectively engages with – and responds to – people’s values, beliefs and cultural practices at the nature-society interface.
	Integrating Earth observations for air quality management in South Africa More than 70 representatives from national, provincial and municipal government, science councils, state-owned enterprises, academia and industry met earlier this year, to explore how data from different types of Earth observations (EO) can be used to manage air quality in South Africa.
	Science and technology to support development of South Africa's waste sector The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is developing a 10-year research and development and innovation roadmap towards a sustainable waste sector in South Africa.

Industry

	Ten years of NCPC-SA: it's all about impact Ten years ago this month, on 4 September 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg closed, ushering in a new era of awareness and effort towards sustainability by South African government, industry and citizens.
	SMMEs in natural product and agro-processing define what is needed for business success Small, medium and micro enterprise stakeholders in the natural product and agro-processing sectors gathered recently to come up with solutions that will advance the development and sustainability of SMMEs in this sector.
	Mobile Fablab a hit during National Science Week An estimated 12 000 learners between grades four and 12 visited the SciBono Discovery Centre during this year’s National Science Week activities in August. This was where the DST/CSIR Mobile Fablab could also be found.

Enterprise creation for development

Mr Derek Hanekom visits DST-funded projects in the Northern Cape Three rural communities in the Northern Cape involved with agro-processing of essential oils and indigenous medicinal plants welcomed Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Mr Derek Hanekom, accompanied by delegates from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and CSIR project management staff, during recent project site visits.