Events, awards and announcements

	Sowing in fertile soil: improving rural education In a targeted effort to overcome poor educational outcomes in rural communities, the departments of Science and Technology (DST), and Basic Education, as well as the Eastern Cape Department of Education have partnered in the Cofimvaba School District Technology Project.
	Ministerial visit to Eastern Cape essential oils project Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom, paid a visit to the Kwanobuhle essential oils project in January 2013. He was joined by Ward Councillor Monde Vaaltyn.
	CSIR’s Wall elected SAICE Honorary Fellow An Honorary Fellowship has been bestowed on Dr Kevin Wall of the CSIR by the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE). Being elected an Honorary Fellow is the second highest honour that SAICE can bestow on a member, with the highest being a Gold Medal.

Natural environment

Merging human inventiveness with nature’s ingenuity A wide-ranging, integrated study examines the impact of land use and land cover on water quality in the Gouritz Water Management Area. The Touws River catchment around the coastal resort town of Wilderness is the focal point of the study area. Researchers have collected samples from rivers and streams in different land-use areas of the catchment and will repeat this under different flow conditions, for example, after a heavy downpour or during a drought.

	GreenMatters recognises one of the CSIR’s best Dr Jeanne Nel, principal scientist in biodiversity and ecosystem services at the CSIR, was named one of 2013’s four GreenMatter senior fellows. Her appointment is particularly appropriate, given that the fellowship programme’s theme for this year is ‘Biodiversity and Responses to Climate Change’ – both areas in which Jeanne is an undisputed leader.
	Uganda cholera case study adds a piece to the cholera puzzle Cholera is a complex disease with interaction between variables at molecular, ecosystem and human levels. CSIR researchers recently shared their research findings from a case study in Uganda with their peers and partners in the European Union-funded project, Earth Observation and Environmental Modelling for the Mitigation of Health Risks (EO2Heaven) as well as with other interested stakeholders.
	Sustaining the wood for the trees Energy security is a source of global concern, and in South Africa it is even more so. Dr Konrad Wessels, research group leader for CSIR remote sensing research, has conducted research on the sustainability of fuelwood use for cooking by rural households in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa.
	SA Earth observers contribute to global crop assessment and monitoring South Africa’s experts in Earth observation (EO) for agricultural applications have joined their international peers to bolster the efforts of the Joint Experiment of Crop Assessment and Monitoring (JECAM ).

Health

New guidelines on use of traditional knowledge and plant genetic resources Guidelines on the appropriate use of traditional knowledge (TK) and plant genetic resources (PGR) have been developed for the Southern Africa Network for Biosciences (SANBio) network with the support of the African Union (AU).

Cultivating indigenous vegetables in school vegetable gardens: Nestle and the CSIR launches pilot project The CSIR, in partnership with Nestlé, has launched a pilot project to introduce micro-nutrient rich vegetables native to South Africa to school vegetable gardens.

Quest for new TB diagnostic kit energised by award With a motto of “One undiagnosed case of tuberculosis is one too many”, a group of CSIR student researchers in emerging health technologies clinched the runner-up spot and R200 000 at the Gauteng Accelerator Programme (GAP)-Biosciences Award at the end of last year.

International accolades for CSIR statistical nano poster Collaboration between CSIR statistical analysts and peers from India recently had another positive spin off. A poster on the first findings of their work presented at an international symposium was judged second best in its field among 19 submissions.

CHPC creates a data portal for rheumatic heart disease The Centre for High Performance Computing is working with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) researchers to store cardiac screenings conducted on children onto a data portal developed as part of the Data Intensive Research Infrastructure of South Africa (Dirisa).

Energy

CSIR assists with energy efficient management in southern Africa Managing energy efficiently is at the core of a collaborative project undertaken in seven southern African countries by the CSIR, the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) and Triodos-Facet of the Netherlands.

Industry

	Gains for metal manufacturer following technology localisation assistance A Western Cape metal manufacturing company, Fabrinox, has reported increases in key performance areas, thanks to the support received from March 2012 to date from the Technology Localisation Implementation Unit (TLIU), an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The TLIU is currently being incubated at the CSIR.
	Team South Africa: Researching and testing Unmanned Aerial Systems The CSIR is making good progress in integrating national research and testing efforts aimed at putting technologies in place for a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) system through the Civil Commercial Unmanned Aerial System (CCUAS) project.
	A smarter, intelligent and sensitive robotic arm becomes more tactile The CSIR’s state-of-the-art, intelligent robotic arm has become just a little smarter. A hardware and software upgrade means that the arm is now sensitive to tactile force and can move at a speed of three metres per second. The hand and arm are built with human manoeuvrability in mind.
	From lab to rail: Technology to prevent derailments implemented on Sishen-Saldanha iron ore railway A real-world problem in desperate need of solving; a patient but persistent client; and the right combination of technical expertise have contributed to the impending roll-out of the South African-developed Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detector system on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line.
	CSIR Droid, a show stopper at Design Indaba 2013 Design Indaba 2013 revealed a real head turner, a show stopper of note – MTN’s Interactive Connector Bot. This beta test proxy droid, engineered by the CSIR, demonstrated both the ingenuity and creativity of the local South African science arena.
	NCPC-SA Conference gets industry talking on green issues The recent NCPC-SA Industrial Resource Efficiency Conference, hosted by the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa (NCPC-SA), has shown that the local manufacturing industry is eager to educate itself on how energy, water, materials and other resource efficiencies can add to competitiveness, sustainability and profitability.

Built environment

CSIR to undertake ship modelling tests for Chilean consultants The CSIR recently signed a contract with Chilean-based PRDW Consulting Port and Coastal Engineering to conduct ship motion model tests for a proposed mineral export jetty. The tests will be carried out by the CSIR coastal and hydraulics laboratory in Stellenbosch, where a 3D wave basin for physical modelling is available.

Defence and security

Drive to grow local engineering skills for defence industry While most students were out enjoying a leisurely vacation, 43 young people gained some on-the-job experience with an introduction to systems engineering practices at the CSIR.

Core technologies ICT

Voice technology helps contain animal diseases Even in the current era of technology and innovation, outbreaks of serious diseases among livestock are still a reality. Afrivet, the biggest local South African animal health company, partnered with researchers from the CSIR to develop a voice-operated phone line to serve as communication channel between dip tank attendants at a pilot site and rural state and private veterinarians .