News
The CSIR Knowledge Commons (KC) was abuzz with excitement as event organisers and researchers put the final touches to their exhibitions and presentations in anticipation of Premier David Makhura’s arrival on Friday, 6 May 2016. The Premier was accompanied by the MEC for Finance, Barbara Creecy, Gauteng province Director-General, Ms Phindile Baleni and the MEC for Health, Qedani Mahlangu. Mclean Sibanda, the CEO of the Innovation Hub and the Department of Science and Technology Director-General, Dr Phil Mjwara, were also in attendance.
South Africa’s best-quality coal, located in the central Highveld basin, is depleting and alternative sources of coal need to be developed to supply the country with coal in the future. The quality of coal mined in the central basin is also gradually becoming poorer while the coal market is increasingly demanding a higher quality product.
Go green and plant a few trees this Earth Day. Your kids and their kids will thank you.
Studies have shown that schools with tree coverage have a low prevalence of asthma and lung diseases amongst their learners. In addition to this, children with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder are able to concentrate for longer periods.
This year’s Earth Day theme is ‘Trees on Earth’ and it will be celebrated on 22 April 2016. The Earth Day Network (EDN) aims to plant 7.8 billion trees by 2020 to honour its 50th anniversary. This can be translated to a tree for every person on.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, will brief the media in Parliament on Tuesday 19 April at 10am, on the Department of Science and Technology’s (DST) priorities for this financial year.
Under the theme,“Innovation for sustainable local government and youth development”, Minister Pandor, will outline how the DST plans to spend its allocation of R7.4 billion allocation for the 2016/17 financial year, to ensure that the country reaches its target of gross expenditure on research and development equal to 1,5% of GDP by 2019.
For the last decade the CSIR has been building a behavioural sciences capability geared to assist military and defence related clients in soldier selection and support programmes. The 2014 Defence Review described the African peace climate as ‘persistently troubled’, making the continent an ideal candidate for behavioural sciences research.
On 22 March 2016, the global community celebrated World Water Day (WWD). In South Africa, WWD coincides with the National Water Week, which serves as a powerful campaign mechanism re-iterating the value of water, the need for the sustainable management of this scarce resource and the role water plays in eradicating poverty and under-development.
CSIR waste experts are investigating ways in which informal waste pickers – individuals picking through bin bags at kerbside, recovering valuable recyclables – can be integrated into the South African waste and recycling economy, particularly when a mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is implemented for certain waste streams.
Several enterprises supported by the CSIR’s Biomanufacturing Industry Development Centre (BIDC) programme showcased their products at the inaugural South African Business Incubation Conference hosted by the Small Enterprise Development Agency at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from 10-11 March 2016.
The conference is aimed at creating a platform where everything related to technology and business incubation can be discussed, shared and explored.
The CSIR recently hosted a Southern Africa Network for Biosciences and National Research Foundation-funded Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) workshop at its Pretoria Campus. The workshop was focused on the detection and management of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in livestock.