| The Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | The top award for research on the African continent awarded to leading scholars who have a sustained record of outstanding research and intellectual achievement at the highest level. |
| Country | South Africa |
| Presented by | The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust |
| First awarded | 2001 |
The Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award is awarded annually by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust. It is considered the top award for research on the African continent.
The Award was created in 2001, in South Africa, by the Trustees of the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, itself established in 1958 by Harry Oppenheimer in memory of his father, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer.
The philanthropic vision of the once-richest man in the world is embedded within three foundations: [1]
Awardees are leading scholars who have a sustained record of outstanding research and intellectual achievement at the highest level. They must have demonstrated a capacity for and a commitment to knowledge transfer to their fellow citizens. Up to now the Award has only been presented to South Africans or South Africa-based academics.
The Award is made by a select committee and approved by the Trustees in December of each year. The Secretary General of the Academy of Science of South Africa chairs the selection proceedings.
The remittance ceremony takes place in April following the year of the Award, at the Oppenheimers’ residence, Brenthurst, in Johannesburg. The Award (a gold medal and a monetary prize) is bestowed by Mrs. Harry (Bridget) Oppenheimer.
Source: Oppenheimer Memorial Trust
Harry Frederick Oppenheimer was a prominent South African businessman, industrialist and philanthropist. Oppenheimer was often ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world, and was considered South Africa's foremost industrialist for four decades. In 2004 he was voted 60th in the SABC3's Great South Africans.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest university in Sub-Saharan Africa in continuous operation.
Thabo Cecil Makgoba KStJ is the South African Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. He had served before as bishop of Grahamstown.
Mark Solms is a South African psychoanalyst and neuropsychologist, who is known for his discovery of the brain mechanisms of dreaming and his use of psychoanalytic methods in contemporary neuroscience. He holds the Chair of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital and is the President of the South African Psychoanalytical Association. He is also Research Chair of the International Psychoanalytical Association.
Rosina Mamokgethi Phakeng is a South African professor of mathematics education who in 2018 became a vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT). She has been the vice principal of research and innovation, at the University of South Africa and acting executive dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology at UNISA. In 2018 she was an invited speaker at the International Congresses of Mathematicians. In February 2023 it was announced that she would leave her position as vice-chancellor of UCT and take early retirement. She was succeeded by Professor Daya Reddy on 13 March 2023
The United Nations Association of South Africa University of Cape Town is an official chapter of the United Nations Association of South Africa (UNASA) and affiliated to the World Federation of United Nations Associations. UNASA UCT is a registered political society at the University of Cape Town. The aim of the society is to work in collaboration with various stakeholders in South Africa to promote and support the goals, vision and principles of the UN and its agencies.
Johann Reinder Erlers Lutjeharms, was a leading South African marine scientist and an authority in the oceanography of the Agulhas Current, who authored a definitive work on the subject, The Agulhas Current. His main field of investigation was the large-scale circulation patterns of the oceans adjacent to southern Africa and their influence on weather and climate, and he participated in 17 research cruises and was responsible for a further 48 projects undertaken on such cruises.
University of Cape Town Libraries is the library system of the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa.
Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan is a South African vertebrate paleontologist known for her expertise and developments in the study of the microstructure of fossil teeth and bones of extinct and extant vertebrates. She was the head of the Department of Biological Sciences, at the University of Cape Town from 2012 to 2015.
Valerie Mizrahi is a South African molecular biologist.
Brenda D. Wingfield is a South African Professor of genetics and previous Deputy Dean of the University of Pretoria. She is known for her genetic studies of fungal tree pathogens.
Keertan Dheda MBBCh (Wits), FCP(SA), FCCP, PhD (Lond), FRCP (Lond), born in 1969, is a Professor of Mycobacteriology and Global health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) with an extra-mural joint appointment at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he is a Professor of Respiratory Medicine.
Open access to scholarly communication in South Africa occurs online via journals, repositories, and a variety of other tools and platforms. Compared to other African nations, open access in South Africa has grown quickly in recent years.
Bruce Arnott was a South African sculptor, curator, educator and academic. He was a professor of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town's Michaelis School of Fine Art.
David Glasser is a South African engineer best known for his co-development of attainable region theory and research into improving the efficiency of chemical processes. In 2001 he was the inaugural recipient of the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award. He has also been awarded the Bill-Neale May Gold Medal by the South African Institute of Chemical Engineers, as well as the Science for Society Gold Medal from the Academy of Science of South Africa.
Melissa Steyn is a South African academic based at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Prior to moving to Johannesburg in 2011, she taught at the University of Cape Town.
De Wet Swanepoel is a South African professor of Communication Pathology at the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology University of Pretoria and a Senior Researcher at the Ear Science Institute Australia. He is a member of African Academy of Sciences and a recipient of 2018 African Academy of Sciences Olusegun Obasanjo Prize and Silver (S2A3) British Association Medal.
Michael John Wingfield is a South African academic and scientist who studies plant pathology and biological control. He was the founding director of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria. Wingfield has authored or co-authored over 1000 scientific publications and is considered a leading expert in the field of forest health and invasive species. He has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award in 2022. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and the African Academy of Sciences. Wingfield has three fungi named after him.
The Mafeje affair refers to anti-government protests by South African students in 1968 in response to a decision of the council of the University of Cape Town (UCT) to rescind anthropologist Archie Mafeje's job offer for a senior lecturer position due to pressure from the South African apartheid government. The protests were followed by a nine-day sit-in at the university's administration building.