South African Research Chairs

Last updated

The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) establishes prestigious research chairs in South African universities with the support of funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF). The programme, launched in 2006 as a joint initiative between the NRF and the national Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), aims to attract and retain excellent researchers in South African public institutions. The research chairs are reserved for established researchers and are renewable for up to 15 years. [1]

Contents

History and management

DSI (then called the Department of Science and Technology) established the South African Research Chairs Initiative in 2006 as a means of attracting and retaining "excellence in research and innovation at South African public universities". [1] In particular, the government was concerned to deter brain drain while attracting expatriate, foreign, and private-sector researchers. [2]

The initiative is implemented by the NRF, and a small number of chairs are co-funded with donations from interested businesses. [2] Research chairs funded under the initiative are hosted by a South African university and are supported by sizeable NRF research grants, which cover salaries, postdoctoral fellowships, research equipment and operating costs, and other overhead for the research programme established under the chair. Each chair is established at one of two tiers according to the candidate's track record in research and student supervision: Tier I chairs are reserved for internationally recognised researchers, who are eligible to spend up to 50 per cent of their time outside South Africa, while Tier II chairs are full-time. [1] Chairs can be renewed every five years for up to 15 years. [3]

Supporters of the initiative argue that it ameliorates brain drain, [4] boosts research output and capacity for postgraduate supervision, [5] [6] [7] supports affirmative action efforts in respect of gender and race, [8] and results in broader economic benefits by boosting research and development capacity. [9]

Distribution of chairs

Applications for new research chairs are solicited and approved at the discretion of DSI and the NRF. Upon its launch in 2006, the initiative established 21 chairs and set a target of supporting 210 chairs by 2010, representing an investment of close to R10-billion over 15 years. [3] [10] By mid-2011, only 92 research chairs had been established, [2] though they accounted for an outsized proportion of the country's total research output – comprising 1.5 per cent of all active researchers in South Africa, they produced 4.5 per cent of national research outputs. [11]

By 2015, the number of research chairs had grown to 150. [5] Later that year, noting that men accounted for 80 per cent of SARChI recipients, Naledi Pandor (then the Minister of Science and Technology) announced an unprecedented call for applications that was open only to women researchers; 42 women were approved for new research chairs, bringing the total stock of research chairs to 201 and close to gender parity. [10] [12]

Especially in the early years of the initiative, there was debate in the academic community about the equity of the distribution of the research chairs across disciplines and institutions. Early grants were concentrated at South Africa's top-ranked research universities, such as the University of Cape Town and University of the Witwatersrand; [3] however, by 2012, 21 of the country's 23 universities hosted at least one chair, and the representation of former technikons had improved vastly. [13] Similarly, the initiative was initially criticised for its narrow focus on research topics in science, which were more closely aligned to the government's strategic priorities, [14] but greater provision was later made for humanities and social science researchers to obtain research chairs in an "open" category. [1]

Notable people

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Current chairs

NameTitle of chairHost institutionRef.
Cathi Albertyn Equality, Law and Social Justice Witwatersrand University [15]
Priscilla Baker Analytical Systems and Processes for Priority and Emerging Contaminants University of the Western Cape [16]
Jacek Banasiak Mathematical Models and Methods in Bioengineering and Biosciences University of Pretoria [17]
Haroon Bhorat Economic Growth, Poverty and Inequality University of Cape Town [18]
Reinette Biggs Social-Ecological Systems and Resilience Stellenbosch University [19]
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma Stellenbosch University [20]
Amanda Gouws Gender Politics Stellenbosch University [21]
Pumla Dineo Gqola African Feminist Imaginations Nelson Mandela University [22]
Ruth Hall Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies University of the Western Cape [16]
Patricia Hayes Visual History and Theory University of the Western Cape [16]
Cang Hui Mathematical and Theoretical Physical Biosciences Stellenbosch University [23]
Namrita Lall   Plant Health Products from Indigenous Knowledge Systems University of Pretoria [17]
Janice Limson Biotechnology Innovation and Engagement Rhodes University [24]
Catriona Macleod Critical Studies in Sexualities and Reproduction Rhodes University [24]
Thokozani Majozi Sustainable Process Engineering Witwatersrand University [25]
Penny Moore Virus-Host Dynamics for Public Health Witwatersrand University [25]
Caroline Ncube Intellectual Property, Innovation and Development University of Cape Town [18]
Philiswa Nomngongo Nanotechnology for Water University of Johannesburg [26]
Kenneth Ozoemena Materials Electrochemistry and Energy Technologies Witwatersrand University [27]
Leila Patel Welfare and Social Development University of Johannesburg [26]
Michèle Ramsay Bioinformatics of African Populations Witwatersrand University [28]
Mike Roberts Marine Food Security (with the University of Southampton) Nelson Mandela University [29]
Judith Sealy Stable Isotopes in Archaeology and Paleoenvironmental Studies University of Cape Town [18]
Melissa Steyn Critical Diversity Studies Witwatersrand University [28]
Caroline Tiemessen HIV Vaccine Translational Research Witwatersrand University [28]
Dire Tladi International Constitutional Law University of Pretoria [17]
Fiona Tregenna Industrial Development University of Johannesburg [26]
Cherryl Walker Sociology of Land, Environment and Sustainable Development Stellenbosch University [30]
Amanda Weltman Physical Cosmology University of Cape Town [18]
Brenda Wingfield Fungal Genomics University of Pretoria [17]

Former chairs

NameTitle of chairInstitutionRef.
Jill Adler Mathematics Education Witwatersrand University
Alan Christoffels Bioinformatics and Public Health University of the Western Cape [16]
Felix Dapare Dakora Agrochemurgy and Plant Symbioses Tshwane University of Technology [31]
Tania Douglas Biomedical Engineering and Innovation University of Cape Town [32]
Carolyn Hamilton Archive and Public Culture University of Cape Town [33]
Catherine Odora Hoppers Development Education University of South Africa
Murray Leibbrandt Poverty and Inequality Research University of Cape Town [34]
Shabir Madhi Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Witwatersrand University
Thumbi Ndung'u Systems Biology of HIV/AIDS University of KwaZulu-Natal
Lungisile Ntsebeza Land Reform and Democracy in South Africa University of Cape Town [35]
Tebello Nyokong Medicinal Chemistry and Nanotechnology Rhodes University [24]
Francesco Petruccione Quantum Information Processing and Communication   University of KwaZulu-Natal
Daya Reddy Computational Mechanics University of Cape Town
Alta Schutte Early Detection and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Africa North-West University
Peter Weingart Science Communication Stellenbosch University
Anna-Lise Williamson Vaccinology University of Cape Town [36]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Cape Town</span> Public university in Cape Town, South Africa

The University of Cape Town (UCT)(Afrikaans: Universiteit van Kaapstad, Xhosa: iYunivesithi yaseKapa) 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graça Machel</span> Mozambican humanitarian activist and politician

Graça Machel is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. She is the widow of former President of Mozambique Samora Machel (1975–1986) and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela (1998–2013). Machel is an international advocate for women's and children's rights and was made an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for her humanitarian work. She is the only woman in modern history to have served as First Lady of two countries, South Africa and Mozambique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhodes University</span> University in Makhanda, South Africa

Rhodes University is a public research university located in Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naledi Pandor</span> South African politician (born 1953)

Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor is a South African politician, educator and academic who served as the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation until 2024. She also served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the African National Congress (ANC) since 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cang Hui</span>

Cang Hui is a mathematical ecologist at Stellenbosch University. His research interests are proposing models and theories for explaining emerging patterns of biodiversity, networks and adaptive traits in ecology and evolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvonne Mokgoro</span> South African jurist (1950–2024)

Jennifer Yvonne Mokgoro GOB was a South African jurist who served on the Constitutional Court of South Africa from October 1994 to October 2009. She also chaired the South African Law Reform Commission between 1995 and 2011. She qualified as a lawyer in the former Bophuthatswana and was a legal academic before she was appointed to the bench by President Nelson Mandela.

The Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) (Pretoria) was established in 1997 and is located on the University of Pretoria campus. The initial goal of the institute was to help the development of novel food and fibre crops, that will clearly contribute to global economic development and food security. Over the last decades the goals have expanded to cover a wide range of research fields.

Chris Garbers is a South African scientist and former President of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. He was a member of the UNESCO/IUPAC International Chemistry Council for four years and served on President Nelson Mandela's National Commission on Higher Education.

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.

Cherryl Walker is professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Stellenbosch University, which she joined in 2005, and is DSI/NRF SARChI Chair in the Sociology of Land, Environment and Sustainable Development at Stellenbosch since 2016. She is an authority on South African society - specialising in South Africa's land redistribution/restitution, land reform, gender and cosmopolitanism, and environmental sociology.

Priscilla Baker is a professor of analytical chemistry at the University of the Western Cape. She is the co-leader of SensorLab, a research platform in electrochemistry that deals with the electrodynamics of materials and sensors. She is an active member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, European Scientific Network for Artificial Muscles (ESNAM) and the Marie Curie International staff exchange scheme (IRSES).

Tania S. Douglas was a Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Research Chair in Biomedical Engineering and Innovation as well as Director of the Medical Imaging Research Unit in the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa. She conducted research concerning medical innovation, image analysis, and the development of technologies to improve medical device innovation in South Africa. She was also the founding Editor-in-Chief of Global Health Innovation, a journal which disseminates research results about health innovation in developing settings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SeaKeys</span> Collaborative marine biodiversity project in South Africa

SeaKeys is a large collaborative marine biodiversity project funded through the Foundational Biodiversity Information Program in South Africa. The purpose of the project is to collect and distribute genetic, species and ecosystem information relating to marine biodiversity in southern Africa, which may be used to support informed decision-making about the marine environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leon Schreiber</span> South African writer and politician (born 1988)

Leon Amos Schreiber is a South African writer and politician who is currently serving as Minister of Home Affairs since 3 July 2024. A member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), he has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since May 2019.

Janice Leigh Limson is a South African Professor of Biotechnology, former Chairperson the School of Biotechnology at Rhodes University and the SARChI Chair in Biotechnology Innovation & Engagement at Rhodes University. She is founder and editor-in-chief of the magazine Science in Africa, the first popular online science magazine for Africa. Her research focuses on topics ranging from the development of nanotechnology biosensors for cancer diagnostics, drug delivery, detection of pathogens in food to the design of fuel cell technology.

Professor Reinette "Oonsie" Biggs is a South African sustainability scientist whose research focuses on food, water, and the benefits people receive from nature. Biggs is the co-director of the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition at Stellenbosch University, South Africa and a researcher at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University in Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melissa Steyn</span> South African academic

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.

Fiona Tregenna is a South African economist who is professor of economics at the University of Johannesburg. She holds the South African Research Chair in industrial development. She has been a member of the South African Competition Tribunal since 2013 and served on President Cyril Ramaphosa's Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

Namrita Lall is an Indian–South African botanist and pharmacologist who is professor of plant sciences at the University of Pretoria. She is an expert in medicinal plant science. At the University of Pretoria, she holds the South African Research Chair for Plant Health Products from Indigenous Knowledge Systems and leads a research group that is active in bioprospecting, particularly in respect of cosmeceuticals and tuberculosis and cancer treatments.

Catherine Hester Albertyn is a South African academic who is a professor of law at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she holds the South African Research Chair in Equality, Law and Social Justice. Known for her work in constitutional law, she has been a professor at the university since 2001 and formerly ran its Centre for Applied Legal Studies between 2001 and 2007. She has also served as a commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality and the South African Law Reform Commission.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "South African Research Chairs Initiative". National Research Foundation. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Message from the Minister of Science and Technology". The Mail & Guardian. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  3. 1 2 3 Pretorius, Cornia (2008-08-20). "Funding for science research diverted". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  4. ↑ Molefi, Itumeleng (2017-12-15). "Steering South Africa's knowledge economy". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  5. 1 2 "PhDs hold key to SA's development". The Mail & Guardian. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  6. ↑ Wild, Sarah (2017-12-09). "MPs to get science classes". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  7. ↑ Wild, Sarah (2014-03-07). "Chair boosters fuel SA's research engine". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  8. ↑ "We salute our women scientists". The Mail & Guardian. 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  9. ↑ Pandor, Naledi (2017-04-21). "Business R&D spending in South Africa shows signs of recovery". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  10. 1 2 "SARChI changes the face of university research". The Mail & Guardian. 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  11. ↑ "Investing in knowledge and innovation". The Mail & Guardian. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  12. ↑ Molefi, Itumeleng (2017-12-15). "African women in science". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  13. ↑ Cherry, Michael (2012-03-01). "Research chairs initiative fails to increase doctoral student numbers". South African Journal of Science. 108 (3/4). doi: 10.4102/sajs.v108i3/4.1183 . ISSN   1996-7489.
  14. ↑ "Still searching for 'the human'". The Mail & Guardian. 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  15. ↑ "Former CALS Director appointed NRF SARChI Chair". Wits University. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "NRF SARChI Chairs". University of the Western Cape. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI)". University of Pretoria. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "South African research chairs". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "Research Chairs". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  20. ↑ "Welcome to the Office of the Chair for Historical Trauma and Transformation and the SARChI Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  21. ↑ "SA Research Chair in Gender Politics". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  22. ↑ "Research Chairs". Nelson Mandela University. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  23. ↑ "Mathematical Biology @ Stellenbosch". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  24. 1 2 3 "South African Research Chairs Initiatives (SARChI)". Rhodes University. 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  25. 1 2 "SARChI Chairs". Wits University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  26. 1 2 3 "Research Chairs at the University of Johannesburg". University of Johannesburg. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  27. ↑ "Team". Wits Materials Electrochemistry and Energy Technologies. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  28. 1 2 3 "Five new high profile research chairs awarded". University World News. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  29. ↑ Dugmore, Heather (2020-11-07). "South Africa wins Newton prize for ocean science and food security". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  30. ↑ "SA Research Chair in the Sociology of Land, Environment and Sustainable Development". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  31. ↑ "Research Chairs". Tshwane University of Technology. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  32. ↑ "At the vanguard of transformation". The Mail & Guardian. 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  33. ↑ "Professor Carolyn Hamilton". Nelson Mandela Foundation. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  34. ↑ "Murray Leibbrandt". IZA - Institute of Labor Economics. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  35. ↑ "The land question answered". The Mail & Guardian. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  36. ↑ "Professor Anna-Lise Williamson". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.