Pint of Science CBD 16 May Atoms to Galaxies
Wed May 16, 18:30 - Wed May 16, 21:00
CAUSE | EFFECT
ABOUT
Pint of Science is a charity run by volunteers that brings some of the most brilliant scientists to your local pub to discuss their latest research and findings with you. You don't need any prior knowledge, and this is your chance to meet the people responsible for the future of science (and have a pint with them). The festival started in the UK and runs every May in over 150 cities across 19 different countries - including South Africa! This year Pint of Science will take place on 14, 15 and 16 May 2018.Pint of Science event on 16 May is titled Atoms to Galaxies
Speakers:
Pontsho Maruping - International Governance of Outer Space
Outer space is considered a global commons and the outer space treaty which came into effect in 1967 represents the basic legal framework of international space law. In the past 50+ years, how is outer space governance holding up ad why should we care?
Pontsho Maruping heads up commercialisation at Square Kilometre Array (SKA) where she is responsible for commercialising technologies developed for the MeerKAT project. She is the Chairperson of the South African Council for Space Affairs and Chair of the Scientific and Technical SubCommittee of the United Nation’s Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
Prior to joining SKA, she was an executive at the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) responsible for Innovation Funding and Pre-commercialisation Support. Her responsibilities included managing a portfolio of investments in the areas of Advanced Manufacturing, Natural Resources, Energy, ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), Health and Agricultural Biotechnology.?
Her educational qualifications include an Executive Masters in Business Administration, Masters in Space Systems Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.) in Management of Technology, Bachelor of Science (Eng.) in Mineral Processing and a National Diploma in Economic Geology
Dr. John Woodland - Quinine – Shining new light on an ancient molecule
From human health to new materials, chemistry has transformed society. The capacity of chemists to manipulate useful molecules has given us exceptional control over the world.
Quinine is a compound that was first isolated from the bark of the Cinchona tree hundreds of years ago. Possessing a host of therapeutic properties, it was the first effective treatment for malaria and has been described as “a drug that has probably benefited more people than any other in the combat of infectious disease”. What is so special about quinine, and why does it continue to beguile us after centuries of study?
John Woodland completed his doctorate in the Department of Chemistry at UCT in 2016. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UCT. Woodland is particularly interested in the molecular basis of infectious diseases and his current research focuses on HIV acquisition in the context of steroid receptors and hormonal contraceptives.
Woodland is inspired by the role of science communication in improving scientific literacy in South Africa. He has participated in a number of science competitions, culminating in the award of Third Place in the Young Innovator of the Year Competition held in Berlin in 2013.
Woodland's other passion is music. Inspired by the diverse musical traditions of the Cape, his background as an organist led to an interest in choral music. For three years Woodland directed the UCT Choir and, after a short stint in the St George’s Singers under Barry Smith, he founded his own choral group: VOX Cape Town. John Woodland has been a presenter on Fine Music Radio since 2006.
Louis Wei-Yu Feng - Space debris - and why should we care
Our current daily live is heavily dependent on space technologies, from weather satellites, GPS and earth monitoring for disaster management. Space technologies offer a wide range of data and information that cannot be achieved with ground technologies such as spatial view and data gathering from space. However, due to unlimited and unregulated launch of spacecraft / satellites into space, an alarming phenomenon is current under building and that is known as Kessler Syndrome. When orbital debris collide with another orbital debris that proliferates the growth of debris population which threatens the possibility of long term sustainable of space.
Wei-Yu Louis Feng is currently completing his Master’s degree (M.Phil) in Space studies at University of Cape Town. His thesis is focusing on the development of active debris removal technologies known as MEDUSA (Mechanism of Entrapment Debris Using Shape memory Alloy). Louis received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics from University of Cape Town in 2013. His bachelor’s thesis was published in New Trends in Networking, Computing, E-learning, System Sciences and Engineering. He worked as a system engineer in the petroleum industry during 2014 and 2015, where he travelled and worked at many countries including: US, UK, Angola, Spain and South Africa. Following on from a stint in industry he returned to academia as a student in the M.Phil space studies program.
He was the recipient of the SSPI grand prize in 2016 with the literature: “Study of current regulations and possible recommendations associated with smallsat revolution.” He was also the winner of the third IAF international student workshop held at Guadalajara, Mexico in 2016. After a fruitful journey at Mexico, he conducted a research exchange at the Institute for Space Systems (IRS) at Stuttgart University in Germany from October 2016 till January 2017. He also performed an oral presentation on debris capturing techniques at the 7th European space debris conference held at ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany. He has recently being selected as one of the fourteen recipient of the Emerging Space Leaders (ESL) grant issued by the International Astranutica Federation (IAF) in 2017.His research interest includes: Satellite technology, space policy, smart material prototyping, control systems, robotics and novel space mission design.