conference banquet, Arcadia Hotel
11 February 2009
Members of the Organising Committee, and the Synchrotron Science
Community,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen
Since the dawn of time mankind has been fascinated by light. Obviously, the
greatest source of light for early humans was the sun, and since it was clearly
also a source of warmth and a driver of growth, it didn't take too long before
people started worshipping it as the source of all good things.
Throughout history, light and our increasing understanding of light has
always given us greater insight into the road ahead. In a strange, often
contradictory way, light continues to shine upon the path of human
progress.
In the 19th century, James Clerk Maxwell produced equations proving that
electricity and magnetism were interrelated, which basically introduced the
wave theory of light. At about the same time, the speed of light was
established.
It was Albert Einstein, in the 20th century, who concluded that light was a
particle and not a wave. He named this particle a photon, and it was largely
for this work that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921.
Later, Prince Louis deBroglie was also awarded a Nobel Prize, after he
showed that light could be viewed as a particle as well as a wave.
It is amazing that light and the properties of light continue to intrigue
us, and that as we unlock more of its many secrets, it always seems to have
still more to give us.
More recently, light in the form of synchrotron radiation has promised to
illuminate a new route to our future.
It was in 1945 that the synchrotron was proposed as the latest accelerator
for high-energy physics. Today, the world has about 50 of these remarkable
"super microscopes," engaging the attention of a growing number of the world's
most original scientific minds, a pleasing number of whom are with us here
today.
Let us hope that light continues to shine on your efforts, which promise so
much in the field of human progress.
For my part I am often amazed and increasingly proud of the scale of the
endeavours with which South African science is engaged.
As many of you will know, we are currently locked in a contest with
Australia to host the Square Kilometre Array telescope (SKA) with which the
world's astronomers will be able to study the universe as it was just 500
million years after the Big Bang.
The huge scale of this effort will redefine our conception of infinity,
undoubtedly shed new light on the origins of the universe, and present us with
a clearer vision of the universal tapestry and the manner in which it is
unfolding.
At the other end of the scale is our involvement in the biosciences,
nano-science and technology, and the extraordinary developments made possible
by synchrotrons and the insights they give us into the composition of
matter.
I concede that South Africans have a lot of catching up to do in this area.
We lag behind our southern hemisphere friends and colleagues in Brazil and
Australia.
But this is not to say that we lack appreciation of the immense potential of
the synchrotron research tool for boosting our international competitiveness
and human capacity development in a growing number of scientific
disciplines.
The synchrotron is a premier research tool, and if this was not clear
before, it is now evident after the presentations made over the past few
days.
My department recognises this, and will continue to provide backing and
support to grow the user base in our country to the point where synchrotron
research becomes an integral part of broad-based scientific research.
I understand there are currently between 20 and 30 synchrotron users in our
country, including both researchers and students, who are occupied in areas
covered by this workshop â namely materials science, the biosciences, and
geological, environmental and heritage sciences.
Two years ago, in February 2007, a similar gathering took place in Cape
Town. At that time it became clear that there were 25 to 30 South African
embryonic projects on the go for which the use of synchrotron techniques was
imperative.
Since then, I believe several of these have progressed through international
collaborations and contacts at various synchrotrons.
In addition to this, a great deal of important work has been done in
spreading the synchrotron gospel to the research and development divisions of
the leading players in some of our country's major industries, including Sasol,
the Anglo Research Lab, Eskom, Element Six and the management of the Pebble Bed
Modular Reactor.
Some of them are currently accessing the potential of this unique research
tool for their project needs, while others are showing keen interest in using
synchrotrons for future work.
South Africa is a developing country, and our priority is to promote
initiatives that hold promise for improving the lives of the poor.
Synchrotron technology finds application in a number of areas, including
molecule crystallography, drug discovery and research, 'burning' computer chip
designs into metal wafers, geological material analysis, and proton therapy to
treat some forms of cancer.
Through collaborative research programmes, we hope as scientists, you will
be able to discover ways in which some of your findings can be applied to
improve the lives of poorer societies such as ours.
With regard to synchrotron science and research, I can safely say that we
have "seen the light;" that we appreciate the potential for good of this
remarkable scientific discipline, and eagerly await the human benefits we are
convinced will flow from these efforts.
In closing, allow me this opportunity to wish you well in your deliberations
during this conference. So, go ahead and turn on the light!
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
11 February 2009
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)
